Just me - "she who roots around old papers"; with a little entry for today. Going through the papers for the Town of Penetanguishene (municipal letters) I come across many requests for birth certificates, and the files for 1927 bear no shortage of such. One is of interest in that it demonstrates how the obsession we have for exact dates is a fairly recent one, and why it is, at times, so difficult to pin down dates from not so long ago. Case in point - letter dated 5 January 1927 from Thiel's Mill, in North Collins, New York hoping to obtain a copy of a birth certificate for Mary E. MALONEY, daughter of James MALONEY and Jane JOHNSON born in the village (Penetanguishene) on November 4 - BETWEEN THE YEARS 1847 TO 1853. The letter goes on to ask "can you give us the correct year? She was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church in your village. The town clerk, Mr. W.H. Hewson, replied on January 10 that they have no municipal records for that early date, but that Father Brunelle, "went to considerable trouble to unearth the information" and though in his reply he doesn't list the year, he notes that the date of birth was 3rd of November not the 4th, and that the father was listed as John MALONEY instead of James. Fortunately for us, we now have the advantage of transcriptions and records, thanks to a network of dedicated volunteers and such, and we can quickly find that Mary Elisabethe MALONE was baptised on 11 November 1849 at age 8 days, daughter of John MALONEY and Jane JOHNSON; sponsors were Andre DUSAUME and Marguerite KELLEY. For your interest, siblings for Mary E. MALONEY included James MALONEY baptised 10 May 1843 at age 3 weeks, sponsors Thomas LANAGAN and Sara MAYNE; Meline Jane MALONEY baptised 2 April 1846 at age 10 months, sponsors John CUTTER and Jane LAQUERRE, Thomas MALONEY baptised 5 January 1853 at age 3 weeks with sponsors John STEPHENS and Mary LANAGAN; and Thomas Jean MALONEY baptised 16 December 1841 at age 2 weeks, sponsors G. GORDON and Susane JANSON. Transcription St. Ann's Church Penetanguishene, LDS Microfilm #1305885, 1305886 and 1305887 Thought you might find that query of long ago of interest. Deborah