{"id":19077,"date":"2017-01-26T11:29:56","date_gmt":"2017-01-26T16:29:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=19077"},"modified":"2021-04-21T15:29:49","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T19:29:49","slug":"genealogy-101-9-birth-certificate-alternatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/genealogy-101-9-birth-certificate-alternatives.html","title":{"rendered":"Genealogy 101: #9 Birth Certificate Alternatives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article \u2013 part of an ongoing \u201cIntroduction to Genealogy\u201d series \u2013 Gena Philibert-Ortega discusses alternatives to one of the most important documents for genealogy: a birth certificate. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201c<\/em>From the Family Kitchen.<\/em><\/span>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Things don\u2019t always go as planned with your genealogy research. Sure, it seems like a given to use a birth certificate to prove an ancestor\u2019s birth \u2013 but what if there is no available birth certificate for that time and place? What if the birth was simply not registered? Total compliance with birth registration by physicians and midwives didn\u2019t happen automatically once it was made into law, and it took some time before nearly everyone\u2019s birth was recorded.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Salt Lake Telegram (Salt Lake City, Utah), 6 April 1916, page 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No Birth Certificate? Now What Do You Do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, genealogy doesn\u2019t always go as planned \u2013 so it\u2019s good to know your sources and try to branch out to seek other documents that might be of use. When proving a birth without a birth certificate, you want to think about what resources exist for the time and place where your ancestor lived.<\/p>\n

What sources report a birth or age? In some cases, those sources were not created until years after your ancestor\u2019s birth \u2013 which means they won\u2019t be as credible as a birth certificate, but may be your only option. If this is true of the source\/s you are looking at, make sure to analyze what you find with a critical eye.<\/p>\n

Death Certificate<\/strong><\/p>\n

OK, there\u2019s no birth certificate to be found \u2013 so you might instantly think: what about the death certificate? After all, a death certificate provides a birth date, right? Yes, it typically does, but it\u2019s not the best source for proving a birth date. Why?<\/p>\n

A death certificate has information from multiple informants. For example, a physician might be the informant for the medical information including cause of death. Another informant might be a family member, friend, or even just information found in a medical file. The information provided may include personal information like name, home address, parents\u2019 names, birth date, and occupation.<\/p>\n

The problem is, unless the person\u2019s mother is the informant, there\u2019s no guarantee that the information about the birth is correct because the informant was likely not an eyewitness to the birth. Similarly, the federal census provides an age, and in the case of the 1900 U.S. census there is even a birth month and year. However, the informant is not identified, so we need to treat it as merely a clue that may not be correct. So, while a death certificate and census records provide dates, you should still follow up with additional searches for more information.<\/p>\n

Where Else Do I Look?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It really depends. Once again, ask yourself: what sources are available that provide a birth date during my ancestor\u2019s time period and place? Also, ask yourself questions like: what activities were the person involved in that might have recorded a birth date or age? Some suggestions include:<\/p>\n