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Rhode Island Public Records
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To Search Public and Vital Records -
Vital records are records of life events important enough that
some level of government acquires, organizes, and preserves
them. While the term "vital records" is often applied
to a wide variety of life events... Read
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Rhode Island Vital Records
Though earlier vital records have been gathered and abstracted in
James N. Arnold's Vital Record of Rhode Island, 1636–1850, 21
vols. (Providence, R.I.: Narragansett Historical Publishing Co., 1891–1912),
statewide reporting did not begin until 1853. From that time, copies
of vital events recorded in towns were sent to what is now the Rhode
Island Division of Vital Statistics. Many records prior to 1894 are
now in the state archive. Towns, for the most part, still hold originals
in the clerk's office.
For birth and marriage records from 1 January 1894 and death records
from 1 January 1948, write:
State of Rhode Island, Dept. of Health, Division of Vital Records,
Cannon Building, Room 101, 75 Davis Street, Providence, RI 02908
For earlier records, write:
Rhode Island State Archives, 337 Westminster Street, Providence,
RI
02903
Rhode Island Land Records
Rhode Island is a state-land state. Lands were generally acquired
from early proprietors or other individuals. From the beginning
of settlement, land transactions in Rhode Island were filed in the
town office in either proprietors' records or deed books. Indexes
to the records are varied. Some grantor/
grantee indexes are by surname only, and some by surname and first
initial instead of full name.
Land was divided by proprietors in a pattern of lots, usually using
metes and bounds for land descriptions when the transaction did
not involve an easily identified part of the lot or full lot. Many
seventeenth-century land transactions are abstracted in a multivolume
collection titled "Rhode Island Land Evidence," which
is located at the Rhode Island State Archives. Vol. 1 has been abstracted
and published as Rhode Island Land Evidence, Vol. 1 (1921; reprint;
Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970). Abstracts of vols.
2, 3, 4, and 5 have been printed in a periodical titled Rhode Island
Roots.
Rhode Island Court Records
Court records include probate records (which include wills), guardianship,
naturalization, and a wide variety of other sources, ranging from
criminal trials to simple road orders. All contain information about
individuals within the area. It should be remembered that there
are different levels of jurisdiction for courts in the United States,
all of which should be considered for research under various circumstances.
Court of Common Pleas, Orphan's Court, Probate Court, District Court,
Superior Court, Supreme Court, and other titles are among those
encountered. To study more about court records in general, see "Research
in Court Records," by Arlene H. Eakle, in Loretto Dennis Szucs
and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, eds., The Source: A Guidebook of
American Genealogy, rev. ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1997).
Rhode Island Military Records
Rhode Island State Archives material concerning the colonial wars
is published by the Rhode Island Historical Society in Providence
in three volumes by Howard M. Chapin, Rhode Island in the Colonial
Wars: A List of Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors in King George's
War, 1740–48; Rhode Island Privateers in King George's War,
1739–48; and Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors in the Old French
and Indian War, 1755–62.The first published material on military
service in the state is Joseph J. Smith's Civil and Military List
of Rhode Island, 1647–1850, 3 vols. (Providence, R.I.: Preston
and Rounds, 1900–07), with a full index published in the last
volume. Unfortunately, only officers are included for the Revolutionary
War. More complete than Smith's, Revolutionary records also appear
in Benjamin Cowell's Spirit of '76 in Rhode Island (1850; reprint;
Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1973). In addition, Mildred
M. Chamberlain's The Rhode Island 1777 Military Census (Baltimore:
Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985) lists men in age categories 16–50,
50–60, and over 60, and whether they were able for service.
But since Portsmouth, Middletown, and Newport were occupied by the
British at the time, no returns exist for those towns. Those for
Exeter, Little Compton, and New Shoreham appear to be lost. A card
file at the Rhode Island State Archives indexes men who served in
the revolution.
Adjutant General's Office records before 1865 are now located at
the Rhode Island State Archives, although the report entitled Annual
Report...for the Year 1865, Official Register, Rhode Island Officers
and Enlisted Men, U.S. Army and Navy, 2 vols. (Providence, R.I.:
State Printer, 1893–95), is usually available in research libraries
with New England collections and is the official register for the
Civil War. For further information about military records in Rhode
Island, consult James C. Neagles U.S. Military Records: A Guide
to Federal and State Sources (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1994).
Additional Sources
Andrews, Charles M. The Colonial Period of American History. 2 vols.
New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1938.
Fiske, Jane Fletcher. "Genealogical Research in Rhode Island."
New England Historical and Genealogical Register 136 (July 1982):
173–219. (It is reprinted in Ralph J. Crandall, ed., Genealogical
Research in New England. [Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co.,
1984].)
Sperry, Kip. Rhode Island Sources for Family Historians and Genealogists.
Logan, Utah: Everton Publishers, 1986.
Rhode Island Vital
Records:
Event: Birth or death
Cost of copy: $15.00
Address:
Division of Vital Records
Rhode Island Department of Health
3 Capitol Hill, Room 101
Providence, RI 02908-5097
Remarks: State office keeps birth and marriage records
for 100 years and keeps death records for 50 years. For earlier
records, write to the city/town clerk where the event occurred or
to the Rhode Island State Archives, 337 Westminster Street, Providence,
RI 02903. Additional copies of the same record ordered at the same
time are $10.00 each.
Check or money order should be made payable to General
Treasurer, State of Rhode Island. To verify current fees, the telephone
number is (401) 222-2811. This will be a recorded message.
Search All Rhode Island Records
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Event: Marriage (State)
Cost of copy: $15.00
Address:
Division of Vital Records
Rhode Island Department of Health
3 Capitol Hill, Room 101
Providence, RI 02908-5097
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Event: Divorce (court)
Cost of copy: $3.00
Address:
Clerk of Family Court
1 Dorrance Plaza
Providence, RI 02903
Search All Rhode Island Records
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