Hi Darlene, I have a couple of ancestors with similar circumstances. My Grandmother was born in Germany and came to the States when she was not quite 4 yrs old. Some census records state her birth place as Germany, some state Illinois [where she grew up]. I really do not think that in many cases, people ever had to actually prove where they were born. After Social Security came in, Grandma worked out of their home, for their business, and she never had a SS #. I have three "cousins" whose surnames were changed, without going through the courts ... one was born in 1937 and was a career military man. He told me himself that his mother, who had remarried, just listed his name the same as his half sibs. Another cousin's mother remarried a man whose surname was one letter different than her previous husband's. Those kids death certificates list both names on them [thankfully, or might be still looking for them]. The third one also was a result of mother remarried. In 1900 he was a Forbush [Chicago family] and by 1910 and on, he was a Parmeter. I really do not think that one had to prove place of birth on Draft Cards [1917-1918]. Some cards just have a box to check if "Native born", some state exactly where. Unfortunately, for me, most of mine just have the check boxes -- especially the ones that I need the most. Grin. Sharon On 21 Mar 2006 at 9:13, Allen & Darlene Dowhaniuk wrote: > Hi, > > Thank you Dave Witthans for posting this question for me. > > The family in question is a little different. The parents were born > in Poland, married in England in 1892. They had one children in > England and one shortly after in the U.S. > > The 1900 census shows both children born in NY. The WW1 Draft > Registration for the sons has them both born in England. > > Dave & I were wondering, if the mother was pregnant with the second > son when she left England,could this son claim to be born in England > ?? > > Another question, would you have to prove where you were born when you > registered for the WW1 Draft? > > Regards > Darlene > > > ==== IL-COOK-CHICAGO Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe: Send a message to > [email protected] > that contains (in the body of the message) the command unsubscribe > > ============================== > Census images 1901, 1891, 1881 and 1871, plus so much more. > Ancestry.com's United Kingdom & Ireland Collection. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13968/rd.ashx > >

[email protected] wrote: > I have a couple of ancestors with similar circumstances. My > Grandmother was born in Germany and came to the States when > she was not quite 4 yrs old. Some census records state her birth > place as Germany, some state Illinois [where she grew up]. Census records might not be the most accurate place to get information. The census takers are just asking questions that depending on who answered the door and how old they are, might not provide correct information. > I have three "cousins" whose surnames were changed, without > going through the courts I have a Chicago family that was German, but had a Polish sounding last name: Burcikowski, which no one ever seemed to know how it was actually spelled. My gGrandfather assumed the shortened version of Burk, his brother legally changed it to Barnes. Later generations were confused and thought it was Burkowski. My grandfather used Burcikowski and also Burk, but he borrowed a cousin's union card to become a teamster and assumed the name Voltz at work because of it. There was confusion at his death and his death certificate had to show his name as Frank J. Voltz Burcikowski. It also incorrectly states that he was born in Chicago. He actually immigrated at age three from Gnojau, West Prussia. I've found birth years off by a year or two. Usually I assume the older the record, the more accurate. Children giving information for death certificates may just try to do the math in their heads and end up a year or so off, or they may even be unsure of their parents age when they do. Lila