MARRIED in the parish of Scrill, Ireland, at the age of 22, to Honora M' Carty, by whom he had

ISSUE, (1) Timothy, 31, (2) William, 30, (3) Mary, 29, (4) John, dec. at 27, in 1846, (5) Catherine, dec. at 1, in 1820, (6) Stephen, 21. INFORMANT, Honora Canty, her mark, widow.

WITNESS, Mary Canty, daughter.

REGISTERED on March 3d, 1847, by T. W. Gagen, Registrar.

XXX. LAWS OF MASSACHUSETTS IN RELATION TO THE REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS.

SECT. 46.

The town clerk shall keep a record of the births and persons within his town, and coming to his knowledge; specify in such record the day of each birth and death, and the names of the parents of such persons, if known.

- deaths of all and he shall

SECT. 47. Parents shall give notice to the clerk of their town of all the births and deaths of their children; and every householder shall give the like notice of every birth and death happening in his house; and the eldest person next of kin shall give such notice of the death of his kindred; and the keeper of any almshouse, workhouse, house of correction, prison or hospital, and the master or other commanding officer of any ship, shall give the like notice of every birth and death, happening among the persons under his charge; and every person neglecting to give such notice for the space of six months after the birth or death shall have happened, shall forfeit to the use of the town a sum not exceeding five dollars.-[Revised Statutes, page 182.]

SECT. 17. Every justice and minister shall keep a record of all marriages solemnized before him, and in the month of April, annually, shall make a return, to the clerk of the town in which he resides, of a certificate, containing the Christian and surnames, and places of residence, of all the persons who have been by him joined in marriage within the year then last past, and also the time when, and the name of the town in which, such marriages were respectively solemnized; and when neither of the married persons belongs to, or is resident in, the town in which the justice or minister resides, then such justice or minister shall, within thirty days after such marriage, also return a like certificate of the town in which one or both of the married persons may reside; and all marriages, so certified to the clerk, shall be forthwith recorded by him in a book to be kept for that purpose.

SECT. 18. Every justice of the peace and minister, who shall neglect to make such returns, shall, upon conviction thereof, forfeit for each neglect a sum not less than twenty nor more than one hundred dollars; one moiety thereof to the use of the county in which he resides, and the other moiety to the use of the person who shall prosecute therefor.-[Ibid, page 477.]

An Act relating to the Registry and Returns of Births, Marriages, and Deaths. Passed March 16, 1844.

SECT. 1. The clerks of the several cities and towns in this Commonwealth shall, annually, in the month of June, transmit to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, a certified copy of their records of births, mar

riages, and deaths, which have occurred within their respective cities and towns during the year next preceding the first day of said month. The births shall be numbered and recorded in the order in which they are received by the clerk. The record of births shall state in separate columns the date of the birth, the place of birth, the name of the child, (if it have any,) the sex of the child, name and surname of one or both of the parents, occupation of the father, residence of the parents, and the time when the record was made.

The marriages shall be numbered and recorded in the order in which they are received by the clerk. The record of marriages shall state, in separate columns, the date of the marriage, the place of the marriage, the name, residence and official station of the person by whom married, the names and surnames of the parties, the residence of each, the age of each, the condition of each, (whether single or widowed,) the occupation, names of the parents, and the time when the record was made.

The deaths shall be numbered and recorded in the order in which they are received by the clerk. The record of deaths shall state in separate columns, the date of the death, the name and surname of the deceased, the sex, condition, (whether single or married,) age, occupation, place of death, place of birth, names of the parents, disease or cause of death, and the time when the record was made.

SECT. 2. The school committee of each city or town shall, annually, in the month of May, ascertain, from actual inquiry or otherwise, all the births which have happened within such city or town during the year next preceding the first day of said May, together with the facts concerning births required by the first section of this act, and shall make an accurate return thereof to the clerk of such city or town, on or before the last day of said May; and the said school committee, or other person authorized by them to make such returns, shall be entitled to receive from the treasury of such city or town, five cents for each and every birth so returned.

SECT. 3. Every justice, minister, and clerk, or keeper of the records of the meeting wherein any marriages among the Friends or Quakers shall be solemnized, shall make a record of each marriage solemnized before him, together with all the facts relating to marriages required by the first section of this act; and each such justice, minister, clerk, or keeper, shall, between the first and tenth days of each month, return a copy of the record for the month next preceding, to the clerk of the city or town in which the marriage was solemnized; and every person, as aforesaid, who shall neglect to make the returns required by this section, shall be liable to the penalty provided in the eighteenth section of the seventy-fifth chapter of the Revised Statutes.

SECT. 4. Each sexton or other person, having the charge of any burial-ground in this Commonwealth, shall, on or before the tenth day of each month, make returns of all the facts required by the first section of this act, connected with the death of any person whose burial he may have superintended during the month next preceding, to the clerk of the city or town in which such deceased person resided at the time of his death. And such sexton, or other person, shall be entitled to receive, from the treasury of the city or town to which the return is

made, five cents for the return of each death made agreeably to the provisions of this act.

SECT. 5. The clerk of each city or town shall be entitled to receive from the treasury of such city or town, eight cents for the record of each birth and death: provided such clerk shall comply with this act in all respects.

SECT. 6. It shall be the duty of the clerks of the several cities and towns, to make such distribution of blank forms of returns as shall be designated by the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

SECT. 7. The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall prepare and furnish to the clerks of the several cities and towns in this Commonwealth, blank books of suitable quality and size, to be used as books of record, according to the provisions of this act, and also blank forms of returns, as hereinbefore specified, and shall accompany the same with such instructions and explanations as may be necessary and useful; and he shall receive said returns, and prepare therefrom such tabular results as will render them of practical utility; and shall make report thereof annually to the Legislature, and generally shall do whatever may be required to carry into effect the provisions of this act.

SECT. 8. Any clerk who shall neglect to comply with the requirements of this act, shall be liable to a penalty of ten dollars, to be recovered for the use of any city or town where such neglect shall be proved to have existed.

SECT. 9. An act entitled "an act relating to the registry of births, marriages, and deaths," passed on the third day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, is hereby repealed.

SECT. 10. This act shall take effect from and after its passage. An Act relating to the Registration of Births, Marriages, and Deaths. Passed May 2, 1849.

SECT. 1. Town and city clerks are hereby authorized and required to obtain, record, and index, the information concerning births, marri ages, and deaths, now required by law. Towns and cities, containing more than ten thousand inhabitants, may choose a person, other than the town or city clerk, to be town or city registrar, to perform this duty instead of the town or city clerk; and said registrar shall take an oath faithfully to perform the duties of the office.

SECT. 2. The fees of the clerk and registrar, for obtaining, recording, and indexing the information required by this act, shall be as follaws:-For each birth, twenty cents; for each intention of marriage, including the certificate to the parties, fifty cents; for each marriage solemnized, ten cents; for each death, five cents; and the undertaker shall be allowed ten cents for information concerning each death which he returns to the clerk or registrar; said fees for births, deaths, and marriages solemnized, shall be paid by the town; and, for intentions of marriage, by the parties having such intentions: provided, however, that the aggregate compensation, allowed to any clerk or registrar, may be limited by any town or city containing over ten thousand inhabitants, but in no case so as to prevent the full execution of this act.

SECT. 3. Any undertaker, or other person, having the superintend ence of the burial of any deceased person, who shall neglect or refuse to obtain and return the information required by this act, concerning each person deceased, whose burial shall come under his superintend

ence, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty dollars for each neglect, and, if an undertaker, to be deprived of his office. And every clerk or registrar, who wilfully neglects or refuses to perform the duties herein prescribed, shall be liable to a penalty of not less than twenty, nor more than one hundred dollars, for each neglect or refusal. All penalties and forfeitures under this act, may be recovered by any person who shall sue for the same, one half thereof to the use of said complainant, and the other half to the use of the town or city in which the forfeiture shall have been incurred.

SECT. 4. The returns required to be made on the first day of February, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty, shall include the births, deaths, and marriages, from the first day of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, to said day of return. SECT. 5. Copies of records, in the several towns and cities, of the births, marriages, and deaths, which occurred during the next preceding year, ending December thirty-first, shall be returned to the Secretary of State, annually, on or before the first day of February. The blank forms of said returns shall be printed on paper of uniform size; and those for each year, when filled out and returned to the office of the Secretary of State, shall be bound together in one or more volumes, and shall be furnished with an index. Blank books, for indexes to the town registrars, shall be prepared by the Secretary of State, and furnished to the several towns and cities, at the expense of the Commonwealth.

SECT. 6. All parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

XXXI. SUGGESTIONS FOR FORMING SANITARY LIBRARIES.

The Commission have recommended (pp. 123, 309, 311,) that small appropriations be made annually for the purchase of publications for forming sanitary libraries for the General and Local Boards of Health. A judicious selection of such works would be of great value, and the expenditure an economical one. It is hardly necessary to remark, that by bringing together the recorded experience of different associations and individuals, and the facts they gather, so as to be accessible to Boards of Health, they will be able to discharge their duties more intelligently. To aid those who desire to form such libraries, we have subjoined the titles of a few works which we have examined and found valuable. They comprise a small part only of those to which the Commission have had access; and they possess a greater or less degree of merit. Some which are quite useful contain principles and statements with which we do not entirely agree. The catalogue might be greatly extended and made to include many other works perhaps equally valuable. New publications on the subject are also constantly issuing from the press.

1. American Publications.

Annual Reports, and other Documents of the Secretary of State of Massachusetts, relating to the Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths; the Legislative Documents; and the Local Reports and Statements of cities and towns, relating to the same subject.

The Laws relating to Public Health and Sanitary Police of the several States; the Ordinances, Rules and Regulations of Cities and Towns in the states; and the Practical Forms used in carrying them into execution.

Reports, Documents, Bills of Mortality, &c., of different Cities, Boards of Health, Health Committees, and others. If the plan recommended should be adopted, these works may generally be obtained in exchange with local boards, (p. 126.)

Reports and Documents relating to Asylums, Institutions and Hospitals for the Blind, the Deaf and Dumb, the Insane and the Idiotic; to Almshouses and Pauperism; to Crime, Houses of Refuge, Prisons and Penitentiaries, Prison Discipline, and Prison Associations.

"The Transactions of the American Medical Association," Philadelphia, Vol. I, 1848; II, 1849, pp. 956; III, 1850, pp. 499. To be continued. $2 per volume.

"Medical Communications of the Massachusetts Medical Society;" First series, Boston, 1790-1829, 4 vols. 8vo. Second series, 1830,

to

8vo. Vol. IV is in course of publication. "Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of New York,” Vol. I to VIII, 8vo., 1832-1849. Since 1849, these transactions have been published as part of the documents of the state.

"Statistical Report of the Sickness and Mortality in the Army of the United States." By Thomas Lawson, M. D., Surgeon General, Washington, 1840, 8vo., pp. 346.

"The Climate of the United States, and its Endemic Influences." By Samuel Forry, M. D. New York, 1842, 8vo, pp. 379.

"A Brief History of Epidemic and Pestilential Diseases, with the principal Phenomena of the physical World which precede and accompany them, and Observations from the Facts stated. By Noah Webster. Hartford, 1799. 2 vols. 8vo., pp. 348, 352.

"Sketches of Epidemic Diseases in the State of Vermont, from its first settlement to the year 1815, with a Consideration of their Causes, Phenomena and Treatment. To which is added Remarks on Pulmonary Consumption." By Joseph A. Gallup, M. D. Boston, 1815, 8vo, pp. 419.

The Censuses of the United States, at different periods; Shattuck's Census and Statistics of Boston, for 1850; the Census of Charleston, S. C., 1848; and the censuses of other cities. Works on a census referred to, page 128.

Chickering "On the Population of Massachusetts;" and on "Immigration into the United States."

"Progress of the United States in Population and Wealth in fifty years, as exhibited by the Decennial Census." By George Tucker. New York, 1843, pp. 211.

"Practical Physiology for the use of Schools and Families." By Edward Jarvis, M. D. Boston, 1849, 12mo, pp. 396, 75 cts.

66

Physician and Patient, or a Practical View of the Mutual Duties, Relations and Interests of the Medical Profession, and the Community." By Worthington Hooker, M. D., of Norwich, Ct. New York, 1849. 12mo, pp. 453, $1 25.

"Human Health, or the influence of Atmosphere and Locality, change of air and climate, seasons, food, clothing, bathing, exercise,