Has anyone ever heard of a fire in the Johnstown Courthouse circa 1904 that destroyed the records there? I've had difficulty searching for birth and marriage records from that time period and was told that they were probably destroyed in the fire. Thanks, Linda Torr Black

It's a wonder any genealogical research can be done, given all the {supposed} courthouse fires that occurred all over the United States. The Cambria County vital records for births and deaths, covering the period 1893-1905, are available on microfilm through the LDS library. The birth records also include copies of delayed birth registrations that were filed in the late 1930's-1940's by people who needed a birth certificate to apply for social security. This was mostly for people born before 1893, which was the year Pennsylvania made it a requirement to file a birth or death record. For a birth certificate, you needed affidavits signed by 3 people saying they knew you when you were born. Not all records were filed. I have a great-uncle who died in 1906, and have had no luck finding a death certificate for him, although I do have an obituary. -----Original Message----- From: pacambri-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:pacambri-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Linda Black Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 2:48 PM To: PACAMBRI@rootsweb.com Subject: [PACAMBRI] Johnstown Courthouse Has anyone ever heard of a fire in the Johnstown Courthouse circa 1904 that destroyed the records there? I've had difficulty searching for birth and marriage records from that time period and was told that they were probably destroyed in the fire. Thanks, Linda Torr Black - - - - - - - - - - Search for more Cambria County information on our webpage: http://www.camgenpa.com/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PACAMBRI-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message