The best primary source for birth information of an ancestor is a birth certificate. But what if you don’t have a birth certificate for your ancestor? You can get information about their birth from others sources, but they may not be a primary source.

What are Vital Records?

“Vital records include birth certificates, death certificates and marriage records. They are records which document the birth, marriage or death of a person and can be very beneficial in genealogical research. Certified copies of vital records can be used for many things such as verifying age, getting social security benefits and in receiving death benefits from life insurance policies. They are used widely in genealogy in verifying dates and other information.”  www.vital-record-online.com

  If you need or would like a copy of a birth certificate. Family Tree Magazine has a great article about finding and obtaining your ancestors birth certificate. You can read it here! After you obtain your ancestors birth certificate, don’t forget to put a dot in the color your have chosen for that family on the upper right corner, and then file it in your history book for that family.

Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy