Records-US Census, Marriage,Birth & Death kept on Immigr

[Joniwrite1]

I've been researching U.S. Census, Marriage, Birth and Death records for years and thought I knew all the ins and outs. It's apparent that that immigrants in the 1920's and 1930's pose unusual problems.

1) One problem is which name my relatives used.
My grandmother choose her Father's last name, however, her brother was known under their Mother's maiden name. My grandfather was adopted and often used his parent's and adopted parent's last names interchangeably. Many Spaniards have a number of first names that include first and middle, Saint's names, Anglo translations as well as misspellings and those misunderstood by officials. I even found an aunt with her maiden name on her headstone while the cemetery office records showed her married name.

2) The same problems occurred for Census Records. Additionally, many mine and factory workers moved often or lived in rural areas and were simply never counted.

3) Few children were born in hospital, and many births were never recorded.

4) For Catholics I have found that traveling ministers performed marriages in outlying areas which were blessed by the Church, however, were never entered into County Records. If the Diocese has a record they can, and will correct it so that you can get a certified record. ( Write to the Director of Archives and Records for the area Diocese. You can call the closest current church to find the name of the church in the year you are searching.)

Many of my family members seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth! We know they existed, however, finding them and obtaining certified records is difficult and sometimes impossible.

Happy Hunting!

Joni

[Bob]

It's worth searching your own birth record for names and places of origin of your parents. On my father's side of the family, this leads directly back to Spelter, WV. On my mother's side, it leads to Clearfield County PA, where all records were kept locally and many, including my mother's, were destroyed in a fire.

[Joniwrite1]

Great advice Bob. My birth certificate gives my father's name correctly, however, it did not give the correct location. My father and grandmother both told me there were no records. I searched "just in case" and they were right.