Fellow researchers: Birth records were not kept before 1867. Do we have any way to search for them "just in case" someone did record a birth? I am looking for a birth record for Joseph DESPREZ, born September 20, 1853 in Ohio. Died: Stark Co., June 5, 1930, Buried at Westlawn Father: John/Jean DESPREZ, born in France Mother: Virginia Vauconsant also born in France Thank you in advance for any suggestions. Denise Desprez Nielsen Carnation, WA __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

Denise, To what degree do you want to establish this information? Church records are a solid source to cite. Baptismal records often include date of birth. Do you know actually where in Ohio he was born? Do you know what his family's religious affiliation might have been? Look at census records to see if you can recreate his family's places of residence. Then, in that time frame it is local records you are after. You know he died in Stark County. Was he married? Do you know where he was married? Did he have children? Where were they born? You need to establish where he was throughout his life. Did he belong to any fraternal organizations? Did they keep records? The dates make it unlikely that he has documents associated with war. But, I would want to rule that out. My grandfather did not serve in WWI but he had to register. He was too young for the Civil War and probably too old for the Spanish American War. What was his occupation? What schools did he attend? Sometimes all we have is the dates on a tombstone. But, even an obituary can mention date of birth or when a person's family first arrived in the community. Newspapers for that time frame are sometimes archived locally and can provide helpful information. Local genealogy groups sometimes have records recorded by doctors from that timeframe or church records. Would any local histories mention his family? Have you written any letters to local historical societies, libraries, or the local records office? Have you looked for other living family that may have old letters or a family Bible? I have met people in my distant family that had pictures and letters that pertained to my direct ancestors. I just recieved a package with wonderful pictures and a copy of a memoir describing a man's service in the Civil War and recollections of his life as a young person growing up in Ohio. Do you have a picture of his tombstone? Have you checked on Find a Grave website? There are people that will fill requests to post pictures of tombstones on this site. I hope that something I have mentioned will be of help to you. Just keep picking at this now and then and it will eventually unravel. Good luck. Jeanne Wright Hime Denise <spartangreentcs@yahoo.com> wrote: Fellow researchers: Birth records were not kept before 1867. Do we have any way to search for them "just in case" someone did record a birth? I am looking for a birth record for Joseph DESPREZ, born September 20, 1853 in Ohio. Died: Stark Co., June 5, 1930, Buried at Westlawn Father: John/Jean DESPREZ, born in France Mother: Virginia Vauconsant also born in France Thank you in advance for any suggestions. Denise Desprez Nielsen Carnation, WA __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to OHSTARK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com