Posting images of records to genealogy groups online can be a good way to get advice on what a difficult-to-read word actually says. The one problem with that sometimes one really needs the advice of someone familiar with the area.
They don’t have to live there. They do not have to ever have lived there. But they need to be familiar with the local area, the names, the geography, and the families.
The father on this 1940-era birth certificate has a place of birth that is difficult to read. The village to which he refers (using the word “village” loosely) barely existed in 1940. There’s nothing there today. The family’s residence when this birth certificate was completed was about eight miles from where the father was born. Someone familiar with the area would be more likely to know what the reference was to: Breckenridge.
Not that someone with no local knowledge can’t know. They can. But your chances of getting the right answer increase significantly when someone familiar with an area makes the attempt to read the name.
3 Responses
This was pretty vague– whom do you contact for this type of question.
Is it necessary to hire someone and pay Hundreds of dollars to get the answer to this question or are you saying for this type of question, just post just what you did? And where might you post it? You have the ability to post it on your site. I wouldn’t know where to post it?
I have lots of questions about relatives in NY state. Some of them are like this in that for someone local they might be very obvious. Others are questions about relationships that don’t make a lot of sense. This one concerns a large early colonial family with lots of records, but very few about my 3rd great grandfather. It looks like he was born to his father when dad was 16. But dad didn’t marry mother until later and all of their children are listed–but my GGGGrandfather. 3rd great grandfather does list this father and mother as these parents. 3rd great grandfather was born in 1788. I was wondering about hiring someone in the NY Gen. Society. They might have more access and knowledge than I do about figuring this mess out.
In terms of what records are available, a good place to start is local libraries, genealogical/historical societies, and other local organizations with a historical interest. If they do not have the answer, they may know of others who could provide suggestions. There are genealogy groups on Facebook concentrating on state, counties, and other geographic areas that may have members/followers who could be able to provide some insight or offer suggestions. While there is admittedly a lot of nonsense on Facebook, there are genealogy groups there that are fairly good. There are other social media interfaces that have active genealogy communities as well.
You might even wish to join the New York Genealogy and Biographical Society. They have old quarterlies and other information behind their membership pay wall. It could be that someone has already written up part of the family–if you are lucky. There are also county historians in (I think) most New York counties that may be useful resources, although those can be somewhat hit and miss (from what I am told).
Thanks for writing.
I have had some good luck with genealogy Facebook groups specifically for certain states or areas. As a genealogy librarian, I’m often looking for info for patrons with ancestors in other states. While we can’t use Facebook at work, I don’t mind looking for info at home if I think someone will have the answer. On the other hand, I have had patrons from out of town contact me for local information. One situation I remember was when a patron sent me a copy of an SS 5. He couldn’t read the street name and hoped I could figure it out. It started with “San___”. There is a San Juan St. and a few others, but none of them seemed to fit. I found the street was “Sandusky” via the city directory. For some reason there was a space between “San” and “dusky”, which threw us off. The patron would not have had access to the city directory if he had not contacted the library.