Since the 1940's my wife and her parents have had and used a certified copy of a birth certificate for her under the name Regina. Even used it to get her a passport in that name in 1979. Last year I looked at it more closely and realized it actually reads Reginia. On our next visit to Indiana I stopped by the Health Department and requested another certified copy without stating why I wanted it. After the clerk had typed and sealed it, I checked and re-checked the spelling: Regina. Then I mentioned the discrepancy in the earlier copy. The clerk was properly concerned and determined that she had, in fact, mistranscribed it this time. The local ledger does read Reginia. She telephoned Indianapolis to check against the master list. That, she was told, reads Regina, so the latest certificate copy is correct, but for wrong reasons. Myron E. Williams Crossville, TN Eve Gregory wrote: > I have enjoyed the discussion of documents and sources. In working > with land descriptions to locate topographic features with changing > names, I have pondered the question of what is an original source. > Images of the hand-written pages of the land patent and grant books > are available at the Library of Virginia web site. They are helpful in > locating old land boundaries, but they are not the original sources of > these boundary descriptions. The descriptions were copied into the > books by a clerk from the hand-written land patents. The descriptions > in the land patents came from the surveyors who surveyed the land. I > have found that quite a few of the boundary descriptions in the land > patent and grant books contain errors. This same problem can also be > seen in the associated deeds. This can be determined by developing > title chains for subject tracts and their adjoiners over an extended > time period and comparing their component documents. > > My grandmother's death certificate was riddled with errors. Her birth > date did not agree with her parish church birth record by two years, > and her Lithuanian maiden name and country of birth were also > incorrect. There were similar errors in her recorded marriage record. > I have found, shall we say, suspicious ages in other recorded marriage > records and in the censuses. Would our revered ancestors lie? Or was > the recording clerk hard of hearing? > > We cannot base a research project's outcome on one or two documents. > We much find out everything we can about the subject of interest, and > doing that can take years. Even then, we may be left with only > educated guesses and perhaps some presumptions. > > Eve S. Gregory, Web Mistress > Surry County, Virginia, Historical Society and Museums, Inc. > http://www.rootsweb.com/~vaschsm/ > Surry County VaGenWeb > http://www.rootsweb.com/~vasurry/ > Sussex County VaGenWeb > http://www.rootsweb.com/~vasussex/ > > > > ==== VA-SOUTHSIDE Mailing List ==== > USGenWeb Archives Digital Maps Project > http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/maps/ > > ============================== > View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find > marriage announcements and more. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx >