Archive for the ‘Finding Birth Records’ Category

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Your Birth Certificate & How To Find It

Friday, April 30th, 2010

A birth certificate is an extremely important document, and everyone should keep a safe copy just in case.  It comes in handy as it’s one of the best ways to designate your citizenship and identity. You may need your birth certificate for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you need to apply for a passport, citizenship card, or driver’s license.  Perhaps you are looking for facts about your life that can only be found on your birth certificate, such as your parent’s names and their places of birth. Or maybe you just want to have a copy for safe-keeping.

One of the places to look up your birth certificate is the Vital Records office of the state you were born in. This office is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, a government agency. Generally, ordering a certified copy of your birth certificate requires mailing in photo ID along with a fee of around $20. Orders may take up to six weeks to process, so only go this route if you absolutely don’t need your certificate right away.

In some cases, you may need to apply for a passport on short notice. Sometimes impromptu trips out of the country are inevitable — but if you don’t have your birth certificate, you’re gonna have some problems. Waiting six weeks for Vital Records to get back to you may prove disastrous.

Fortunately, it’s possible to find your birth certificate online. You won’t pay nearly as big a fee (sometimes you can even order it for free), and the wait is much shorter, sometimes instantaneous because there are many websites where you can simply download the certificate right away and print it off in the comfort of your own home.

This can be a life-safer for some. For others, it simply cuts down on red tape. Finding and ordering your birth certificate online means you won’t have to jump through so many hoops.

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Posted in Finding Birth Records, birth records | 2 Comments »

6 Essential Genealogy Research Tips

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

For beginners of genealogy research, the task at hand can seem overwhelming! Compiling accurate information about your ancestors can be a long and arduous process. But don’t get discouraged. Here are some great tips that you can utilize immediately. Hopefully it’ll make your genealogy research easier and as a result, more fun! After all, making your family tree is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby — not a headache.

1. Learn to be organized! Over the course of your genealogy research, you will likely find yourself buried in paperwork and documents. If everything is a cluttered mess around you, your mind will become cluttered as well, and it’ll be easier to get frustrated and tempted to throw in the towel. Invest in some filing cabinets and try to store many things online. Scan photographs and documents and put them in the appropriate folder on your computer.

2. Find out if any of your relatives have previously conducted genealogy research. Why start from scratch if someone has already done much of the grunt work for you? You can take their information and add/edit it as needed, or perhaps the two of you can work together on the project.

3.  If you’re having trouble pinpointing exact birth and death dates of your relatives, try going to the cemetery where they were buried and searching there. Most of the time, the dates will be printed on their tombstones. This seems like an obvious solution but many people overlook it.

4. Looking for distant relatives still alive in your family today? You may need to speak with a second or third cousin to get the information you need to fill in the gaps. One of the best places for tracking people down is Facebook. If you have a full name and location, Facebook can act as a personalized, virtual White Pages. Many distant relatives have been connected or reconnected through Facebook and other social networking sites.

5. Despite all the advances made in genealogy research in recent years thanks to the internet, don’t underestimate the power of your local library. Most likely it will contain valuable documents that are not accessible online. One important resource your library may offer is access to local newspapers. You can research these newspapers to find out important information such as birth and marriage announcements and obituaries.

6.  When speaking with relatives over the phone or in person, try to record everything they tell you. The best thing to use is a tape recorder, but if that isn’t possible, you could simply use a pen & paper to transcribe important facts. You’ll want to do this to ensure that you record and remember everything they speak about. Don’t assume that you’ll remember everything — chances are you’ll forget. Another important tip: make sure to disclose to them the fact that they are being recorded.

So there you go! If you follow all of these tips, you’ll find that your genealogy research is going quite well. Chances are you’ll come up against some roadblocks, but stay persistent and don’t give up!

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Posted in Family Tree, Finding Birth Records, Genealogy Research, genealogy | 3 Comments »

How To: Quick And Easy Genealogy Research

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

When most people think of genealogy research, the phrase “quick and easy” doesn’t normally pop up in their minds. Making a family tree is usually thought of as a long, drawn-out process that involves many different areas of research. One must conduct interviews, sort through many photographs and documents, search through public records archives, and more. Fortunately, genealogy research has become much easier in recent years thanks to the internet!

By doing a simple search online, you can now find dozens, perhaps even hundreds of websites whose sole purpose is to help you build your family tree! You now have many tools and resources at your disposal, all from the comfort of your home.  Some of these tools may include printable family tree charts to help you better visualize your ancestry, archives of public records from long ago, and hard-to-find documents like ship logs and immigration records.

All of these resources will undoubtedly help you in your research. But an often-overlooked treasure chest are simple birth records search engines, such as the one found on BirthDetails.com. With only a few clicks of the mouse, you can find the exact birth records you need to compile a family tree with accurate facts and details. At a certain point in your research, you will find it absolutely necessary to rely on birth records searches to get the information you need. And doing it “the old way” could mean that your research will take ages, and will likely cost a pretty penny.

Genealogy-based websites are fantastic resources, but they often come with membership fees. If you want to find birth records for free, you’re already at the right place! Check out BirthDetails.com’s birth records search engine to get a jump start on your research today!

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Posted in About Birth Records, Finding Birth Records, Genealogy Research, birth records, genealogy | 1 Comment »

Wisconsin Birth Records

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
Wisconsin Birth Records

Wisconsin Birth Records

Were you or one of your friends or family members born in Wisconsin? At some point, you may have to look up Wisconsin birth records. If you’re wondering how to obtain a birth certificate in Wisconsin, the most common suggestion is to visit the Wisconsin Vital Records office. You will have to visit the office in person, or mail in or fax a request with a signature and enclosed fee. You cannot order Wisconsin birth records by telephone, email, or website.

If you’re picking up the birth records in person, you’ll have to bring along photo ID, such as a driver’s license or a passport. In some cases, you may have to bring other identification documents, such as a utility bill, credit card statement, or health insurance card. If you receive your birth records in the mail, you won’t have to provide these documents.

The fee for Wisconsin birth records is $20 for one copy, and $3 for each additional copy. If you wish for expedited service, you’ll have to pay an additional $20 and $3 for each copy beyond the first. You will not get a refund if their search doesn’t turn up any results.

If you need a copy of your Wisconsin birth records to apply for a driver’s license or passport, you’ll have to deal with Vital Records, because it is the only place you can obtain a certified copy. A certified copy has a raised seal and can only be released to you if you are searching for:

  • Your own birth records
  • Your spouse’s records
  • Your children’s records
  • Your sibling’s records

OR if you have written, signed permission from the person who the birth records belong to.

Uncertified copies are freely available for anyone. Although you cannot use these documents to apply for government IDs, you can still use the information for genealogy projects, finding people, searching facts about your friends & classmates, etc. There are a wide variety of uses for uncertified Wisconsin birth records.

In that case, it is often a better idea to use the internet for your birth records search rather than Vital Records. On the internet, you can look up birth records for free (or almost free– much less than $20) and results are often instantaneous, emailed to you in a matter of minutes, where you can then print them out or simply keep the documents stored on your computer. It’s also much easier to find the birth records you need. Vital records sometimes takes a long time to get back to you, with no guarantee that they will even find the documents you need.

If you’re looking for uncertified copies of Wisconsin birth records, by far the best idea is to use an online birth record database like BirthDetails.com.

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MA Birth Records

Monday, February 8th, 2010

massachusetts_boston02Are you interested in looking up MA Birth Records? Massachusetts contains a large amount of public records that are widely available through a variety of sources, including courthouses, Vital Records offices, libraries and more. MA contains a vast, rich history, and the lives of its citizens throughout the centuries have been illustrated by the keeping of its valuable public records.

Looking up MA birth records is not particularly difficult. By going to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Vital Statistics office, you can request copies of birth certificates and other public records documents by mail, phone, or internet. However, Vital Statistics only releases certified copies of birth certificates. Having a certified copy may not be necessary in all cases, depending on your reason for looking up the birth records. It is also more expensive and you can only order certified copies if the person is in your immediate family.

If you need MA birth records to apply for a Passport or other government document, you should probably stick with Vital Statistics. These documents require that you have a “certified” copy. However, for any other use, you should instead use an online database of public records. You can look up anyone’s MA birth records (and you don’t have to be in their immediate family to do so). It’s also a lot cheaper and results are often instantaneous! This website, BirthDetails.com, is an example of one of these birth records databases. We store tons of MA birth records, death records, and marriage records, as well as records from the rest of the 50 states.

Massachusetts is also a great state to conduct genealogy research because public records date back hundreds of years, all the way to the 1600s. Many official and unofficial public records, including census records, have been kept in the various towns of MA since the Mayflower landed on Plymouth Rock. If your ancestors came from MA you will likely be in for some very interesting and exciting genealogy research.

Many genealogy databases are available online to help you in your attempts to compile a family tree. Online burial/cemetary records exist, as well as social security death indexes. Ancient census records, death records, birth records, and more will all help you gather accurate facts regarding your family. Prior to the late 1800s, most of these records were maintained by churches and occasionally hospitals. Luckily, most of these public records documents have survived throughout the centuries, and now you have the advantage of being able to look them up online with only a few clicks of the mouse.

BirthDetails.com is a great way to look up MA birth records for genealogy research or any other use. So start your search today!

Posted in About Birth Records, Finding Birth Records, Public Records, birth records | No Comments »

History of Birth Records & Certificates

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Ever wonder about the history of birth records & certificates?

Not long ago, I was wondering the same thing. After doing some research, I was intrigued to find that recording and archiving birth records is a practice that dates back thousands of years, particularly in Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. Initially, birth records were used to calculate the amount of people they could recruit into the military. They also used birth records & certificates for tax purposes.

However, it wasn’t until 1853 that the United Kingdom made it mandatory to register certified birth records for each citizen. In the 1900s, the United States followed suit.

Prior to that time, birth records were generally written down by doctors, midwives, or priests. Documents were not certified or recorded by the government, and it was very common for documents to be lost or destroyed. Therefore, there was no “official record” of any citizens until they reached adulthood and started paying taxes or joined the military.

Now, hospital staff is required by law to submit birth records & certificates to the United States government. These documents are kept in large databases that store the records in type print or ledger. Throughout the years, this process has been improved and simplified. The invention of photocopying in the 1960’s made it easier to copy and transfer birth records. The invention of computers likewise made things incredibly easy, because documents could be stored as data, savings tons of space in office buildings and making it easier to manage and track the documents. However, to date most government agencies have not made the full transfer over to digital storage.

Probably the most prominent turn of events in the history of birth records & certificates is the invention of the internet. Not long after the internet went mainstream, websites started popping up offering access to all kinds of birth records and other public records. For the first time, visitors were able to look up the birth records of anyone in the country with only a few clicks of the mouse. Most of these websites involved paying a small fee, but some of them were, and still are, free.

What started out as a couple of websites soon multiplied into dozens. Now people may become overwhelmed with the choices they are presented with. Offering birth records & certificate websites online with state-of-the-art databases and search functions now allow people to retrieve the birth records they need in a very short period of time. No more waiting around for weeks just to see if Vital Records will ever get back to you (after sending them $30+). No more doing any actual physical work to get the records– no traveling to courthouses or government agencies.

It can all be done from the comfort of your own home, and by far the best place to conduct these searches is Birthdetails.com!

Posted in About Birth Records, Finding Birth Records, birth records | 2 Comments »

Finding Free Birth Records: Easier Than Ever!

Friday, January 29th, 2010

The internet has come a long way since it first became popular in the ’90s. Back then, did you anticipate that finding free birth records would some day be as easy as typing in a search box and hitting enter? No one could have suspected that the ‘net would make such leaps and bounds. It’s absolutely amazing how easy it is to look up information these days on virtually anyone you choose. Need public records? It’s not only possible to do it all online, but most people prefer it over doing it manually (and having to jump through hoops, and wait weeks for it to arrive).

Finding free birth records isn’t going to happen if you’re not looking online. Usually you have to contact the Vital Records office in your state, speak with a representative, and pay a fee to access the documents. And if you’re searching birth records in order to compile a family tree, look up a lost friend, or find out the details of someone you’re interested in, you may not be able to do it because generally, you will only be allowed to look up your own birth details, or those of someone in your immediate family (meaning that even your grandparent’s birth details are not accessible).

What’s even worse is that sometimes Vital Records won’t even be able to find your documents at all! Since most of these government offices still contain their databases in filing cabinets and boxes, it’s very easy for your document to be misplaced, lost, or even destroyed. But once you pay the fee there’s no refund. You’ll pay your hard-earned money and wait for weeks only to find that your birth records have… mysteriously vanished.

This type of thing used to be commonplace, but now it can be avoided entirely by finding free birth records online. These birth records archives store literally millions of birth records on all kinds of people, both past and present. You can look up birth records of people alive and well right along with those who lived one hundred years ago.

All that it really takes is knowing their first and last name, as well as their location It’s not always necessary, but it greatly improves the speed and convenience of tracking down the exact person you’re looking for — imagine looking for John Smith without indicating a location: you will be given results from the entire country, which could be literally tens of thousands of people!

If your goal is finding free birth records, one of the best websites around is BirthDetails.com. It’s the easiest and most user friendly out of all the birth record search engines. So stop fooling around and get your search on — in only minutes you’ll be presented with the exact document you need.

Posted in Finding Birth Records, Public Records, birth records | 2 Comments »

Public Florida Records: Easy To Find?

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Public Florida records are remarkably easy to find if you know where to look. If you’re in desperate need of public records, whether they are birth records, death records, marriage and divorce records, or even criminal records, your search will likely pull up all of the details you could possibly need.

These records are available from a large number of sources. State and county government offices provide access to Florida records that the state has deemed publicly viewable. Most of these records are now available online, making it exceedingly easy to access. Depending on the exact information you’re looking for, your search may or may not yield immediate results.

Public Florida records are great to have on hand, as there are a variety of reasons for looking them up. Perhaps you want to investigate your new boyfriend or girlfriend, or perform a background check on a potential employee. Perhaps you are simply gathering information and facts to add to your family tree. The greatest part is that it is all public information, with some exceptions of course. In most cases, the government is required to provide this information to the public, so looking it up pretty much just boils down to performing a simple search, and perhaps paying a small fee. Generally, there will be no hoops to jump through (unless you’re trying to look up records that are sealed or private).

Records that you can NOT look up include juvenile records and social security numbers (for obvious reasons).

Depending on the public Florida records you need, you might have to consult several differing sources. For most records involving crime and lawsuits, you’ll have to check with the county’s court website. Therefore, if you don’t know the county of the person you are looking up, you might run into a few problems. Florida has sixty-seven counties, so you’ll be in for a long, time-consuming headache. However, there are websites such as BirthDetails.com that can help you perform these searches even if you’re not sure about the exact county.

If you want to look up birth or death records, you’ll have to consult the Florida Department of Health Vital Records office. Again, this process can turn into a headache if you don’t know what to expect. Generally, they won’t allow you to access the records of someone not in your immediate family. To bypass this rule, you simply have to use a website like BirthDetails.com to look up birth records instead. You’ll find that it’s much faster and very easy to navigate.

So if searching for public Florida records is your goal, why not get started today on BirthDetails.com?

Posted in About Birth Records, Criminal Records, Finding Birth Records, Public Records, birth records | No Comments »

How To Find A Birth Certificate Copy

Monday, January 11th, 2010

If you need a birth certificate copy, the internet is the best place to go. The online world contains huge databases stored with facts and documents. If you plan to search for public records information on the internet, it’s beneficial to first make sure you have a proper understanding of what public records are and how they can be used. Once you have become properly knowledgeable about the scope of public records searches, you’ll find it easier not only to search for the information you desire, but to properly utilize it.

Basically, while some records are considered personal and private (such as a Social Security number, insurance and medical records), most public records are categorized as freely available for the public to view. The Freedom of Information Act allows every citizen to access public records of their choosing, provided they are not classified or closed to the public in a court case. Thanks to the FOIA, birth records are generally considered part of the public domain, so finding a birth certificate copy shouldn’t be too hard.

To locate and order your birth certificate copy, one place you can go to is the Vital Records website. You will have to specify the state and county in which you were born. You will most likely have to print out a form, fill it out, and send it to the Vital Records office along with a fee. Processing time can take up to several weeks. In some cases, your information may not even be on record, but you will not be able to get your money (or your time) back.

A better option for tracking down a birth certificate copy is to simply use one of the many available birth records databases online such as BirthDetails.com. For much less than it costs to order from Vital Records, and for virtually no time investment at all, you can quickly pinpoint and access your birth certificate copy, which you can then use for any purpose.

Some people lose track of their birth certificates, but it is an extremely important document, and we should all keep a copy of it on hand. It serves as evidence of our identity and citizenship. It is a legal document that documents our parent’s names and our place of birth. You owe it to yourself to always keep a birth certificate copy close at hand, because you may never know when you might need it. You should encourage your family members and friends to keep a birth certificate copy as well, just in case.

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About Your Vital Records Birth Certificate

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Every person born in the United States is required to have a Vital Records birth certificate. The birth certificate form must generally be filled out and sent off within one month of the birth of a child. Most of the time, this step is done right at the hospital before the parents leave to go home with the baby.

The parents will receive a copy of the birth certificate and another copy will be held at the Department of Health Vital Records office in the state where the child was born. A vital records birth certificate will almost always list the full names of the mother and father, the full name of the child, exact date of birth, and location of birth. Sometimes additional details are included, such as occupation of the parents and name of the doctor and/or midwife present at the birth.

A Vital Records birth certificate is an incredibly important document. It is used as proof of citizenship and proof of identity. When you apply for a passport, you need your birth records available to prove that you were born in the United States. Americans who were born out of the country often have a difficult time applying for passports and other government documents, because birth on American soil is assumed to be a prerequisite to natural citizenship.

In reality, if at least one of your parents is an American and has spent the majority of his or her life in the US, then you are automatically considered an American citizen by default (although you have to apply for additional documentation to prove this).

A Vital Records birth certificate is also used in the census to account for population numbers and rate of births.

If you need to obtain a copy of your Vital Records birth certificate, you may have to contact the office of Vital Records in your state. You will have to pay a fee (around $20) and wait several weeks for processing. Sometimes they may not have your birth certificate on file. All in all, it can be a painful process, as dealing with government agencies tend to be a slow and arduous process.

Another option is to access your Vital Records birth certificate online. There are huge databases on the internet that contain millions of public records, including birth records. It has become a common trend for many to go on the internet whenever they need access to public records. BirthDetails.com prides itself on being one of the easiest, cheapest, and most accessible birth record databases online!

Posted in About Birth Records, Finding Birth Records, Public Records | No Comments »

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