Hi Barbara, I'm new to genealogy, too, but i believe your working "backwards" is the time-honored, preferred way to do it. You use the *known* to find the hidden mysteries. Both of my parents, born in 1913 and 1918, were amazed when, in their 60s, they received their birth certificates for the first time. My father always thought his middle name was "Franklin" and that his mother named him for Ben Franklin. His birth certificate, however, said "Frank" -- named for his father and great-grandfather. A huge letdown! My mother's father told her that her middle name was "Maude" -- a source of much distress since there was a mule named Maude in the funnies. Of course every kid in school rubbed-in that "fact." Her birth certificate revealed that her name was "Miriam," named for her maternal grandmother. She was delighted! Record-keeping before World War II was not the center of the universe that it has become, especially with the use of computers. My sons have had to use their birth certificates several times in their less than 35 years of life. You probably should document whatever *he* thought his middle name was as well as the one that's on his birth certificate. And don't discount the possibility of two, or more, middle names. My mother and i have 3 middle names: birth certificate, another one added at baptism (to honor yet another family member), and the third one that we picked when time came for confirmation. (My father's first name was used at baptism and confirmation.) Have fun rooting around! Pat Searching for MEIERS, SCHNICKSNIDER, DICKERSON, BALTHAZAR, and LLORENS > Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 21:25:31 EDT > From: LA-LGHS-D Digest V99 #155 - [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: [LA-LGHS-L] Confused at certificates > > Hi I am very new to genealogy. I think I have worked backwards. I was > searching for info on my great grandfather( Joseph Borel) . I 1st got my > grand fathers( Rene J. Borel-B 1885 d 1967) certificates: ss death index, a > marriage certificate, a death certificate, his obituary, and now today his > birth certificate. The odd thing is the middle name is not consistent. Some > say Rene Joseph, some say John but his birth certificate says Jean as his > middle name . Can I assume that this is his true name since it is on his > birth certificate? He was put in an orphanage at some point and I really dont > think he actually knew what his middle name was? > BMB312 > Barbara Borel >