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618-462-0677Family History Tips from the Genealogy & Local History Library
Do you want to know when and where your great grandparents were born, but you can’t find any birth certificates? Here are some other sources of birth information.
First, double check with your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Does anyone know who their parents were? Is a family Bible lying around at someone’s house? Old school records? Military papers? A fancy marriage certificate? Did someone keep newspaper clippings about family members?
If you strike out with family, look at their death records. If there are no death records, look for obituaries or funeral home records. Was a program passed out at their funeral? Funeral home and cemetery records include whatever birth information the family knew. No death or funeral home records? Look for other newspaper articles that were written about them when they were alive.
Look for them in the U.S. census. All household members’ ages plus the country or U.S. state where they were born were recorded beginning in 1850.
Look for their marriage records. Applications for county marriage licenses asked for birth information. Don’t forget church membership records!
Did your great grandparents immigrate to America? Their information on the ship passenger list will include their name and, sometimes, their age. Did they go through the process to become a citizen of the U.S.? That paperwork can include where and when they were born.
Did your great grandfather sign up to serve in a local militia in the 1800’s? Register for the draft in the 1900’s? Were either of them a veteran with an official military service record?
Hayner Genealogy & Local History Library staff will help you learn where and how to find all of this information about your ancestors – and much more! Join us in Branching Out, our genealogy classes, or contact us to schedule an individual appointment at genealogy@haynerlibrary.org or 618-462-0677, ext. 2892.
Beth Phillips
Hayner Genealogy & Local History Library