From 1852 until 1907, physicians or other persons attendant on a birth or the parents, if no one was attendant, were required to file a certificate of birth within 30 days with the county Register of Deeds. After July 1, 1897, the certificate was to be filed with the local health officer or the local clerk if there were no health officer who then forwarded the certificate to the Register of Deeds.
The Register of Deeds was required in turn to enter information from the certificate into a separate registry book. The Register was further required to submit a copy of the registry semiannually to the Secretary of State for safekeeping. In October 1907, the registration of births and other vital records was centralized in the State Bureau of Vital Statistics (now called the Bureau of Health Statistics). Registrations on file with the Secretary of State were transferred to that new office. These records are microfilm copies of those registry volumes.
A more detailed history of legislation relating to vital records, along with listings of local government holdings of such records as of 1941, may be found in the Wisconsin Historical Records Survey's Guide to Public Vital Statistics Records in Wisconsin (Madison, 1941).
