When did this Massachusetts law go away? I have a birth certificate from Massachusetts where only the mother is listed. In the space for father there is just a dash. Dianna At 08:45 PM 12/7/2002 -0700, krabs@attbi.com wrote: >This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. > >Classification: Query > >Message Board URL: > >http://boards.ancestry.co.uk/mbexec/msg/5538/FO.2ADI/161.2 > >Message Board Post: > >I have experienced the same problems. I was missing two generations linking me to Peregrine White. I was able to locate the old family bible which listed these two generations as being illegitimate births. > >Herein lies the problem. Under Massachusetts law, both of the parents must be recorded. Otherwise, there can be no record of the birth. This means no marriage record and no death record. It was like these two people had never existed! > >Try questioning your relatives to determine if your family had such a bible that might be hidden away somewhere. This worked for me. Perhaps it might work for you. It's worth a try. > > >==== MAYFLOWER Mailing List ==== >Check out the web page of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants at http://www.mayflower.org/ > >