This was returned once as UNKNOWN recipient??? There is ARNEWTON-L@rootsweb.com Have received several E-mails from this web site. Problem????? --------------------- Ever wonder where to look for evidence of a person's birth, age or birthplace? Bill Dollarhide of HeritageQuest supplied a list of 80 places to look for evidence of a person's birth, age, or birthplace: - Application for employment. Private company record, but may still be=20 on file and available. - Application for Social Security Account. A form SS-5 was filled in by=20 the person himself, a primary source for a date and place of birth,=20 generally, applies to any person with a job from 1936 forward. - Baby dedication records. Protestant church denominations with adult=20 baptisms (Baptists, Assemblies of God, etc.) also perform a ceremony of=20 dedication for infants, and keep written records (and often photographs)=20 at the local church. - Baby pictures. Held by family and friends, may give a note about the=20 date of birth. - Baptismal records. Churches maintain baptismal records which confirm=20 that a person was accepted into the Christian faith. Vitals about the=20 person are recorded. - Biography. The old county histories are full of individual=20 biographies. Most of the counties of the U.S. have had at least one=20 county history written. Plus, there are "Who's Who" biographies, and=20 numerous biographical dictionaries. - Birth Announcement (card/letter). Sent out by the proud new parents to=20 friends and relatives. - Birth Announcement (newspaper). Announcements feature births, not=20 always giving the name of the child, but always the names of the=20 parents, e.g., "born Tuesday to Mr. and Mrs. John C. Smith, a girl." - Birth Certificate. The one thing you can count on is the date and=20 place of birth of the person. Filed first in a county or town, then a=20 state copy filed. - Burial permit. Deceased persons transported across state lines usually=20 require a burial permit. Filed at a county or state health department,=20 data about the deceased, including a date and place of birth may be=20 included. - Business license application. Found at a city or county office. Modern=20 records have great genealogical information. Earlier ones may only give=20 name and residence. - Christening record. Many churches maintain christening records, which=20 in most cases are naming ceremonies. Typically, a child's date of birth,=20 name of parents, and names of godparents are included in the written=20 record. - Church membership record. Churches maintain lists of members. Some=20 churches even publish photo albums showing all members for a year, and=20 many of these lists include vital information. - Church confirmation record. A common record found at many protestant=20 churches (Lutheran, Episcopal, etc.) and all Catholic churches. - Church burial record. May still exist for very early burials in church=20 cemeteries. Coroner/Medical Examiner's record. If a person died under=20 accidental or suspicious conditions; or if an autopsy were performed; or=20 in most cases for any person who died outside of a hospital there will=20 be coroner's report which includes vital statistics about the deceased.=20 Recorded at the county level. - Cremation record. In cases where there was no funeral or memorial,=20 there may still be record of a cremation with a funeral director or=20 cemetery, and birth information may be found there. - Correspondence. Written correspondence found in family records may=20 reveal a reference to a birth of a person. - Cemetery Sexton's office record. A cemetery office may have more than=20 just a list of burials, they may have vital and biographical information=20 for each interment. - Census schedule. Federal censuses, 1790-1840, show age brackets;=20 1850-1920 censuses give an age. 1900 and 1910 censuses give both age and=20 month and year of birth. Plus, don't forget state or territorial=20 censuses. - Census index. Recent census indexes, particularly those produced by=20 Heritage Quest, give an age and place of birth for each person listed. - Census Soundex index. 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses have soundex=20 indexes, which includes the name, age, and nativity for every member of=20 a family. - Census Mortality schedule. 1850-1880 censuses have mortality=20 schedules. Name of person plus age at time of death is shown. - Company employment record. Private records, but if person is deceased,=20 they may be open to inquiries. - City Directory. Many include names of heads of households, spouse,=20 children, and their ages. Best collections found in the public library=20 nearest to the subject's residence. - Death Certificate. The birth and birthplace may be correct, but since=20 it was not filled in by the person who died, it is subject to error.=20 Filed first in a county or town, then a state copy filed. - Doctor's birth record. Country doctors usually kept their own set of=20 birth records. - Doctor's patient record. Records of patients served by family=20 physicians are good sources to the basic vital statistics for a person.=20 Successful inquiries from relatives may be possible. - Draft registration record. 1917-1919 records are now on microfilm at=20 FHL, representing some 10 million males between the age of 18 and 35=20 years. Vital statistics included. - Driver's license. May be in family papers. State licensing bureau may=20 have an old record as well. - Driving history record. From a state's Motor Vehicle Department.=20 Available to anyone in some states, restricted in others. - Deed record. Public record, kept at a county courthouse. Deeds may=20 mention a person's age. - Estate settlement record. Part of the probate papers, and may give=20 names and ages of heirs of the deceased, as well as the deceased. - Family Bible. Traditionally, an official document accepted for such=20 things as pension applications, proof of age, etc., before the era of=20 birth certificates. A family Bible is still a place where vital=20 information is recorded. - Family needlepoint. Family trees with names, dates, places, etc., were=20 popular motifs for needlepoint works during the 19th century, and they=20 became family heirlooms. - Family paper. Any written document maintained in a home with names,=20 dates, places, is a genealogical source. - Funeral home record. Modern funeral records may include fact sheets,=20 obituaries, and printed eulogies, all with genealogical information=20 about the deceased, including birth information. - Fraternal/club record. Most fraternal organizations have records they=20 will let researchers see, particularly for early time periods. - History book. A person mentioned may include biographical information. - Hospital patient record. The face sheet of every patient's file in a=20 hospital is where the vital statistics on the patient are recorded.=20 However, only authorized persons can read these files. - Homestead record. After five years, a homestead claimant must prove=20 his claim, and these papers are full of genealogical information,=20 including names and ages of all children in a family. Homesteads are=20 part of the Land Entry Files located at the National Archives. - Immigration record. "First papers" filed at any court level in U.S.,=20 municipal, county, state, or federal courts. Index to names and papers=20 are public records. - Insurance Company record. Although private, an insurance company may=20 have vital information for a deceased person in their files. - Insurance ID Card. May be found in family papers. - Lineage Society Application. DAR and other groups have great=20 collections of applications, which give much genealogical information. - Mortgage record. Recorded in a courthouse with deed records. May give=20 a person's residence, age, and even name of spouse. - Marriage application or license. These documents may have something=20 like, "John Smith, 22, a native of Iowa." Filed first in a town, city,=20 or county. Statewide registration in most states did not begin until=20 after 1950. - Military personnel record. For deceased veterans, these are public=20 records, maintained at the National Personnel Records Center in St.=20 Louis, MO. - Military medical record. For deceased veterans, these are public=20 records. - Military burial record. Veterans buried in national cemeteries are all=20 named in a single database, along with their date and place of birth. - Newspaper article, such as "Boy, 9, hit by car...," or any article in=20 a newspaper in which names of people are indicated, an age is usually=20 given for the subject. - Newspaper gossip column, particularly for weekly newspapers, where=20 various communities in an area may have a correspondent who submits a=20 weekly column about the goings on in that community. References to=20 births in these columns are common. - Naturalization record. Very complete from 1905 forward. Earlier=20 records, such as First Papers, can usually be found at the county level. - Non-population census schedule. Social Statistics, Mortality,=20 Agriculture, Slave Schedules, and Manufactures all of which name people=20 and their ages. - Nursing Home record. The vitals about a past or present resident of a=20 nursing home are recorded, and most are more easily accessible than=20 doctor or hospital records. - Obituary. Found in local newspapers. Even the most abbreviated ones=20 include at least an age at the time of death. - Probate record. Papers almost always have some indication of a=20 deceased person's date of death, and age. Recorded at a county=20 courthouse. - Professional license application. Found at state level. May mention=20 schools attended, vitals, and more. - Passport. Available at National Archives. Applications are full of=20 genealogical evidence. - Pension record. Private company records, but if person is deceased,=20 they may be open to inquiries. - Permit to transport a body out of state. Filed at the state level=20 health department and may include vital information about the deceased,=20 including date and place of birth. - Petition for land grant. Date of application is a clue to the person's=20 age, but some will give age and residence of the petitioner. Filed at=20 state land office, state land states. - Query in genealogy periodical. Usually identifies a person with basic=20 vitals, but submitter of the query needs to be contacted. - Resum=E9. May still exist in company records, or found in personal=20 papers. - School attendance record. May still be available at a school office.=20 Worth checking on for records over 50 years old. Age can be deduced from=20 year of attendance and grade level at school. - School annual. Confirmation of year(s) of attendance at a particular=20 school, and age can be derived. Complete collection of school annuals=20 can be found at a school's library. - School credentials record. Graduation, honors, degrees, etc. are all=20 available to employers checking on a past student's school record. - Ship passenger list. 19th and early 20th century manifests were taken=20 like a census of passengers on board a ship, with complete families=20 listed along with ages and nativity. - Social Security Master Death Index. Includes birth dates and birth=20 places for persons who died from about 1962 forward. - Social Security Work History Record. Special report available from=20 SSA, gives name and basic vitals for a person along with a record of=20 places worked, earnings, etc. - Stone mason inscription record. As a backup to a missing cemetery=20 record, the local stone mason who carved the inscription on the=20 tombstone may still have a record of what the inscription was to say,=20 who ordered the stone, and a reference to the birth and death of the=20 person interred. - Tombstone inscription. At least, the year of birth and death is given=20 on a tombstone. - Title insurance record. If for an old land/property purchase, a record=20 may still be seen. - Union card. May be in family papers. Union office may have a record as=20 well. - Union dues record. Union office record, may be accessible to a=20 relative. - Vital Statistics Indexes. State and county offices maintain indexes to=20 birth records. Several states have published their birth/death indexes,=20 and a few have them on the Internet. - Voter registration. Public records kept at a county courthouse. - Who's Who. Biographies for thousands of people. end of list Did he mention Goodspeeds Histories? RKinfolks@aol.com