WRITING FOR VITAL RECORDS

One of the most important pieces of paper to document ancestral lines is the certified copy of a Birth, Baptism, Marriage, or Death records. Search for these certificates in home files, and in the files of family relatives. Many times, these will not be on hand, and one will have to correspond with the office issuing them.

There is book available to help with this search called Vital Records Handbook, by Thomas J. Kemp. It contains the applications needed to write for certificates and necessary documentation from places all over the United States, and some foreign countries as well.

For civil records, the local county or city where they event occurred is the most likely place. Often two letters are necessary-one inquiring about applications, fees and time periods records cover, and the second, the actual request. The Vital Records Handbook might give you enough information to skip the first step, if you are lucky.

Where to Write

It is important to obtain the correct address for the correct jurisdiction. Over the years, many counties have split off form other; and many boundary lines have changed. A great source for Vital Records locations is the Pinellas Park Public Library Online . This website has all the current places to write for vital records.

There are also several books published which can help lead you to the correct addresses.

• The best of these is the Handy Book for Genealogists, Use the most recent edition published by Everton Publishers, Inc. in Salt Lake City, Utah. This book breaks down each state into counties, and tells what county is the parent county for the county being researched. It also tells when the records began, and where to write. An excellent map of each state, divided into counties is also included.
• Other good books include Jean Eddy Westin's Finding Your Roots, and
• the American Genealogical Research Institute's How to Trace Your Family Tree.

The last two books are available in paperback at a reasonable cost in most bookstores. They are also available in most public libraries under the Dewey Decimal number 929.1.

Vital Record Departments

Remember,Vital Records departments are established to benefit the government, not to satisfy genealogists; however, they will usually honor your requests. The fees have sky-rocketed in recent years due to the popularity of genealogy as a hobby; and the overwhelming number of requests these offices now receive are genealogy-related.

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Return to:

• Table of Contents
  
• Searching for Family Documents

• Documents at Home
• Vital Records
• Government Records

This website written and designed by:
Sharon Marie Centanne,
Genealogy Research Instructor and Internet Trainer
Please direct any questions to:
Sharon.

This page updated May 3, 2008

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