Government Records
The government of Nova Scotia only began to officially register births, marriages and deaths in 1864, and marriage records have been maintained by the province since that time. The government only maintained birth and death records, however, for 13 years in the last century, 1864 – 1877. The official registration of births and deaths was not resumed until 1 Oct. 1908.
Marriage records for the period 1864 – 1908 (and beyond this date for certain counties) are held by the Public Archives of Nova Scotia, and have been microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah (L.D.S.) The same also applies to birth and death records for the period 1864 – 1877. All these reels have microfilmed indexes for all counties. Argyle Township Court House & Archives holds a complete set of these records on microfilm, the L.D.S. numbers for which are as follows:
Births
NOVA SCOTIA BIRTH RECORDS, 1864-1877
INDEXES
- Province-wide Index, A-CAMPBELL, Gen. Soc. of Utah Microfilm # 1298984
- Province-wide Index, CAMPBELL-FLECK, Microfilm # 1298985
- Province-wide Index, FLECK-KITCHEN, Microfilm # 1298986
- Province-wide Index, KITCHEN-MANLEY, Microfilm # 1298987
- Province-wide Index, MANLEY-ROBAR, Microfilm # 1302066
- Province-wide Index, ROBAR-Z, Microfilm # 1302067
BIRTH RECORDS, 1864-1877
- Annapolis Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298664
- Antigonish Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298665
- Cape Breton Co. (1864-1869) Microfilm # 1298665 and (1869-1877) Microfilm # 1298666
- Colchester Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298666
- Cumberland Co. (1864-1876) Microfilm # 1298667 and (1875-1877) Microfilm # 1318350
- Digby Co. (1864-1875) Microfilm # 1298667 and (1864-1873) Microfilm # 1318350 and (1874-1877) Microfilm # 1298668
- Guysborough Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298668
- Halifax Co. (1864-1870) Microfilm # 1298668 and (1870-1873) Microfilm # 1298807 and (1874-1877) Microfilm # 1298808
- Hants Co. (1864-1870) Microfilm # 1298808 and (1870-1877) Microfilm # 1298809
- Inverness Co. (1864-1874) Microfilm # 1298809 and (1875-1877) Microfilm # 1298810
- Kings Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298810
- Lunenburg Co. (1864-1870) Microfilm # 1298810 and (1871-1877) Microfilm # 1298875
- Pictou Co. (1864-1875) Microfilm # 1298875 and (1875-1877) Microfilm # 1298876
- Queens Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298876
- Richmond Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298876
- Shelburne Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298977
- Victoria Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298877
- Yarmouth Co. (1864-1872) Microfilm # 1298877 and (1872-1877) Microfilm # 1298878
Post 1908-1918 birth, marriage and death records for Nova Scotia are held by the Deputy Registrar General, P.O. Box 157, Halifax, NS, B3J 2M9. The office is located at 1690 Hollis St., Halifax. A taped message is available at (902) 424-4380. Researchers can visit the vital statistics website at https://archives.novascotia.ca/vital-statistics/ for further information.
It is also possible to download copies of applications for birth, marriage and death certificates, short and long forms, and applications for genealogical research from the above website. The fee for short form (wallet) certificates is $26.50, and $32.00 for long form certificates. For genealogical research purposes, it is best to request the long form certificate because of the additional family information it contains. Note that researchers cannot get a marriage or birth certificate for someone still living without submitting, with their application, a letter of permission signed by the person whose certificate they are requesting.
Deaths
NOVA SCOTIA DEATH RECORDS, 1864-1877
INDEXES
- Province-wide Index, A-HARRIS, Microfilm # 1276123
- Province-wide Index, HARRIS-N, Microfilm # 1276124
- Province-wide Index, O-Z, Microfilm # 1276125
DEATH RECORDS, 1864-1877
- Annapolis Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298878
- Antigonish Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298878
- Cape Breton Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298878
- Colchester Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298879
- Cumberland Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298879
- Digby Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298879
- Guysborough Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298879
- Halifax Co. (1864-1867) Microfilm # 1298879 and (1867-1874) Microfilm # 1298880 and (1875-1877) Microfilm # 1298881
- Hants Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298881
- Inverness Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298881
- Kings Co. (1864-77) Microfilm # 1298861
- Lunenburg Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298861
- Pictou Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298861
- Queens Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298862
- Richmond Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298862
- Shelburne Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298862
- Victoria Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298862
- Yarmouth Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm # 1298862
Post 1908-1918 birth, marriage and death records for Nova Scotia are held by the Deputy Registrar General, P.O. Box 157, Halifax, NS, B3J 2M9. The office is located at 1690 Hollis St., Halifax. A taped message is available at (902) 424-4380. Researchers can visit the vital statistics website at https://archives.novascotia.ca/vital-statistics/ for further information.
It is also possible to download copies of applications for birth, marriage and death certificates, short and long forms, and applications for genealogical research from the above website. The fee for short form (wallet) certificates is $26.50, and $32.00 for long form certificates. For genealogical research purposes, it is best to request the long form certificate because of the additional family information it contains. Note that researchers cannot get a marriage or birth certificate for someone still living without submitting, with theirapplication, a letter of permission signed by the person whose certificate they are requesting.
Marriages
NOVA SCOTIA MARRIAGE RECORDS, 1864 – ca.1908-1918
INDEXES
- Annapolis Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302060
- Antigonish Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302060
- Cape Breton Co. (A-M) Microfilm # 1302060 and (M-Z) Microfilm # 1302061
- Colchester Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302061
- Cumberland Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302061
- Digby Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302062
- Guysborough Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302062
- Halifax Co. (A-N) Microfilm # 1302062 and (O-Z) Microfilm # 1302063
- Hants Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302063
- Inverness Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302065
- Kings Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302063
- Lunenburg Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302063
- Pictou Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302064
- Queens Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302064
- Richmond Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302064
- Shelburne Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302064
- Victoria Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302065
- Yarmouth Co. (A-Z) Microfilm # 1302065
MARRIAGE RECORDS
- Annapolis Co. (1864-1908) Microfilm # 1298863
- Antigonish Co. (1864-1910) Microfilm # 1298863
- Cape Breton Co. (1864-1908) Microfilm # 1298864 and (1909-1912) Microfilm # 1298865
- Colchester Co. (1864-1905) Microfilm # 1298865 and (1905-1913) Microfilm # 1298866
- Cumberland Co. (1864-1894) Microfilm # 1298866 and (1894-1913) Microfilm # 1298867
- Digby Co. (1864-1891) Microfilm # 1298867 and (1891-1910) Microfilm # 1298868
- Guysborough Co. (1864-1906) Microfilm # 1298868
- Halifax Co. (1864-1870) Microfilm # 1298868 and (1870-1885) Microfilm # 1298869 and (1885-1900) Microfilm # 1298882 and (1900-1908) Microfilm # 1298883 and (1909-1916) Microfilm # 1298988
- Hants Co. (1864-1884) Microfilm No. 1298988 and (1884-1917) Microfilm # 1298989
- Inverness Co. (1864-1918) Microfilm # 1298989
- Kings Co. (1864-1909) Microfilm # 1298990
- Lunenburg Co. (1864-1877) Microfilm No. 1298990 and (1877-1908) Microfilm # 1298991
- Pictou Co. (1864-1907) Microfilm # 1298992 and (1907-1917) Microfilm # 1298993
- Queens Co. (1864-1910) Microfilm # 1298993
- Richmond Co. (1864-1899) Microfilm # 1298993 and (1899-1918) Microfilm # 1298994
- Shelburne Co. (1864-1908) Microfilm # 1298994
- Victoria Co. (1864-1901) Microfilm # 1298994 and (1901-1907) Microfilm # 1298995
- Yarmouth Co. (1864-1908) Microfilm # 1298995
Post 1908-1918 birth, marriage and death records for Nova Scotia are held by the Deputy Registrar General, P.O. Box 157, Halifax, NS, B3J 2M9. The office is located at 1690 Hollis St., Halifax. A taped message is available at (902) 424-4380. Researchers can visit the vital statistics website at https://archives.novascotia.ca/vital-statistics/ for further information.
It is also possible to download copies of applications for birth, marriage and death certificates, short and long forms, and applications for genealogical research from the above website. The fee for short form (wallet) certificates is $26.50, and $32.00 for long form certificates. For genealogical research purposes, it is best to request the long form certificate because of the additional family information it contains. Note that researchers cannot get a marriage or birth certificate for someone still living without submitting, with their application, a letter of permission signed by the person whose certificate they are requesting.