In a message dated 98-10-19 21:31:52 EDT, raquelsteen@inficad.com wrote: > I have a question . Does anyone have a way to look up the birth records > of Ellsworth Elden Steen... If you can give some idea of location and time period of the desired births, then we might be able to advise on how best to go about getting birth records or birth dates. Keep in mind that birth registration is, for the most part, a late 19th century and 20th century procedure. In a few states and foreign countries they exist from the mid-19th century and some New England towns kept birth registers as early as the 17th century. Some churchs kept infant christening records which often included the child's birthdate in the record and some of these survive from the 15th century. In the US, there is no nationwide standard for birth registration -- each state sets its own procedures and requirements. Some states started requiring birth registration earlier than others. Sometimes there are county, town or city records that pre-date the state records. Records of recent origin (past 70-100 years, depending on the state or country) are considered private by law and public access to the records is limited. Dawna