How and why to Get a Death Certificate Copy and Other Public Records

In 1834, the "Births and Deaths Act" was passed into law and went into full effe
ct three years later, on July 01, 1837. This act made it a legal requirement for
everyone to have an official certificate of birth, marriage and death if any of
these occurred on English or Welsh soil or to nationals of these countries. The
Act was modified slightly in 1967, but only some more details are required toda
y and the format has changed slightly. These certificates are all publicly avail
able documents and can be obtained by anyone.
Included on a birth certificate will be the child's name at birth. If they were
born after 1967, their surname and sex will also be included. On all birth certi
ficates previous to that date, the full names of both parents (including the mot
her's maiden name) will be included, as well as the date and time of the birth.
The Marriage Certificate is a very detailed document. It will contain the full n
ames of both the bride and groom, their ages, details about their previous marri
ages, if any, the full names and occupations of their fathers, where the bride a
nd groom lived at the time of marriage, their occupations and other valuable det
ails. Because at the time the Births and Deaths Act was enacted, many people did
not have records of their exact birth date, this is one piece of information th
at may be incorrect, but the rest must be verified and witnessed.
In most countries, one must be able to present an official death certificate cop
y in order to have a cremation or burial take place or to transfer the remains o
f a relative from one country to another. The death certificate contains the th
e location and time of death, what the cause of death was, the age of the deceas
ed, their occupation and other necessary information.
Genealogists look at these three documents as some of their most important tools
for the establishment of a family tree. From the information contained in the b
irth, marriage and death certificate copy, he is able to get accurate, documente
d evidence about a person's lineage.
There are many reasons why having an accurate family tree would be important for
anyone. Our heritage is a very important part of who we are. Whether our family
history contains some details we would rather forget or not know about or it co
ntains information that makes us feel proud, one thing is certain: when we dig i
nto our pasts, we realize that we have in our lineage a part of history. The war
s, famines, struggles and triumphs of the past are something we have all taken p
art in through our forefathers. There is something inestimably enriching about k
nowing our family history.
Because birth, marriage and death certificates are public records, they are avai
lable to anyone. You can apply for your own birth certificate copy or you can ap
ply for the death certificate copy of a loved one or a complete stranger. It is
probably best to use the services of a company that specializes in finding these
records, though. It will save you a great deal of time and the services are ver
y cheap. Usually, you can expect to get the copy you order emailed to you within
a couple of weeks if you are looking for records in the U.K. and the official c
ertificate will arrive shortly thereafter in the mail.