Archives Vital Records Records Management Divisions
Archives | Archives Information | Vital Records | Vital Records Information |
Send Mail to:
N.H. Department of State
9 Ratification Way
Concord, NH 03301
Come visit us:
9 Ratification Way
Concord, NH 03301
Contact Archives and Records Management:
The Division of Archives & Records Management has two principal functions. The first function is to assist state agencies with the efficient and proper management of their records and in conjunction with that service, provide storage space for their less active records. Our second function is to preserve documentation of the history of New Hampshire state government institutions and work to make them available to the public in as efficient a manner as possible.
Ashley Miller
State Archivist
Office Hours:
Monday through Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Telephone Numbers:
603-271-2236
603-271-2272 (fax)
Archives and Records Management Email Address: archives@sos.nh.gov
Contact Division of Vital Records Administration:
The Division of Vital Records Administration has released new, web-based software that anyone can use to look at Vital Records statistical information ONLY (derived from records of birth, death, marriage and divorce). The "New Hampshire Vital Records Information Network web" (NHVRINweb), is a real-time web-based data query system for accessing Vital Records statistical data. This web-based tool allows access to de-identified Vital Records that date back to 1995. You can also produce data reports in either a spreadsheet format or as a document, so that you can include this data in your own reports if desired.
Here is a link to our new software tool: http://nhvrinweb.sos.nh.gov/. Once you get into the site, you will be prompted to register yourself in order to look at the data in the birth, death, marriage and divorce tables. The site also has the ability for you to provide feedback if you have any questions or comments. Enjoy! Please Note: this is statistical information only. Individual vital records data cannot be accessed using this tool.
Kristin M. Kenniston
State Director of Vital Records
Office Hours:
Monday through Friday 8:30am - 3:30pm
Telephone Numbers:
Main Number - 603-271-4650 (8:00am-4:30pm)
TDD Number - 1-800-735-2964 (8:00am-4:30pm)
Fax Number - 603-271-3447 (8:00am-4:30pm)
DVRA Reception - 603-271-4650 (8:30am-3:30pm)
Genealogy Vault - 603-271-4650 (8:30am-3:30pm
Division of Vital Records Administration Email Address: vitalrecords@sos.nh.gov
Directions to Vital Records Administration
Genealogy
RESEARCHING YOUR FAMILY
New Hampshire Department of State, Division of Archives and Records Management
9 Ratification Way (formerly 71 South Fruit Street)
Concord, NH 03301
Tel. (603) 271-2236
Note: Official New Hampshire birth, death and marriage records are among holdings here, managed by the Division of Vital Records Administration, which may be accessed elsewhere on this website at this link, or by phone at 603-271-4650.
Genealogical and family history information may be found among archived records in the following collections:
1. Probate Records
A. Provincial Period (1630s – 1771)
B. Cheshire County (1771 – 1959)
C. Grafton County (1773 – 1950)
D. Hillsborough County (1771 – 1997)
E. Merrimack County (1823 – 1992)
F. Rockingham County (1771 – 1918)
G. Strafford County (1771-1799): abstracts in Helen F. Evans, Strafford County NH Probate Records, 1771-1799 (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1983)
2. Land Title Deeds
A. Provincial Period (1630s – 1771)
B. Rockingham County (1771 – 1824; Indexed 1771 – 1959)
C. Grafton County (1773 – 1899) microfilm
3. Petitions to the Governor, Council and Legislature (1680 – c. 1850; + 1951)
4. New Hampshire State and Provincial Papers (1623 – 1800)
40 vol. set & cumulative index
5. Military Information
A. C. E. Potter’s Military History of New Hampshire, 1623 – 1861 (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical
Publishing Co., 1972)
B. S. Lanzerdorf’s New Hampshire Militia Officers, 1820 – 1850
(Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1995)
C. Revolutionary War Rolls (N.H. State & Provincial Papers)
D. War of 1812 Soldiers Index (21st Regiment)
E. A. D. Ayling’s Civil War Register Index
F. Civil War Enlistment Cards and Papers
G. Civil War Muster Rolls, Descriptive Rolls, & Returns
H. Civil War Service Cards
I. Civil War Pension Index
J. Phyllis O. Longver, New Hampshire Civil War Death and Burial Locations (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 2000)
K. Civil War Death Rolls
L. “Military Miscellaneous” V64 (Revolutionary to recent publications)
6. Censuses and Population Information
A. J. M. Holbrook’s New Hampshire Residents, 1633 – 1699
B. “Constructed” Censuses: 1732; 1765; 1776; some towns 1798
C. Census Indices Only: 1800; 1810; 1820, 1850, 1860 (commercially published)
D. Federal Census Books: 1850; 1860; 1870; 1880 (manuscript)
E. Hillsborough County Census: 1801
F. Strafford County Census: some towns 1840
7. Name Changes
A. Published Index to N.H. Laws (1643 – 1883;
B. Manuscript Index to NH Laws (1885 – 1995)
C. Richard P. Roberts’ New Hampshire Name Changes 1768 – 1923
(Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1996)
D. Index to N.H. Name Changes (1840 – 1940) (microfilm)
8. Photographs, Portraits and Prints
A. Dunlap Photo Service Collection (1930s-1960s) – Concord area
B. William Finney – Portraits
C. Aerial Photographs
D. Miscellaneous public figures and places in archived collections
9. Naturalizations
A. Belknap County (1842 – 1975)
B. Grafton County (1773 – 1906)
C. Hillsborough County (1845 – 1990)
D. Merrimack County (1847 – 1948)
E. Rockingham County (1771 – 1919)
F. Sullivan County (1800s – 1900s)
10. Voter Checklists (1904 – present)
Towns are required to file voter checklists with the NH Secretary of State after every General State Election, and after the Presidential Primary
11. Warnings Out of Town
12. Secretary of State Miscellaneous Records
13. Handwriting and Paleography
A. E. K. Kirkham’s Handwriting of American Records for a Period of
300 Years
B. E. K. Kirkham’s How to Read the Handwriting and Records of
Early America
14. Prisoners Indices
A. State Prison Register of Convicts 1812 – 1912
B. State Prison Mittimus (“Mitt”) Files (1812 – 1973)
C. Rockingham County Prisoners Index (1772 – 1840+)
D. Milli S. Knudsen, Hard Time in Concord, New Hampshire (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 2005)
Brief profiles of some the prisoners
15. Town Records and Town Inventories Indices
16. Rosters of N.H. House of Representatives and Senate
17. Church of Latter Day Saints “Descriptive Index of the New Hampshire Collection”
18. Index to N.H. Laws (1643 – 1881; 1885 – 1995)
19. Index to Executive Council Minutes
20. Marriage & Divorce
A. Pauline J. Oesterlin’s N.H. Marriage Licenses and Intentions, 1709 – 1961 (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books) 1991
B. Marriage Intentions (1770s – 1850s)
C. City of Concord Intentions (1830 – 1869)
D. Governor Wentworth Sanctions (1772 – 1775)
E. Out of State Minister Marriage Intentions (1921 – 1961)
F. Knudsen, Milli S., ‘Til Death Do Us Part: Marriages & Divorces from Cheshire County
(1776-1899) (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 2007
H. Helen F. Evans, Index of References to American Women in Colonial Newspapers through 1800 (Bedford, NH: self-published, c. 1980-1995), 3 volumes.
I. Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992)
21. Maps and Plans
A. Masonian Plans (1600s)
B. Carrigain Town Maps (1805) and State Map (1816)
C. Town and City Atlas of the State of New Hampshire D.H. Hurd & Co., Boston (1892)
22. County and Town Histories (small random collection)
23. Paupers
A. Warnings Out
B. Pauline J. Osterlin, Rockingham County Paupers Index (1772 – c. 1850)
(Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1992)
C. Milli S. Knudsen, Obliged to Ask for Relief: The Journal of Cheshire County, New Hampshire,
Pauper Records, 1885-1900 (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 2009)
24. New Hampshire Register (1796; 1807; 1810 – 1908; 1919 – 1921; 1942 – 1959)
25. Superior and Inferior Court Records
A. Provincial Period (1630s – 1772)
B. Belknap County unprocessed (1841 – 1899)
C. Grafton County (1773 – 1899; Indexed 1773 – 1805 & 1817 – 1828)
D. Hillsborough County (1772 – 1906+)
Partially indexed: Pauline J. Osterlin, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Court Records,
1772-1799) (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1996
E. Merrimack County (1823 – 1900; Indexed 1824 – 1853)
F. Rockingham County (1772 – 1980)
G. Strafford County (1775 – 1899; partially indexed 1775 – c.1830)
H. Sullivan County (1828 – 1972)
Revised March 2020
Archival Holdings
Architectural Drawings
Index to Dodge/Scan Microfilms (1987 - 1993)
Dodge Scans - Nashua Memorial Hospital (1993)
Court Records
Superior Court
Court of Common Pleas
County Court
Executive Records
Governors' messages and letters
Executive Council correspondence and minutes
General Court Records (1680-current)
Petitions Index (1680-1819)
Petitions Index (1820-1824)
Journals of House and Senate
Acts
Military Records
Revolutionary War Rolls
Civil War Papers
Militias
Provincial Land Records
Provincial Probate Records
Research Aids Include:
Guide to the New Hampshire State Archives
New Hampshire State Papers
Meshech Weare Personal Papers
Inventories and Indexes to individual collections, available in research area
Secretary of State Records
Corporations
Elections
Miscellaneous
Railroads
Secretary of State Treasury Records
Town Records
Municipal Records
Road and Highway Layout Records
Architectural Drawings
General Court Records
Land Surveyors' Records
Land Title Research
City & Town Records
Publications & Collections
1917 era New Hampshire state flag, courtesy family of Henry W. Keyes of Haverhill, Governor, 1917-1919; US Senator, 1919-1937.
New Hampshire State Papers
The Astonishing Story of the Mistaken State House Portrait
Ambassador John Gilbert Winant
Dedication of the Remodeled State House 1910
Lane Dwinell
Colonel Frank Knox
A Collection of Miscellaneous Volumes and Literature
New Hampshire's Unique Japanese Charitable Fund
Bridges House
New Hampshire First in the Nation Presidential Primary Scrapbook
New Hampshire's First in the Nation Presidential Primary Law
Restoration of Australian Sample Ballots from 1900 Presidential Election
Civil War Research
Vintage New Hampshire Party Tickets, 1863-1884
Guide to Archives
Mystery of the Legislature's Lost Scroll
1892 Historic New Hampshire Ballot Boxes
First 50 years of State Archives
The Year New Hampshire Became First in the Nation: 1920
Columnist Robert Novak on Legendary NH Senator Styles Bridges
50th Anniversary Forum, Historic 1968 NH Primary
Presentation of Portrait Honoring Former NH House Speaker George B. Roberts (1975-1980)
Sample Ballots for the 100th Anniversary of the NH First in the Nation Presidential Primary
Candidates Who filed for President in the 100th Anniversary, NH First in the Nation Primary
Marilla M Ricker
Life of Franklin Pierce
Governor Wesley Powell's Unique Inauguration
Governor Frederick Smyth
Retired NH Secretary of State Bill Gardner Speaks on Elections and Democracy
Histories of New Hampshire
A Ballot Recount Following the November, 2020 General Election
Stewart Lamprey and Water Peterson Discuss their Long Friendship
Information for State Agencies
Procedures Manual of the Division of Archives and Records Management
How to Create a Transfer List
How to Pack a Box for Archives and Records
How to Read Retention Codes
How to Request, Return, and Send Items to Archives
Retention Authorization Form
State of New Hampshire Transfer List (Form RM-120) Template
Managing Government Records
Introduction to Records and Information Management Training Presentation
General Records Destruction Notification - December 31, 2022
Municipal Records Board
The N.H. Municipal Records Board holds its authority under RSA 33-A. the New Hampshire General Court made provisions for the disposal of obsolete local records in 1967 (chapter 105). In 1977 (Chapter 358), the Legislature created the Municipal Records Board for the purpose of creating rules to update the list of disposable records.
In 1995, the Board issued a list of retention schedules which expired in August 2003. The board asked for an extension, which was approved through December 2004. Between 2001 and 2005, the Board undertook a comprehensive review of the 1995 schedules and prepared a major overhaul, attempting to clarify existing schedules, evaluate and approve new schedules recommended by local officials and finally, to codify the schedules in the statutes once again. House Bill 437 (Chapter 187) of the 2005 Session was passed and signed into law on June 20, 2005 and became effective on August 29, 2005.
N.H. Municipal Records Board Statute
Municipal Records Board Members
Under RSA 33-A: 4-a
Updated February 22, 2023
Name | Organization | Phone | |
Honorable David M. Scanlan | Chair, N.H. Secretary of State | 603-271-3242 | |
William H. Dunlap | N.H. Historical Society | 603-856-0601 | |
Ashley Miller | Secretary, N.H. State Archivist | 603-271-2236 | |
Michael York | N.H. State Librarian | 603-271-2397 | |
Ben Bynam, Town of Hopkinton |
N.H. Tax Collectors Association | ||
Pat Tucker, Town of Ashland |
N.H. City & Town Clerks Association | ||
Daniel Langille, City of Keene |
N.H. Assoc. of Assessing Officials | 603-352-2125 | |
Kristin M. Kenniston | N.H. State Registrar of Vital Records | 603-271-4655 | |
Mary Walter, City of Claremont |
Municipal Treasurer, appointed by N.H. Municipal Assoc. |
603-542-7014 | |
[vacant] | Appointed by Governor & Council | ||
Michelle Stahl, Monadnock Center for History & Culture |
Association of N.H. Historical Societies | 603-924-3235 | |
Bruce K. Kneuer | N.H. Dept of Revenue Administration | 603-230-5953 | |
Justin Ober | N.H. State Records Manager | 603-271-2236 | justin.ober@sos.nh.gov |
Managing Government Records Into The Future
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