87 Million Vital Records: The Largest Free Genealogy Database Online

Genealogy is one of America's most popular hobbies — and one of its most expensive. Commercial platforms charge $200 or more per year for access to vital records that are, by law, public data. VitalRecordsIndex.com offers a free alternative: 87 million+ vital records across 12 searchable databases, covering death records, marriages, births, and historical events spanning more than 150 years.

87 Million Death Records

The death records database is the cornerstone of VitalRecordsIndex, containing 87.8 million records sourced primarily from the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) and supplemented with state-level vital statistics. Each record typically includes name, date of birth, date of death, last known residence, and Social Security number issue state.

For genealogists, death records are often the key that unlocks an entire branch of family history. They confirm dates, establish locations, and provide the starting point for backward research into marriage records, birth records, and immigration documents. Our database makes this research accessible without a subscription paywall.

The records span from the early 20th century through recent years, with the densest coverage from the 1960s onward. Users can search by name, date range, and location to find specific individuals or explore patterns across families and communities.

Texas Vital Records: Marriages and Divorces

Texas has some of the most comprehensive publicly available vital records in the country, and VitalRecordsIndex provides full searchable access:

• Texas Marriage Records — 9.2 million records from the Texas Department of State Health Services, covering marriages across the state dating back decades
• Texas Divorce Records — 4 million records providing a comprehensive index of divorces filed in Texas counties

These datasets are invaluable for genealogical research, legal proceedings, and historical analysis. Marriage records establish family connections and often provide maiden names, parents' names, and witnesses — all critical data points for building family trees. Divorce records, while less commonly used in genealogy, can fill gaps in family narratives and explain name changes or relocations.

New York City: A Century of Vital Records

New York City's vital records are among the most sought-after in American genealogy, reflecting the city's role as the primary gateway for immigration to the United States. VitalRecordsIndex provides access to three extraordinary NYC datasets:

• NYC Marriage Records 1866–1937 — 5 million records from the era of peak immigration, covering marriages across all five boroughs
• NYC Death Records 1862–1948 — 3.7 million records spanning the Civil War through the post-WWII era
• NYC Birth Records 1855–1909 — 2.6 million records capturing generations born in the city during its most transformative period
• NYC Marriages 1950–2017 — 1.9 million records from the modern era, bridging the gap to contemporary records

These NYC records are particularly significant for genealogists tracing immigrant ancestry. Millions of European immigrants who passed through Ellis Island married, had children, and died in New York City. Their records, now digitized and searchable, connect modern Americans to ancestors who arrived with nothing but hope and a name — sometimes spelled differently at every government encounter.

Names, History, and Cultural Heritage

Beyond vital records, the platform includes databases that support cultural and historical research:

• Surnames — 162,000 surname entries with origin, meaning, and frequency data from Census records
• Baby Names — 113,000 records from the Social Security Administration tracking name popularity across decades
• Historical Events — 82,000 event records providing historical context for genealogical timelines

The surname database is especially popular, allowing users to trace the geographic distribution and historical prevalence of their family name across the United States. Combined with the vital records, it paints a picture of how families moved, settled, and contributed to American life.

Why Free Access Matters

Vital records are public documents. They're created by government agencies, maintained with taxpayer funds, and exist to serve the public interest. Yet the genealogy industry has built a multi-billion-dollar business by digitizing these records and placing them behind paywalls.

VitalRecordsIndex.com takes a different approach. We believe that access to your own family history shouldn't depend on your ability to pay a monthly subscription fee. By indexing and organizing these records into a free, searchable platform, we're returning public data to the public.

Visit VitalRecordsIndex.com to begin your research — search death records, marriage indexes, birth records, and more across 87 million records at no cost.

VitalRecordsIndex is one of the genealogy platforms built by TheDataProject.AI — making vital records free, searchable, and accessible to everyone.