I > <<I wrote to NYC Archives and they could not find a record of my > grandparents' > marriage in 1911. I too would like to know when it became law to record > marriages.>> Just because they "could not find it" doesn't mean it isn't there. I tried for years to get my great grandfather's death certificate from a county in Indiana where I was not allowed to search (although one could search the marriages and births). I had his death date from his gravestone. Three times I went there (not counting the times I wrote or called), 1,000 miles from my home, and the clerk never found it. After her retirement, not a moment too soon, the new person on duty found it right away. Let's face it, a clerk doesn't have the burning desire to find our ancestors that we do! If this is a vital piece of information it would be worth it to pay someone to do this for you. Someone with experience in NYC records could do this in, as they say, a "New York minute." Jan Hall

Thanks Jan. Maybe I can get someone in the family who still lives in NY to do me this favor. NY is a very difficult state from which to obtain records. Having lived in FL for the past 25 years, I find this hard to understand. FL has what is called Sunshine Laws and ALL public information is open to anyone. That is what caused so much controversy after Dale Earnhardt's death.