Gordon, I am not sure whether you are trying to confirm your mother's date of birth or whether you are certain of it and are trying to find contemporary records which you could use as "evidence" to document her birth date other than family information. Another obvious source that I forgot to mention although it won't give you an exact date is the 1910 Census. It should give her age in months as of April 15, 1910, because she was less than 2 years old based on the information you provide. The "Instructions to Enumerators" on the ages of children for the 1910 Census states: "112. Ages of children.--Take particular pains to get the exact ages of children. In the case of a child not 2 years old, the age should be given in completed months, expressed as twelfths of a year. Thus the age of a child 3 months old should be entered as 3/12, a child 7 months old as 7/12, a child 1 year and 3 months old as 1 3/12, etc. If a child is not yet a month old, enter the age as 0/12. But note again that this question should be answered with reference to April 15. For instance, a child who is just a year old on the 17th of April, 1910, should nevertheless be returned as 11/12, because that is its age in completed months on April 15." Presuming that the person who provided the information was accurate and the census taker accurately recorded it, neither of which is absolutely certain, this should give a good estimate of her date of birth, especially if you already know the month and day of her birth. Again, the census won't give you the month and day. However, for a child this young I believe that the likelihood of being off by a year or more is very unlikely. By 1920 she would be old enough that her age would only be given in years. However, again this is age as of Jan. 1, 1920, so if she were reported as 10 years old, then she was born during 1909 unless her birthday was Jan. 1st. And again, this is subject to correct information being provided and correctly recorded. And I have found many instances of ages being incorrectly recorded in censuses. Ross Cameron >>> "Ross Cameron" <ross.cameron@arch2.nara.gov> 05/10 8:34 AM >>> Gordon, Unfortunately, even if you make contact with the church and see the records, I doubt that the church will have any records of her birth because Baptists do not perform infant baptisms. We practice believer's baptism which means that whenever a person is old enough to understand the plan of salvation and make a personal decision to accept Christ as their Savior and Lord, then they may be baptized. This can be at almost any age. The date of decision and/or baptism should be recorded in the church membership record book, but I have never seen any that gave age or date of birth. So I don't think you will find any birth record there. HOWEVER, there are some other possible sources: First, even though Missouri did not start statewide birth registration until 1910, many people who were born before that time requested and received a "Delayed or Special Certificate of Birth" many years later. I have copies of these for my three grandparents who were born in Missouri -- Grandma Cameron, born in 1886, got her's in 1951; Grandma Patton, born in 1891, got her's 1955; and Grandpa Patton, born in 1889, got his in 1954. In order to get one, the person had to file a notarized statement with an "Abstract of Supporting Evidence" which listed up to four documents provided as evidence, such as Bible records, school records, child's birth certificate, marriage certificate, employment records, and affidavits of relatives or other persons who could testify to personal knowledge of the date of birth. If you have not requested such a certificate from the Missouri Bureau of Vital Statistics, you might try this. The following statement is from the website of the Missouri ! State Archives: The Bureau of Vital Statistics has certificates of Missouri births from 1910 to the present with some delayed filings prior to this date. You may obtain a certified copy by: Writing to Vital records, P.O. Box 570, Jefferson City, MO 65102, or Going in person to the Vital Records Office at the address above. If there is not a record there, then you may be able to find a birth announcement in the local newspapers. Copies of the Peirce City Southwest Journal, the Monett Star, the Monett Times, the Lawrence Chieftain, the Lawrence County Record, and the Aurora Advertiser are all extant for 1909. There is a published abstract for the Aurora Advertiser for 1908-1910. The Lawrence Chieftain and Lawrence County Record are available on microfilm at the McCanse Library in Mount Vernon. Microfilm of all of these newspapers are available at the State Historical Society of Missouri and are available for interlibrary loan. Check the SHSM website at http://www.system.missouri.edu/shs/ You might also check with the Social Security Administration to see what records they have. Ross Cameron >>> <Rollogrg@aol.com> 05/09 9:04 PM >>> I was born and raised in Monett. In the early 1900s my Mother's family lived on a farm north and west of Monett, where she was born. It was near the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church where the family went to church and my Mother was baptized there. I am trying to get a contact at the church to see if I can obtain a baptismal record or other record that would state her date of birth in 1909. When I was in Monett last summer I went to the church but could not find anyone or any info. on how to contact anyone. I went to the PO in Pierce City and was told that mail was being delivered to the church but they did not know the pastor's name. I have sent three letters asking for information and no response. The letters have not been returned. Any information on how I might make a contact (letter or phone) with someone who goes to this church would be appreciated. Thanks, Gordon Gray Colorado Springs, CO