When requesting vital documents, be clear about what is being offered, what you actually want, and what you end up requesting.
The county clerk and recorder in the Illinois county where I was born have a copy of my birth certificate. It was created by some photographic process from the original certificate on file in the state vital records office in Springfield, Illinois. If I request a certification of birth from the county clerk, I will get a document certifying that they have a copy of my birth certificate. That document will state what the original says–including my name, date of birth, place of birth, and names of my parents. That certification of birth will not include a “reproduction” of the actual certificate.
Genealogists usually want an actual copy of the actual record–usually done by some sort of photographic reproduction. This cuts down on transcription errors by a records clerk reading an old record (not that MY birth certificate is all that old <grin>).
In my case the original has my mother’s signature on it–a neat addition that’s not on the “certification of birth.”
4 Responses
I have one of those “Certificates of Birth,” too. I was b. in Peoria, and until I wrote asking for my birth certificate, all I had was the hospital certificate, complete with my baby footprints, but not legal for getting a passport, for instance. Now I know I should be more specific next time I ask.
My paternal grandmother was b. Nov. 20, 1880 in Illinois – she has always said she was b. in Griggsville, Pike Co. My niece wrote to the officials there and they have no record for Ann* Lynde Hill.
The 1880 U.S. Census lists the family as being in another town and county, a few miles east of Griggsville. I had not heard of their having lived in this other place (Jacksonville, Morgan Co. Not too long after Ann*s birth (she used Anna, Anne, and Annie on various documents and censuses), the Hill family moved north to Galesburg, Knox Co., where they stayed until coming west to Tacoma in 1904.
Ann*s parents were Thomas Alexander Hill and Ellen White Lynde. Their firstborn, son Henry Clarke Hill, was b. in Hancock County (your neck of the woods). He was a member of Sons of the American Revolution, so once we prove that his sister was born (when, where and of the same mother) my niece and I, along with a whole lot of females from 3 generations, could qualify for DAR membership, through the Lynde line back to MA judge Benjamin Lynde, Nathaniel Lynde, and Simon Lynde.
What if there really was no birth certificate for Ann* Lynde Hill? Any stones we’ve left unturned? I have searched all the databases and indexes I can find.
Thanks!
I’ve requested my original birth certificate three different times, and each version was different. One was really complete, actually stating that I was born “on the hospital steps.” Was this because my parents couldn’t afford to pay, or was it because my mom waited until too late to get there? Just one more mystery…
Doris
Birth Records in Illinois started in 1877 and all records prior to 1916 were filed with the County Clerk where the Birth occured. It appears that your relative checked with Pike County and the record was not found. Has anyone else checked for a Genealogical record on their own or just taken the word of the niece? I have found many records over the years that others told me they tried to find and they did not exist and found the record. I would also suggest searching surrounding Counties near their home and also do a request on my own. It was common that Births in that era were at home rather than a hospital and it was not unusual that one traveled to their parents (mother), sister or inlaw home to have the birth and be cared for. Have you checked their residents to see if her birth was possibly in another County. I would also be checking the surrounding Counties. If her birth information is needed to obtain membership in the DAR you can also use other sources such as her Baptismal Record stating the Birth Date, her Marriage record, Family Bible record or other (support evidence from a family history book or from a newspaper). Good Luck in your search.
My mother was born at home in a small town in Arizona in 1922. Another baby girl was born in that town the same day as my mother. When the births were recorded, my mother’s record mistakenly said her name was the other babies name of Maggie Louise instead of her real name Sarah Lorraine. Mother never had it corrected until she was an adult and needed her correct birth certificate for something.
People who knew her family and were aware of her birth in 1922 had to sign statements acknowledging
that she indeed was born to Curtis and Laura Gale Moyers on Nov. 1, 1922 and was named Sarah Lorraine.
I don’t know if the real Maggie Louise had the reverse problem!
But mistakes were made, human error happens, and we are left to sort it out sometimes. So the moral is I guess, “Never give up!” Just keep searching. There are so many factors that can enter into these mysteries.