FOR NEWSPAPER ARTICLES ONLY. THE LIBRARY DOES NOT ISSUE OFFICIAL BIRTH, MARRIAGE, OR DEATH RECORDS/CERTIFICATES.
Frequently Asked Questions – some common questions regarding Life Records
Life Records is a project of the Rochester Public Library. The database consists of birth, death, and marriage indexes from City of Rochester newspapers. This database is expected to grow over the next several years and to incorporate information from many different files and libraries in Monroe County. Currently, the following types of records are indexed:
- Paid death notices from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle and Times-Union for the years between 1960 and up to 2016. These are the notices written and placed in the newspaper by the family.
- Birth notices from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle and Times-Union for the years between 1977 and up to October 10, 2014.
- Marriage notices from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle and Times-Union for the years between 1965 and up to 2009.
If you would like to order a copy of the newspaper article for a particular name, you may have a scanned copy sent to you via e-mail, or a paper copy sent via standard mail. Please follow the directions on the order page, and allow up to seven days for your request to be processed. If you have questions about the database, please contact the project manager.
Please note that these newspaper indexes are not the same as Vital Records Indexes. New York State Vital Records indexes contain the names, places, dates and certificate numbers for births, marriages and deaths in New York State, beginning in 1880.
