>I would add another note of caution to what Barbara said below about > mother's former and maiden names on birth certificates. I have found a couple extreme cases in research in Pennsylvania. The husband of a family died in 1859. I have the tombstone, and the mother was single in the 1860 census, with several children sent out to relatives. Then she had a daughter in 1862. I checked the daughter's marriage license to see who kept company with her mother, but it listed the man dead three years as the father! Another case in the 1880's, we have an obituary and a tombstone to verify the date of death of the husband. The widow went on to have three more children, and the death certificates of all three list the dead man as their father. Brian Cartwright Johnstown, Pa USA