This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/WUB.2ACI/1265.2.1.1 Message Board Post: Michael, It is said that you need two independent documents to establish a genealogical fact. If the proposal is that the Michael and Anna Hand family in 1900 in Brooklyn (ED 200) are the parents of your John Francis, then you should consider the following. You indicated that John Francis was born 1911-1913. The John on the 1900 census was born in March of 1900. You indicated the Mary Stempf was John Francis's sister. The previous poster said she was born in 1896 and was four years old in 1900. The 1900 census shows her being born in August of 1894 and was on enumeration day (June 1, 1900) 5 years old.. The previous poster indicated Mary had died in Florida in 1975. Now the Social Security Death Index shows a Mary Stempf who died in August of 1975 and who was born on 22 November of 1896. This is the wrong month and year of birth based on the 1900 Census. In addition, Ancestry has a database of Florida deaths, and it shows one Mary Stempf who died in Dade County in August of 1975, and it shows she was born on 22 November 1898. So I think 22 November is probably right for this individual...but the year is in question. The 1900 Census was the only one that asked for the month of birth of an individual...and that information conflicts for Mary of Florida. There is an expression that genealogists irritate the living and confuse the dead. There are enough problems with the 1900 Michael and Anna Hand family to cast some doubt on any link to your target person. That doesn't mean it isn't the family, but you need more pieces of the puzzle. Perhaps you can go after Mary's death certificate and see who the witnesses were. Perhaps there is an obituary for her and you might learn if there are living siblings. Joel Weintraub