Good morning
I have a question to our users in the USA. If i search for example Jewell
P. Hattorf, they lead me to Sysoon, and then back to something called
Archives.com.
They say they have birth certificates for only .....dollar a week, or 3
month or a year.
Is this really something correct or do they only take money and lead to to
another site. Has anybody used this system?
I thank you
Armin Hattorf
Hi Armin
You have to pay a fee to use Archives.com. I've tried to the site but have
never found anything there that I couldn't find on other sites. You can
order a birth certificate directly through the state, county or city where
your ancestor was born. I've also used www.vitalchek.com before to order
documents. However, you must have the exact date and place of birth.
Also, many states have released their "old" birth certificates to sites
such as www.ancestry.com and www.familysearch.org.
Marti
It depends on when and where the person was born, married, ,or died. If the event was within the last 40 years the only way you may get t certificate IF POSSIBLE is through an agency. Many states have outsourced the distribution of that type of data to private firms. However it is best to contact the local government rather than the private firm, and work through the local government. Be aware that because of privacy laws, unless you are a provable descendant you may not be able to get the information.
If the event that you are looking for occurred more that 50 years ago, again the best way is to contact the local government. In my experience working with those governments in the more rural areas you can get an certified copy of the document for a couple of dollars. A certified copy may be from 10 to 30 dollars. The price depends on how historically popular the area. (Hicksville Ohio is not historically popular, Gettysburg Pennsylvania is.)
Finally if the event is old enough, you may find images of the actual certificates on Ancestry or on Family Search.
Depending on the location, marriage records may be maintained by the government as early as the 1840, Death records as early as the 1880, and birth records as early as the 1900. What is in the record may vary. That 1840 marriage record may be only the names of the couple the minister, and the date.
This is from Family Search. I don't know if it is your Jewell.
First Name: Jewell
Middle Name: P
Last Name: Hattorf
Name Suffix:
Birth Date: 20 February 1905
Social Security Number: 578-03-4843
Place of Issuance: District Of Columbia
Last Residence: Gainesville, Prince William, Virginia
Zip Code of Last Residence: 22065
Death Date: 9 July 1989
Estimated Age at Death: 84
Collection: United States Social Security Death Index
"If we stand tall, it is because we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us"
Armin,
I haven't used it, but I *think* it is a good site. Hopefully someone else can tell you more. But if you're looking for birth certificates, some counties (if you happen to know the possible county of birth) have free searchable databases. Also, not sure the time period you're looking at, but I believe birth certificates weren't all that common till the early 1900's or so.
-Dale