Connecticut genealogy records

Town vital records to about 1850: the Barbour Collection

The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records is an index to and transcription of most towns' births, marriages, and deaths from the founding of the town to about 1850. It is named for Lucius Barnes Barbour, State Examiner of Public Records from 1911 to 1934, who hired transcribers, most famously James N. Arnold, to copy the town records.

The collection has two parts. The statewide slip index has more than a million slips, arranged by name and then by date. Each slip abstracts one event and gives parentage, residence, or relationship when the original entry has them, with a citation to the town, volume, and page. The second part is a bound volume for each town. The slips keep the original spelling of surnames, while the bound volumes group surnames under one spelling, so check the slip index when spelling matters.

The State Library says there is usually no more information in the original record than in the abstract, but you can check the original town books on microfilm. Bound volumes were not made for Bolton, Coventry, Enfield, Mansfield, New Haven, Norwich, and Vernon, because published vital records already existed for them; those towns are still in the slip index. Not every event was recorded at the town office, so church and cemetery records are worth checking too.

From 1850 to 1897: know the town

There is no statewide index to Connecticut vital records between 1850 and 1897. For those years you need to know the town where the event happened and search that town's records. Census records and city directories can help you identify the town.

Birth, marriage, and death certificates since 1897

From July 1, 1897, copies of every town's vital records went to the state. Today you can request a certified copy from the State Vital Records Office or from the town where the event happened.

Birth records are confidential except those at least 100 years old (as of 2026). For a younger birth record, you must be the person named or an eligible relative such as a parent, grandparent, spouse, adult child, or adult grandchild, or one of the other parties the law lists, which include a member of a Connecticut genealogical society. As of 2026 a birth certificate costs 30 dollars from the state and 20 dollars from the town of birth.

Death certificates are more open: as of 2026 anyone at least 18 years old can buy a certified copy of a Connecticut death certificate. Only the spouse or next of kin can get the decedent's Social Security number on the copy.

Census records

Federal census records for Connecticut are open through 1950 and are online on several sites, including free on FamilySearch with an account. Before 1850 only the head of household is named.

The Connecticut State Archives holds the state's copies of the federal censuses for 1850 to 1880, which may contain different or additional information. FamilySearch digitized many of them in 2022, including agricultural, industrial, and mortality schedules. They are not searchable by name, so the State Library has made PDF guides to browse them. The State Library also keeps a Connecticut Census Index for 1790 to 1850.

Probate records

Connecticut probate courts handled estates and also guardianships, adoptions, and conservatorships. Probate records include wills, petitions, bonds, inventories, accounts, receipts from heirs, and petitions for dower or distribution.

There are two kinds of probate material. Probate record volumes are the court's official record, usually indexed at the front, and many were microfilmed and are now digitized in the FamilySearch catalog. Estate papers are the original files, and most were also microfilmed; the State Library's Probate Estate Papers Index leads you to them. Because probate districts changed over time, use the State Library's Probate Districts by Town guide to find which district a town belonged to.

Naturalization

The original indexes and naturalization records for Connecticut are at the National Archives in Waltham, Massachusetts. Through a partnership with FamilySearch, the indexes and many volumes of court records have been digitized.

According to the State Library, beginning in 1906 Connecticut naturalization records were filed at the federal district courts in Hartford, New Haven, or Bridgeport, with copies sent to the federal naturalization office, today's USCIS. Naturalization records of state and municipal courts, such as the Superior Court and the Courts of Common Pleas, were also transferred to the National Archives at Waltham, so check both. Records before 1906 contain very little: most show only the person's name, residence, date of naturalization, and where and when the person declared the intention to become a citizen.

Statewide indexes and the search service

Besides the Barbour Collection, the State Library's genealogy indexes include the Bible and Family Records Index, the Hale Collection of Newspaper Marriage and Death Notices from about 1750 to 1865, the Hale Collection of Connecticut Cemetery Inscriptions, a Church Records Index, and the Probate Estate Papers Index. All of these collections are available through FamilySearch.

If you cannot visit, the History and Genealogy Unit will search these indexes for one name in response to a written request. As of 2026 the fee is 5 dollars for Connecticut residents and 15 dollars for others, with about half an hour of search time. Staff do not take genealogy questions by phone and do not search newspapers, military records, or passenger lists.