A New Leaf

 

Introducing my son, Julian John, who was born Thursday night.  It is impossible to describe the emotions I have regarding him.  Putting him in my family tree software is amazing – I’m an ancestor!

Wedding Wednesday: Angelo Fantacone & Angiolina Basile

(Register #89)

My mother-in-law is a recent genealogy-addict, which is very exciting to me.  Yesterday we went to the Central Library’s Local History and Genealogy room to search the New York State Vital Records Index.  Amazingly, we found ever date we were looking for.  I then learned, after much confusion by clerks sending me every which way, that old marriage registers have been scanned in Syracuse and are available for free download in the basement of the County Clerk’s Office.  This makes up for the crazy amount of money they charged me for death records next door at the Bureau of Vital Statistics.

My mother-in-law’s maternal grandparents, Angelo Fantacone and Angiolina Basile were married in Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York 31 July 1905, which means we learned their wedding date on their 107th anniversary.  I love genealogy serendipity like that

According to the record, Angelo Fantagone [sic] was 24, a carpenter living in Syracuse (I think he was actually in Cortland at this time) but born in Italy.  His parents are Tomas Fantacone and Lodovica [possible sic for Ludovica] Libera and this is his first marriage.  No witness is listed.

Angiolina Basile was 18, living in Syracuse and also born in Italy.  Her parents are Michil [sic: Michale] and F. [Filomena] Fantagone [sic: Fantacone] and this is her first marriage.  The marriage was performed by Rev. Frank Morassi.

This record proves that I have the correct parents for Angiolina from passenger list records.  It also gives the me the names of Angelo’s parents!  Time to find the church Rev. Morassi worked at.  [Edited to add: Wikipedia for the win: St. Peter's Italian Church].

Thrifty Thursday: Vital Record Purchases

Purchasing vital records can become an expensive proposition for genealogists, especially when you need them for FANs as well as your direct line.  One way I have found to decrease the cost is to go directly to the vital records office in the town or city the person was in when the event occurred.  I have saved $10 per record by doing this, which quickly adds up.

Top 3 Reasons to View the Actual Vital Record

In genealogy, when we order vital records, we often get a typed, certified copy from the city or town we order it from.  Although this is a good start and can prove useful, one should always aim to see the original to compare and, if possible, make a copy/take a photograph of.

Why is this?

1. The Back of the Certificate

Just like today, people often wrote notes on the back of a piece of paper.  Although you may not find one, imagine if you found a little note that helped you further your search. 

In this example, the back of the certificate (the top part on the image) has the phrase “Baptism St James Epis.”.  This led to a lot of information from the Episcopal Diocese of Buffalo on my Whitehead family.

2. Missing Information in Fill-In-The-Blank Forms

Not all information on a vital record will not necessarily be told to you on a fill-in-the-blank form used by the town clerk to send you the information.  One example of this is a name change.  Here is an example of the birth certificate of my great-grandfather, Alfred Casell, that he had and that I was lucky enough to come into possession of.

I could have stopped with this, saying I had proof of when and where he was born and had a full certificate of his twin sister which proved who their parents were.  However, I knew I may be able to find more information, so I got his full certificate.

As you can see this is a great find. I learned that in addition to changing his last name, he also changed his given name.  I also learned that he changed his name legally, through the court, which gives me another record to search for.

3. Typos

People make mistakes.  I have typed information incorrectly into my family tree program and into bibliographies for class papers.  In the course of proofreading and checking my information (was grandma really 11 when she gave birth?  Especially when she didn't get married for another decade?), this items get found and corrected.

Town and city clerks are busy and, unfortunately, finding vital records for genealogists is not their most important task.  As such, they may not have time to check over their typing.  One example of this is my great-great grandfather Marco A. Casell's death certificate.  The date of death is typed as November 26, 1932, at the age of 69 (born 1968, speaking of typos... 1868) and it has a filed date as November 27, 1937.  The filing date being 5 years later would be one clue there was a problem, as is the fact that the age is wrong based on the dates given.

Luckily, the Town of Colden gives both a typed form and a copy of the original record.  As we can see he did die in 1937, not 1932.  Bonus points to those readers who also realized that this example proved point number 2, as well, in relation to items such as an AKA and a burial date.

As you can see from these examples, it is important to always see an original vital record in order to make sure the information is correct and complete.

Have you had experiences of this in your research?  Please comment below.

Delayed Birth Certificates

It is important to remember that when you are looking at the information on a delayed birth certificate, that it is secondary information, not primary.  Even though there usually needs to be a witness who was present at the birth, the fact that the certificate was not made in a timely manner, means it is still secondary information.  Plus, considering how long after the birth a delayed certificate might be made, it can be doubtful the witness was actually there.



One example of an interesting delayed birth certificate is that of my great-grandfather, William Herbert Whitehead.  Born 29 Sept 1896, his birth certificate was not created until 1940, 44 years later.  The witness is Albert E. Smith, uncle.  However, he was not his uncle, but rather his family friend... and bookie (according to my grandmother, William's daughter, who knew Al).  As such, this is not the most reliable record source.

In a case such as this, it is important to confirm the birth date with other sources.  One of these sources I looked at was his baptism.  This took place in 1904 and the birth date listed was the same.

I also checked the 1900 census, taken even closer to his actual birth date and this had his birth as taking place in September 1896, which is also consistent with the birth certificate.

 

Sources:

1900 U.S. census, Erie, New York, population schedule, Buffalo, enumeration district (ED) 53, sheet 9B, p. 7-224 (stamped), dwelling 133, family 258, household of Charles Whitehead; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 Feb 2011); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 1026.

New York Department of Health, birth certificate 366803 (1940), William Herbert Whitehead; New York State Department of Health, Albany; Birth certifcate was created 44 years after his birth.  Reported by Albert E. Smith, Uncle.  He was actually a family friend (and bookie).

Whitehead baptismal entry (1904); issued 2004 by Archives of the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York, St. James Episcopal (Buffalo, New York), citing p. 108, number 3497; privately held by Amanda Perrine, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE].

 

Bar Coded Vital Records

Imagine getting a birth, marriage or death record with a bar code on it.  What would your first though be?  When I received my marriage certificate, my first thought was "Why on earth is there a bar code on it?"

Although not very pretty, some vital records now come with a bar code.  Much different that that old birth certificate of great-grandma's.  I tried doing some research online to figure out what it is for, but was unable to find anything.  My best guess is that it offers security, for example a person cannot change a date, as the code will offer the correct information when scanned.  In the future will genealogists be able to scan these codes and get further information than is shown on the record?  It is an exciting idea.

Has anyone else come across this?  Any ideas why?

Vital Record Madness

In NY, vital record copies for genealogical research are $22 each.  This has made me, unfortunately, do a little at a time, when I had the money.  Recently I ordered two death certificates for $44.  Now, I grew up in the same county in NY, where my ancestors had stayed since immigrating to America.  My family still lives there and yesterday my grandmother went to the county clerk with a list of 10 death certificates I need (plus 3 I don't have exact dates for yet) and was told they would be $10 each!  She therefore is getting 4 and a half for the price I paid for two!  I understand that if they mail them to me I should have to pay for postage, but $12 for a stamp?  Really??

Even if I had driven a couple hours each way to get them it would have been cheaper... and faster - she should have them by Tuesday and NY state can take over 5 months.  

Has anyone else found a similar problem?  It seems rather peculiar to me.