Birth registration numbers
I have the birth registration numbers for my ancestor born in Ontario, Canada 1869. However, it does not list the parents as it is an index for just the names of child. How do I use this registration number to get more information so I have the right parents with the right child?
Best Answers
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PaulHadland, one distinction may help with the number search: the birth registration number identifies the civil entry, while the Image Group Number (DGS) identifies a group of digital images. They are not interchangeable, so the registration number should not be entered in the DGS field. FamilySearch explains the catalogue terminology here: https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/what-are-call-numbers
For the Ontario collection Áine linked, the practical route is to locate the child by name and year, or use Browse All Images to reach the appropriate locality and register, then compare the registration number with the number on the original entry. If the index supplies a separate film or DGS reference, that reference can help locate the images. The collection is https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/1784212
A result for the same name alone does not establish the parents; the original entry still needs to match the year, locality and registration number from your index.
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@PaulHadland If you want more specific help, just share the details.
I certainly understand that you want to find the record for yourself, but we don't want you to be frustrated in your search.
Best of luck!0 -
Of course, @PaulHadland That's what we are here for. We love helping other people.
You said you had some Birth Registration Numbers. What other information do you have, please?
Profiles, in case someone else wants to jump in:
Thomas Andrew Powers: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/GHLV-LHN
Agnes Myrtle Brown: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/GHLL-Y1Q
Note that Agnes is listed as having remarried and that she has a death record attached from Minnesota, rather than from Louisiana.1 -
@PaulHadland
Agnes is listed as age 3 in the 1871 census. The 1869 year of birth may not be 100% accurate.The death certificate for Agnes is limited access. I'll pull a copy on my next visit to the FamilySearch Center to check for any details not indexed.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Z42K-9BMM?lang=en
Name: Agnes Mayer
Sex: Female
Age: 52
Birth Date: 1873
Birthplace: Orangeville, Toronto, Canada
Event Type: Death
Event Date: 31 Aug 1925
Event Place: Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, United States
Event Place (Original): Mpls, Hennepin, Minnesota
Certificate Number: 20975Household Role Sex Age Birthplace
James Brown Father M
Margaret Curry Mother F
Lawrence B Mayer Spouse
James Brown and Margaret Curry lived in Amaranth, Wellington County, Ontario, when they married. Martha Elizabeth was born in Mono Township. She was baptized in a Roman Catholic church, although the censuses indicate that the family was Presbyterian Methodist. Her baptism was much later and may indicate that she converted before her marriage.In other words, the baptism records for Agnes and her siblings may not be in the same church or in the same town.
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Answers
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Depending on the form used, the birth registration number may be stamped or written at the top of the record. This is one example.
Especially in the early years, form usage varied a bit by location.
Some records have been indexed so that they can be searched by name: https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/1784212 Canada, Ontario, Births, 1869-1912
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How do I search by number
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Do you not have the names? You can search by name.
If you know the location, you can browse through the images, which are in numerical order.
If you want to share the details, there are some very good researchers in this Community who will be happy to help.1 -
Explore the Canadian Births and Baptisms Collection on FamilySearch. This will tell you how to search the collection and what information you can find in the records. There is also a link to the Canada Record Finder that has a list of Provinces and Territories. Under Record types on this same sight (right hand side) you will find a link to Canada Vital Records.
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Here is another suggestion: use Simple Search. With Simple Search, you can enter your search criteria in the relevant field, such as Keywords, Name, Place, Year (Range or Image Group Number ( DGS). Try a simple request like: "I am looking for an original birth record listing parents names for (name of ancestor) that was born in Ontario Canada in 1869, with a birth registration number of _____________." I tried this once while looking for an original death certificate for one of my ancestors. I only had a certificate number, and through Simple Search I was able to bring up an image of his Death Certificate.
Here are instructions for finding Simple Search and how to use it.
To use Simple Search on FamilySearch, follow these steps:
- Sign in to FamilySearch.org.
- Navigate to the search section.
- Enter your search criteria in the relevant fields such as Keywords, Name, Place, Year (Range), or Image Group Number (DGS).
- Click the Search button to view results.
- You can refine your search using filters on the results page.
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Canada, Births and Baptisms, 1661-1959 https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/1520604
is primarily an index-only collection
Collection Details
Record Type: Vital
165,363 Records
15,881 Personas
1,648 Imageswith only 20 births in Ontario in 1869.
Canada, Ontario, Births, 1869-1912 https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/1784212
is an image-heavy collection, focused on Ontario.
Collection Details
Record Type: Vital
1,601,642 Records
4,763,309 Personas
411,526 Imageswith 10,189 1869 Ontario births.
For either simple or advanced full-text search to work, full-text search must be enabled on the DGS. Neither collection is fully full-text searchable.
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Thanks for all of your responses. I am in the midst taking your instructions and putting them to practice. The numbers I have are the record numbers as was pointed out. I will keep at it. Thanks again, thanks for leading the blind!
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Help. I am looking for the following birth/and or Baptismal record. They are my great grandparents. I cannot find any info on them apart from census under their parents name.
Thomas Andrew Powers
Birth: 01 May 1867 • Beckwith, Lanark, Ontario, CanadaDeath: 15 Nov 1900 • Grand Forks Township, Polk, Minnesota, United States Parents: James Powers and Margaret Gorman both of Ireland.
Agnes Myrtle Brown
Birth: 25 May 1869 • Amaranth Twp.Wellington Co.Ontario, CanadaDeath: Abt. 1925 • New Orleans, Orleans,Louisiana, USA Parents: James Brown (Ireland) and Margaret Curry (New York, USA).
Any help would be appreciated.
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Here is the baptism for a sister - possibly the eldest child of James Brown and Margaret Curry.
1863 for Martha Elizabeth Brown - 5th from the bottom.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYWX-NJK?lang=en&i=107&groupId=19275661 -
@PaulHadland The two birth years need different starting points. Thomas's stated birth on 1 May 1867 falls before the 1869 start of the Ontario birth collection already linked, so that collection is not a complete route to an entry for his birth year. I would start with church registers for Beckwith and treat a baptism date separately from a birth date.
Agnes's stated birth in 1869 does fall within the collection's date range. For her, the original entry needs to match Amaranth and the parents James Brown and Margaret Curry, as well as the name and year. Martha Elizabeth's 1863 baptism is a useful lead to the family's church, but it does not by itself establish Agnes's birth date or parents.
The collection's scope is described here: https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/17842120 -
I did find all the baptismal records for Thomas Powers' siblings in two RC churches. However, Thomas has no record of being baptized in either church. On Ancestry, he is listed as a half-sibling which asks the question on who is his father. RC will not baptize babies born outside the marriage, which is an interesting twist. Now that I have a definite date for Agnes' death, I can pursue that death certificate as well as Thomas'.
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The Roman Catholic Church definitely will baptize children born outside a legitimate marriage. I've seen many with notes from the priest that the father was unknown or comments about the conduct of the unmarried mother.
Where do you see the note that Thomas is a half-sibling? Depending on where you saw that, that's a quirk of Ancestry: if there is no mother listed in the TREE (not a record), Ancestry marks children as half-siblings.2 -
Thanks for the clarification, I was just speaking out loud as to why Thomas would not be in the record as his siblings are. Yes, Ancestry can get the half-sibling wrong. I am just at a loss as to why he is not listed in the baptismal record as it is clear that he comes from this family.
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@PaulHadland
I notice the index of Thomas Powers' naturalization is attached to your Ancestry tree. Have you ordered the full record from the NDSU Archives? Early naturalizations often don't have copious details, but you might get lucky. It's only US$5.00.Order Copies of N.D. Naturalization Records | NDSU Archives
https://library.ndsu.edu/ndsuarchives/order-copies-nd-naturalization-records2 -
@PaulHadland
I found a death notice for Agnes.
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-minneapolis-star-1925-mrs-l-v-mayer/207850813/2 -
I did order and received the naturalization papers for Agnes and Thomas from ND. Thanks for your amazing ability to find this information! I just ordered the death notices for Agnes and Thomas from the counties that they died in through MN. Now onto the elusive birth records. The baptismal record for Agnes' sister didn't shine much light on the search. Onto the Archives!
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I hope you mean you ordered the death CERTIFICATES (vital records) for Agnes and Thomas, not the death NOTICES (newspapers).
I said (see above on 6 October) that I would look up Agnes' death certificate on my next trip to the FSC, but if you have already bought it, I won't bother.1 -
Thanks, but I just ordered Death Certificates for both.
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I am at a dead end for birth records for Thomas Powers and Agnes Brown.
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@PaulHadland
Most of the baptisms you've attached are from St Francis de Sales in Smiths Falls. James Powers and Margaret Gorman married at St John the Baptist in Perth.
There is a baptism at St John the Baptist, for Andrew Power, that might be worth a look. His parents are listed as James Power and Margaret Power of Beckwith. Bottom of the right page:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTR7-SLD?lang=en&i=74&groupId=19275662 -
I have seen this document. It lists the child as Andrew Francis Powers. This is interesting as Andrew is Thomas' middle name and his brother James' middle name is Francis. Could this be legitimate? The parents are right and the date is about right from what I can determine. How common is it that the names are messed up like this?
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It is quite common, in my experience, for the name in the baptismal register to differ from the name used later in life. Also, when we find both a baptism record and a civil birth registration, often those are not a match.
Thomas Andrew is enumerated as Andrew in the 1871 census and as Andrew Thomas in the 1885 census.2


