John MacLeod
Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:19:21 -0800
The gap in the Nova Scotia death and birth registration records is a consequence of Canadian Confederation and the division of responsibilities between national authorities and local officials. Nova Scotia commenced keeping records of birth, marriage and death in a systematic and province wide way in 1864. At that time an elaborate system of registration districts, local registrars, and all sorts of fees and money changing hands started. With Confederation there was a division of power between governments in Halifax and Ottawa and there were transitional provisions that would last 10 years. Statistics collection was a federal responsibility. Property, civil rights and consequently marriage registration, was a provincial responsibility.
Things progressed well but when 1877 came along there suddenly was no authority and no money to pay the local officials for the collection of birth and death information and the system came to an abrupt end. Marriages, being a provincial responsibility, continued to be registered. It didn't help that the federal and provincial governments were in a post-confederation feud with each other. ------------------------------------------------- Can anyone tell me why there are missing birth certificates for the years 1876 through 1908 in Nova Scotia. It appears that there are records previous to these dates. Rose ************************************** ___________________________________________ nsroots mailing list nsroots@ednet.ns.ca http://mailman.ednet.ns.ca/cgi-bin/listinfo/nsroots