I recently requested my father's Ohio birth certificate from Columbus, after learning it was not on file in Cleveland. He was born in 1910. Apparently, no birth certificate exists for him and he is now deceased. I called the Department of Health in Columbus and was told that often when a baby was delivered by a midwife, she would give the birth record to the parents to file. Since they figured they had a copy, they often would forget or neglect to file it with the State. (Midwives were not required to keep records.) My father must have provided some record of his birth because he was collecting Social Security. Social Security, I believe, was instituted in 1938. So, whoever suggested finding baptism records was likely correct. Obviously, that's a little easier to find out if you know where the relative was living at the time of birth. Also, I think Columbus told me that if my father had still been living, he could have filed with the State to obtain a delayed birth certificate. I'm wondering if old school records, if they exist, might contain birth information. Nancy L.