Finding Family - Birth Certificates

Like death certificates, birth certificates are recorded in the county where the birth took place. Many people hit a dead end here because their relatives were born in another country. In my case, I was lucky because my grandfather was born in the United States. I was able, through the death certificate, to find the birth certificate and where he was born.

Many people know the birth date of their family members, including grandparents. My father knew his father’s birth date, but had no idea where he was born. The death certificate provided me with this information. I was able to access the country records and came up with his birth certificate. Here I was able to find out the names of my great grandparents. The great-grandfather that supposedly deserted the family and the elusive first name of my great-grandmother. I was also able to find out my great-grandmother’s maiden name. It was Mary Murphy. They called her “Mer” as short for “Murphy” because it was her maiden name. I have no idea how this nickname evolved, but at least I now know that her name was Mary. Her married name was the same as that of my grandfather.

I was also able to discover my grandfather’s parents’ names. The birth certificate, according to the county where it is recorded, can contain much information. The age of the parents is usually on there and perhaps the county where they were born. To my surprise, despite the fact that my father was sure that his grandfather was from Ireland, I found out that he was not. He was born in Philadelphia. I had another lead on this man. I knew where he was from, and the county where he was born. My grandmother’s mom was born in Ireland. As I remembered my great-grandmother and the fact that she had a thick brogue, I was not surprised to learn this information.

I added this bit of information to my family tree on the website and continued with my search. I decided to go in pursuit of my great-grandfather - the man that so very few knew about. My father had never met his grandfather and, as his own parents divorced when he was young, he was a virtual mystery to the family.