In a message dated 2/10/2005 3:01:15 PM Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Fellow Researchers, Beware, even on documents, things are not always what they appear to be. I have found errors on all types of records, including birth, marriage and death. Most errors are on death records. My son's ex mother-in-law (Mary Jo) recently lost her mother. Mary Jo supplied the information for her mother's death record. Under place of birth she said Muskegon, Michigan. So I e-mailed her after I read that. It seems her mother's marriage record had said she was born in Three Rivers, Michigan. I asked Mary Jo which was correct. She e-mailed back and was upset that she had told them Muskegon, when, in fact, her mother was born in Three Rivers. In old birth records, children were born at their homes. Doctor would either be there or come later. So if the doctor was not there, he would come later and write down notes on the birth, and we all know hopw doctors write. Back in the 1870s and 1880s, and even up into the 1930s, travel was not what it is today. The doctor would not make it to the county seat until months later. An example is my great grand mother Alice Elizabeth Scott (known as Allie). She was born in Allendale, Ottawa County, Mi on 30 November 1879. Her father is Walter and mother Sarah E Benham. We can not find a birth record for her. We did find a record for Allen E Scott, a boy, who is listed as being child of Walter Scott and Anna. Allen's birth record lists date of 31 Oct, 1879. On birth record father was a farmer living in Allendale and parents were both listed as being born in Michigan and living in Allendale. What is similiar between Allie and the birth record of Allen, they were both born on last day of month. Both born to a famer named Walter Scott living in Allendale to parents both born in Michigan. Both had middle initial of E and both born last day of month. In 1880 census, there was only one Walter Scott in Ottawa County. His only child was our Alice and wife was Sarah Jane. The information on the birth record was not recorded until 10 June 1880. We believe that should be the birth record for our Allie. The differance is name of child, Allen as opposed to Allie, sex of child, name of mother and month born. I think these are the result of a doctor or some one else, not being able to read his notes. My mother tells a story from 1930, her mother told her, then 7, to take her brother, age 5, out back for a walk. They lived in the country and acreage behind the house. When she returned she found she had another brother. And those census records, nothing needs to be said about the errors on those records.