On 27 Apr 97, Thomas Danicki penned the following: > Hello > > I've just had my first experience trying to learn more about distant > relatives by requesting their birth certificates from the Commonwealth > of Pennsylvania's Dept. of Health. My efforts were unsuccessful (and > frustrating!) because I did not (and still do not) know their precise > dates of birth. After this disappointing experience, it makes me wonder > if there is really any point in trying the birth certificate route? If Have you ever actually looked at the hardcopy of birth certificates? If you did, you'd understand why they need the date of birth. I lived in a large city and a trip to the county office that housed the birth records was always an adventure. You'd be let into a room with bookcases filled with huge volumes. These books were roughly 18" x 24" if not larger. These were the indexices. When "baby Jones" is born on May 10, 1920, the information is recorded in a volume under May and within that month under the appropriate initial (ie. "J"). Those names are not alphebetized other than that all of them are listed under the same initial. They are listed in chronological order of receipt, not even by birthdate. So when you ask a clerk to look up an individual, you are asking for a monumental undertaking if you don't know the date of birth. Some cities probably have this information computerized now, but I'll bet not many of them. I liked going through those books because you often found things you'd never discover otherwise. Mistakes in spelling being the most common. Once you found the person you were looking for, the next adventure was to be led into a huge room that stored the actual birth certificates. By accident, while browsing through a volume for one of my relatives, I discovered Paul Newman's birth certificate was in close proximity. About the closest I've been to a real celebrity. :) Now, to answer your original question. Yes, birth certificates can be useful. Aside from the obvious information to be found, they also tell you how many children the mother has given birth to. A good way to discover if there are any further lines to research. I discovered that my Grandmother had given birth to 10 children but had only known of the 7 that were living. By narrowing down what years those extra children were born, I was able to discover their names and later their death certificates. The other thing I found useful about birth certificates is the addresses. By tracing the current address listed on the certificate, I was able to track my families movement around the city and to later find neighbors who were able to fill me in on some information even the remaining uncles and aunts didn't know. Sandy Sandra Rozhon <srozhon@cybergate.net> Searching: ROZHON, WANICKI, MYCZKOWSKI, HORWATH, JEMIOLA, KAPUSTA JASKOVE, SYKORY, VANECKA, JASKA, DUBEC Bojesice, Mirovice, Vystrkov, Ostrov, Rakovice, Zalozany, Zebrakov, Zahorany (BOHEMIA) Skalat & Mielec, Przemysl Noi Miasto (POLAND) Sapiergiskis, Kaunas, Klaipeda, Memel (LITHUANIA)