You can also look for a death certificate. They can be wrong because the family member providing information at the time of death may not know all the facts, but I have found death certificates that contained correct parents names and the place of birth for the parents also. Most people that died in IA after 1880 have death certificates on file. I do have one that died in Peru, Madison County, IA in 1927 that the state can not find any record of through. Glenn York badkins wrote: > Can anyone tell me where I need to write to find birth certificate for someone in 1861? If they don't have them back them can anyone tell me what I need to do to find out about birth information? > Thanks