Question - Birth Place
I have an ancestor who died in 1945. On his death certificate his birth place is listed as unknown. In the 1940 Census, the last census that he was in says he was born in Ohio, and other census records say he was born in Ohio and Indiana. His marriage certificate says he was born in Indiana. His obituary doesn’t list a birth place. What do I use as a birth place? Will probably have to check out his childrens’ death certificates.
Thanks,
Answers
-
@betsyemhuff1960, you just have to weight each piece of evidence taken separately and together and make a conditional reasonable conclusion if possible. Questions you would ask, who was the declarant/informant? How likely they would know the correct information. How close in time was the source to the actual event? You would note that Indiana and Ohio are adjoining states, making it possible that both locations could be only miles apart. I person could be born in a hospital in Indiana but the family lived on a farm in Ohio. Are you looking at Indexes or the source image? An index may list a birth town as Indiana when in reality the image shows it was a residence. You would of course look for additional sources, like maybe WWII military records, newspapers, etc.
You may also what to start a discussion on his person/detail page under the Collaborate Tab
You may want to post the PID with the attached sources so others may be able to help you evaluate the issue. This is the detective part of FamilySearch.
2 -
Thanks for the suggestions. Think I will go make copious notes for his birth place.
0 -
In England & Wales, unless the person had a very common name, this type of query would present little problem. Birth (marriage & death) registrations are recorded both on a local and national basis, so the birth would be quite easily found in an online index.
Perhaps someone with knowledge of Indiana and Ohio birth registrations will be able to advise you if there are similar, publicly available records / indexes so you could check for your ancestor's birth (in the appropriate period) in either of these states. From there, again I don't know how easy it would be to obtain a copy of his birth certificate. Surely one of the Community members has carried out similar research in this area and could offer more specific advice?
1 -
Thanks! Unfortunately I can’t find a birth certificate.
0 -
Unfortunately, @Paul W, many US states did not register births in earlier years. Even my parents, who were born in the 1920s, have no birth registration. My father was RC, so I have his infant baptismal record, with DOB, but my mother was Protestant and baptized as a "tween," and there is no known record. And, in any case, that later baptismal record would not usually include an exact DOB.
1 -
Thanks for that detail. I suspected obtaining birth certificates in certain states might not be so easy as here in England, but am grateful for enlightening me!
1 -
Some thoughts on accuracy of records. On the Censuses, who has the circled x next to their name? That would have been the person who gave the information. If it was his wife, she is more likely to be wrong that if it was your grandfather himself. The birth place on his marriage affidavit would have been given by him, so that would be more likely to be correct. Unless he was trying to obscure his birth location. Best of all might be WWI Draft registration where it asked for exact birth date and birth place.
0 -
"who has the circled x next to their name" only applies to the1940 census in the US. Earlier censuses did not capture that detail.
"WWI Draft registration where it asked for exact birth date and birth place." only applies to certain registrations. Not all segments captured that detail.
0 -
Woops! That should have been WWII Draft registration. Although with a death in 1945, he may not have had one. And I have see that marking on other censuses. It may not have been a standard, though.
0 -
@Áine Ní Donnghaile The person that reported hls birth place in 1940 was a daughter who he was living with. I think I am going to go with what is on his marriage certificate since he would have given that information himself.
I can’t find any World War Draft records for him.
0 -
Not sure why you are tagging me, Betsy.
0 -
@Áine Ní Donnghaile Because you have gave me some ideas on here.
0 -
@Áine Ní Donnghaile Ooppss!! I am losing it! Sorry!
0 -
No, on the circled X.
0
