According to an item in The Weekly Genealogist, Vol. 14, No. 10, Whole #521, every five years the custody of Massachusetts vital records over 90 years old is conveyed from the Massachusetts Department of Health to the Massachusetts Archives. Vital records dating from 1916 to 1920 are now in the process of shifting to the Archives. Note that the records are temporarily closed while they are transferred and inventoried.
I am delighted that the MASSACHUSETTS VITAL RECORDS 1916-1920 will be in the archives. Will they be available online? As I live in Australia – but had a number of relatives living in Massachusetts.
Yours sincerely,
Naomi Bloch
Select volumes for Boston birth, marriage and death records are available to view at the Massachusetts Archives, though the selection is limited to microfilm. I spoke to staff members and they have been in touch with Family Search. The goal is to scan the records and each index to be posted on Family Search. To the best of my knowledge, as of June 2, 2011, this process has not been started.
Any word on this yet? Do we know if they’ve at least started the process… and/or how long that process usually takes?
Thanks! -Mariana