Understanding Birth and Death Records

Types of Birth Records.

* Original Documents. Birth records are usually created when a person is born. They're signed by the attending doctor, witnessed and then filed. However, sometimes things happen.

* Amended birth documents. When something changes, say a woman learns that the father of the child is a different person, then changes need to be made to the original document. In this case you'd find or look for an amended birth document.

* Delayed birth documents. Sometimes, for one reason or another, a birth certificate is not issued. In this case, a certificate can be issued after the original birth. This is called a delayed birth certificate.

It's important to know what type of documents are available when you're doing genealogy research. Sometimes the process is a matter of using the right wording when requesting documents and if you request an original birth certificate, when one doesn't exist, you wont receive any information.

What Information Will A Birth Certificate Provide?

While documentation varied depending on when the birth took place, people are a lot more careful with information today than they were several hundred years ago, most birth certificates contain:

* The name of the child
* The gender of the child
* The child's race
* The mother's name (sometimes the mother's maiden name is also included)
* The father's name
* Date, time and location of the birth.
Additionally, some birth certificates contain more in depth information including
* The mother's age, race, occupation and place of birth
* The father's age, race, occupation and place of birth
* The number of children in family
* The number this child is in family
Where To Find Birth Records

The best way to find birth records is to write to the community where the person was born. The records are filed permanently in a State vital statistics office or in a city, county, or other local office.

You can find guidelines for requests at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/guidelines.htm and a list of where to write for vital records at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w.htm. Fees and policies vary by location however all locations require the following information to obtain birth records:

1. Full name of person whose record is requested.
2. Sex.
3. Parents' names, including maiden name of mother.
4. Month, day, and year of birth or death.
5. Place of birth or death (city or town, county, and State; and name of hospital, if known).
6. Purpose for which copy is needed.
7. Relationship to person whose record is requested.
8. Daytime telephone number with area code.
You can also often find birth records in military information and can compare data you've found in other locations including city directories and census data.
Birth records can be one of the most useful pieces of information in your genealogy project however it takes patience and persistence to obtain these records.

An obituary.

An obituary always tells where, when, why and how a person died however it's also a source for other valuable family tree information. For example, an obituary will tell who the person was married to, the names of their children, the names of their siblings and other survivors, and birthdates and wedding dates.

An obituary might also include military service and occupations.

Cemeteries and funeral home records.

A cemetery can be a valuable source of information. Many times, family members are buried in the same cemetery and you can learn about a whole group of people you've yet to research. You'll also find information on the tombstones and plaques themselves. Date of birth and death, survivors, family members and sometimes even the cause of death or occupation are listed.

Military records.

Military records often include birth, marriage and enlistment information and if the person died in action, it'll also list cause of death. Documents will also often list the military branch and unit, and possibly information on rank and the years in which your ancestor served. Pension requests are potentially the most useful military records. the National Archives has pension applications and records of pension payments for veterans, their widows, and other heirs for service individuals between 1775 and 1916. This can be one of the most useful military records because the information often contains discharge papers, narratives, marriage certificates, and birth and death records.

Death Certificates

Death certificates can be quite comprehensive in the information they include. They can also be quite vague and a lot of your 'luck' depends on when and where the person died. A good death certificate will include
* Date of death
* Maiden name
* Gender
* Race
* Age
* Cause of death
* Residence
* Occupation
* Place of death
* Place of birth
* Name of mother
* Name of father
* Birthplace of mother
* Birthplace of father
* And where they're buried

That's an abundance of information and can be a real asset when trying to construct a family tree.

Death certificates and records can actually be one of the more useful tools when undergoing a genealogy project. They're often the foundation for a comprehensive family tree and can be used to verify information you already have on hand.