Jeanne: Thanks for all your "food for thought"... I sure wish that my family had kept better records, but your ideas will help me to keep searching. I remember a few years ago I had asked someone to go to Westlawn Cemetery to take a picture of his tombstone but that never happened. I will try and find someone that lives close to the cemetery who is willing to take on my mission. Thanks for your support and good luck with your research. Denise --- jeanne hime <jkh1952@yahoo.com> wrote: > 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 > > ------------------------------- > 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