Nova Scotia Birth Registrations from 1864 to 1924

Civil registration of births in Nova Scotia began in 1864, but the records are incomplete for the initial period from 1864 to 1877. The province resumed consistent record-keeping in 1908, and the dataset includes delayed registrations dating back to 1830. Columns suggest detailed information about parents, the birth event, and the applicant, providing a view into historical family structures and demographics.

Use Cases

• Tracing family lineage using Mother Maiden Name, Father Last Name, and Place.
• Analyzing historical infant mortality using Number Still Born and Number Dead.
• Studying parental occupations and social status using Occupation Mother and Occupation Father.
• Examining geographic distribution of births using County and Residence Mother.
• Researching historical medical practices and birth circumstances using Attending Physician and Circumstances.

Strengths

• Covers a long historical time range, from 1864 to 1924, with some records dating to 1830.
• Contains detailed individual-level data with over 30 columns, including parental names, occupations, and residences.
• Is available on multiple government data platforms, indicating its official status and reliability.

Limitations

• The row count and total dataset size are unknown, making it difficult to assess its completeness.
• Records for the initial period (1864-1877) are explicitly noted as incomplete.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' metadata between the two Socrata entries (2026-04-17 vs 2025-07-17).

Provenance

Source

data.novascotia.ca

Collection Method

Civil registration maintained by the provincial government.

Time Range

1864-1877 and 1908-1924 (with delayed registrations from 1830-1924)

Freshness

2026-04-17 15:27:32.074475

Geography

Nova Scotia, Canada