In a message dated 4/7/03 5:31:02 PM Eastern Daylight Time, ccallari@rochester.rr.com writes: > My question: if on the form I listed him as being born in Butler, do they > (The PA Vital Statistics folks) look just at that county when searching, > or > do they do a global search for anyone with that name/date born in the whole > state of PA? > I think they might look for that date throughout the whole state, but I can't say that for sure. > Additional question: Do birth records for the 1917 time period exist at the > county level? > There might be a birth record at the county level if your ancestor had to apply for a delayed birth certificate. This was done when a birth was not recorded at the time it occurred, but then the person later needed some proof of his/her age...usually for Social Security purposes. These delayed birth records can be a goldmine of genealogical information, because they include affidavits from family members who were alive at the time of the birth and testify as to the validity of the date. Hope this helps. Irene Crawford JTJTJ5@aol.com