You may have noticed that I didn’t list death certificates as a resource for validating ancestor birthdates in Part I of this blog.
Because the birthdate is often provided by the informant, it is another field on early death certificates that can be incorrect, or that can just add more confusion to your research. On several searches, I have found one birthdate listed on the death certificate, another birthdate listed in the obituary and yet another birthdate listed on the headstone. And I don’t mean just the years were different; the month and date were also different. And yet it was the same person, and presumably the information was given by the same family members.
I found the correct birthdate for one of the above ancestors in the local church records. Interestingly enough, she turned out to be a twin, which explained so many things. Death records showed one twin’s birthday in April, and the other twin’s birthday in May of the same year. I’ve heard of twins born hours apart, but never weeks apart. (Granted that may be able to happen today, but not in the mid-1800s.) Church records showed the twins were born on the same day in April; birthdate validated.
Discover your roots and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com
For more information on my Family History Research services, visit TheMemoryQuilt.com and click on “Family History Research.”
Because the birthdate is often provided by the informant, it is another field on early death certificates that can be incorrect, or that can just add more confusion to your research. On several searches, I have found one birthdate listed on the death certificate, another birthdate listed in the obituary and yet another birthdate listed on the headstone. And I don’t mean just the years were different; the month and date were also different. And yet it was the same person, and presumably the information was given by the same family members.
I found the correct birthdate for one of the above ancestors in the local church records. Interestingly enough, she turned out to be a twin, which explained so many things. Death records showed one twin’s birthday in April, and the other twin’s birthday in May of the same year. I’ve heard of twins born hours apart, but never weeks apart. (Granted that may be able to happen today, but not in the mid-1800s.) Church records showed the twins were born on the same day in April; birthdate validated.
Discover your roots and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com
For more information on my Family History Research services, visit TheMemoryQuilt.com and click on “Family History Research.”
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