LOL - Many years ago my mother tried to get a copy of her birth certificate.  She was a beginning genealogist and the state gave her a hard time.  They wanted to know why she needed it, so she told them she didn't have one, it was her birth certificate and she wanted it. They finally sent it to her but made her jump through all sorts of hoops to get it.Dee in Phoenix www.azwvgs.org - West Valley Genealogical SocietyWhen a person dies, a library closes. Researching: NJ: Snook, Bozarth, Dickerson, Dalton, Hicks, Asay NY: Semlear, Stoothoff, Foster, Murray, Dierks, Cairns PA: Hicks, Shaw, Roberts, Swartz/Black, Penrose Nova Scotia: Arthur, Hutt, Eisenhauer, Conrod, Morris   From: Robert Pieterse <[email protected]> To: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Sent: Monday, August 17, 2015 6:54 AM Subject: Re: [NYQUEENS] Genealogist responds> ARIZONA State Library Devalues Genealogy Every  state  is  different.   NY  unfortunately  is  not  one  of  the  better  states  regarding   release  of  records.  .You  can  know  a  person  died  and  have  his  birthdate  from  the  SSDI  but  you  can  not  get the   certificate.   Makes  no  sense  to  me.   Birth Certificates are available for a fee from 1880 through 1940. They must be 75 years old to be accessible. Marriage and Death Certificates, 50 years so available this year up to 1965. The keeping of vital records in New York States didn’t start until 1880. There was an effort in 1847 through 1849 and these can be found in many of the NY Counties.         -----Original Message----- From: mizscarlettny via <[email protected]> To: NYNEWYOR <[email protected]>; nybrooklyn <[email protected]>; NYNASSAU <[email protected]>; nywestch <[email protected]>; NYQUEENS <[email protected]>; deesgenes1 <[email protected]>; NY-IRISH <[email protected]> Sent: Mon, Aug 17, 2015 9:17 am Subject: [NYQUEENS] Genealogist responds> ARIZONA State Library Devalues Genealogy From: Deanna Smith <[email protected]> Hello Listers, I’m a New York State Professional Researcher so I can’t grasp that New York controls who gets the records. What records is this a reference to? We do have a limitation on Vital Records at the State Level. Birth Certificates are available for a fee from 1880 through 1940. They must be 75 years old to be accessible. Marriage and Death Certificates, 50 years so available this year up to 1965. The keeping of vital records in New York States didn’t start until 1880. There was an effort in 1847 through 1849 and these can be found in many of the NY Counties. As for Library and Archives resources, the records abound in NY State. I feel that it is a “feasting” or records to search. The Dept. of History and Archives in Montgomery Co., New York, for example, has probably the third largest genealogical collection in New York State with over 200 church records; most indexed. At this time, I know of now NY State Library or Archives closing. I am aware of staff cuts everywhere. The one difficulty that the writer could be referring to are Surrogates records. Because I live in NY State I travel to the various Surrogates offices and have no problems procuring records. NY State did pass a law about 5 years ago to charge researchers $90 for the copy of a Will. Astronomical to say the least. They may relate to persons ordering Wills by mail. I’ll check that. How else can I help? Deanna Smith ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message