The Barbour Collection: Abstracts of Early Connecticut Vital Records

The Barbour Collection is one of the principal research tools for Connecticut genealogical research. Compiled by Lucius Barbour, the examiner of Connecticut records from 1911 to 1934, it provides abstracts of births, marriages, and deaths in Connecticut towns to 1850. Record years covered by Barbour vary from town to town.

Beginning in 1640, town magistrates were required to record the marriages they performed. In 1644, recording births and marriages became the responsibility of town clerks. Recording deaths was added to their duties in 1650. Husbands, fathers, or surviving spouses were required to register and pay a fee within a month of the event. Failure to comply resulted in a fine. From the end of the Revolutionary War until 1870, the number of registrations declined. After 1870, registration numbers improved when the State Board of Health began to use vital records to monitor public health.

The Barbour Collection appears in four forms: the Slip Index at the Connecticut State Library, microfilm, the Arnold Copy, and The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Statistics edited by Loraine Cook.

The Slip Index consists of slips of paper arranged alphabetically by surname and is housed in card catalog drawers. Also included are entries from private and institutional sources. Microfilm copies are available at Family History Centers operated by the Latter Day Saints. The Arnold Copy is a bound book listing births, marriages and deaths for individual Connecticut towns. Copies are available at the Connecticut State Library. Many town clerks, including Fairfield?, use these bound editions as sources for pre-1850 vital records.

The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records, edited by Lorraine Cook, (Pequot Library collection R974.6 Barbour) is the published edition of the Barbour Collection. This fifty-five volume paperback edition began in 1994 and was completed in 2002. The format is similar to other editions of the Barbour Collection. Each volume is numbered and in alphabetical order by town. The entire set is part of the Pequot Library Genealogy and Local History Collection. This ?ser-friendly·approach makes access to the Barbour Collection both fast and easy.

Strengths of the Barbour Collection

o It provides a centralized list of early Connecticut town vital records.
o The collection has a high degree of accuracy because experienced compilers were hired to copy the records.
o Researchers have access to early Connecticut town vital records without traveling to the towns where the events occurred.

o Microfilm and paper copies make the collection accessible to researchers outside of Connecticut.

Weaknesses of the Barbour Collection

o It is incomplete and known to contain errors.
o The collection does not cover every town in Connecticut
o There are duplicate entries
o It does not cover all events, only those that were recorded.

The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records provides quick and easy access to early Connecticut town records at one location. Researchers can continue their work at Pequot Library instead of going to another research site.