Report of the joint special committee of the Legislature of Massachusetts appointed to consider the expediency of modifying the laws relating to the registration of births, marriages, and deaths : presented March 3, 1849.

  • Massachusetts. General Court.
Date:
1849
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the joint special committee of the Legislature of Massachusetts appointed to consider the expediency of modifying the laws relating to the registration of births, marriages, and deaths : presented March 3, 1849. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    D )•] HOUSE —No. 65. From iv. I. 10 years, 57 days. 9 years 161 days ' 2. . 9 <t 157 8 cc 227 ' 3. . 9 cc 69 9 C( 208 ' 4. 10 cc 92 '• 9 . cc 201 ' 5. . 9 a 108 8 C( 245 * 6. 9 cc 284 7 cc 358 ' 7. 8 it 346 8 cc 66 ' 8. 7 cc 250 •' 7 cc 12 37 From this statement it appears that the average duration of male life, from birth upwards, is, in the first division, 37 years, 2S0 days: and, in the 8th division, 26 years. 140 days only; showing a difference of 50 per cent. That is, the people in one section of the country live, on the average, 11 years, 140 days more than in the other; showing that human life may be thus far extended. Other interesting deductions may be made from these facts. Can any doubt the great value of such statements, if applied to the different sections of Massachusetts, and the dif- ferent conditions of the people, and made from the correct data which a proper registry system would furnish 1 The most perfect system of registration, on the Continent of Europe, exists in France; and was introduced into the Code Napoleon. It records marriages, as civil arrangements, and treats the registers of births and deaths as purely civil matters. The entry of a birth is founded on a declaration, which is re- quired by law to be made within three days after it has oc- curred, the infant itself being necessary to be produced and identified. The formalities and facts, necessary to this declara- tion, and the entry thereupon in the register—forming what, is called the Acte de Naissance—are as follows :—1. The year, day, and hour, when the declaration is received. 2. The name and quality of the public functionary receiving it. 3. The name, age, profession, and residence, of the party declaring the birth—generally the father, or a near relation, &c.3 accord- ing to circumstances. 4. The presentment of the child. 6, 7, 8. The day, even the hour, and the place of birth. 9. The names, profession, and abode, of the father and mother. 10. The name given to the child, (one name only is recommended.)