Vital records register - county or state?

Dear Editor,

When a county clerk creates a register record and forwards it to the state, is the state leading element (the author) in the citation or is the county?

Looking at an image from FamilySearch "Michigan Births, 1867-1902," the register states at the top of the page "To the Honorable Secretary of State of Michigan: Return of Births in the County of Luce."

Image no. 1 in this set is the FHL microfilm information which identifies it as originating with the "Dept. of Vital Records, Lansing, Michigan."

Should my citation be something like this:

Luce County, Michigan, register of return of Births to the Secretary of State . . .

or

Michigan, register of Return of Births in the County of Luce . . .

Thanks,

Jeff

Submitted byEEon Sat, 12/05/2015 - 09:22

Jeff, EE 9.34 covers citations of local birth registers. The basic elements are

  • Creator (agency and jurisdiction)
  • "Title of Register"
  • Page number
  • Specific entry—by year, number (if there is one) and name of child
  • Repository where the register is now housed
  • Repository location (city, state).

Because you are not using the original register—you are using a digital copy made from microfilm—then you will need to add a layer to your citation to identify the provider and the online location of the data. If you are not familiar with the concept of layered citations, see the QuickStart guide tucked into the flyleaf of EE's third edition or (if you do not have EE), see our QuickLesson 17 "Layered Citations Work Like Layered Clothing."