The Mad Genealogist

Beginning Monday, Aug. 24, the fee for a single copy of a birth, death, marriage or divorce certificate or a report of fetal death from North Carolina Vital Records will increase from $15 to $24. The fee for additional copies will remain at $15 each. The change is due to a new law, the Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2009 (G.S. 10.22 130A-93.1), passed by the state legislature and signed by the governor on Aug. 7.

The cost for conducting a search of files for the record even if no copy is made will also rise to $24.

New forms for requesting vital records, with the updated fee information, will be available on the N.C. Vital Records website (vitalrecords.dhhs.state.nc.us/vr) beginning Aug. 24. Mailed applications postmarked on or after Aug. 24 must include the new fee, or the request cannot be filled and the application will be returned to the sender.
Vital records are also available from the Register of Deeds in the county where the event took place. For questions about the fee change, contact N.C. Vital Records at 919-733-3000.

In some religions, a dispensation was necessary, under certain circumstances, for a couple to be married in a religious ceremony. Dispensations were requested for various reasons, such as not wanting banns read or posted, a marriage between cousins, or, most commonly, a marriage between a couple of different religious backgrounds. In the Cathcolic Church, for example, a dispensation is  necessary for a Catholic to marry someone of another denomination.

In those cases, dispensation records reveal a good deal of biographical information: names of prospective bride and groom, their birthplaces (sometimes including exact towns, which can be especially  helpful in learning a foreign origin), residence at the time of filing for the dispensation, and the names of both parents, often including the mother’s maiden name.

In order to locate this kind of record, the religious backgrounds of the couple of interest must be determined as well as where and when the marriage took place. If the records have been saved for the time period in question, an inquiry to the religious headquarters, diocese, or archive may be the best starting point. If nothing else, this may narrow the search to a particular congregation or parish.

An example of a published collection of Catholic dispensations is Bishop Loughlin’s Dispensations-Diocese of Brooklyn 1859-1866, Volume 1 by Joseph M. Silinonte.

The value of this particular book of 5,200 dispensations lies not oninly its content, in itbs ucto verage-the  Diocese of Brooklyn included all of Long Island (then Kings, Queens, and  Suffolk counties) and present-day Nassau County, a total of thirty-five churches. Furthermore, this region was the initial stopping off place for many immigrants, who would later move elsewhere.

So, you go to the courthouse to get a copy of a simple marriage record….. and you are hit with the fact that the courthouse was destroyed at some point in the past. What are you to do?

Well old Newspapers are a good option but unless you are in a major city, actual copies can be spotty at best. Well here is a great option that is often overlooked…. DIVORCE RECORDS!

Divorce Records are a great substitute for a missing marriage record. Divorce records were not always filed in the local courthouse. Courthouse filings didn’t start until later years in most states. Divorces that occurred early in a states history were recorded in published journals of the statehouse or senate. The marriage date and place were often part of the divorce record.were not

Sometimes the divorce was never finalized for whatever reason. In those cases a petition may have survived. Petitions far outnumber divorces granted. Some divorces were appealed to a higher court such as  a Superior or Supreme Court. So look there as well.

I am so glad to see this kind of work by the county courthouse.  I would love to see other courthouse follow suit. Thankyou to Hamilton County Clerk Bill Knowles and staff!

News Release -  January 5, 2009 -  Hamilton County Clerk Bill Knowles said today “It pleases me to announce an extra dimension of service to citizens interested in researching Hamilton County marriage history. Records covering an eighty-five year period may now be accessed by visiting http://countyclerkanytime.com. My goal to assist the public in examining marriage records online is a reality after many years of planning. Genealogists are able to print a specific record being viewed.

“Licenses issued from 1857 to 1919 and from 1985 through 2008 have been posted online. Records from 1920 to 1984 will be posted when the project is completed. Marriage files from 1819 to 1856 do not exist. It is thought these documents were lost when the Courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1910.

“Researchers visiting the countyclerkanytime.com web site must click the following sequences: Online services, then Marriage Search & Reports. >From that point they register as a new user by giving their user name, email address, and pose a security question and answer. After this process a password for entering will be immediately returned by email. The password is permanent and can be used to search repeatedly, 24/7.

Knowles concluded, “I want to keep the County Clerk’s office on the cutting-edge. With the help of a great staff and the County’s professional IT team it has been gratifying to develop web site services to assist Hamilton County citizens. While we may release a great deal of information under the Tennessee’s Open Records Law; Social Security numbers, telephone numbers and confidential information is not revealed when researching marriage information. ——————-

Select – ‘All Online Services’, then Marriage Search & Reports. Create new user account and follow the directions.

This is a new project by Footnote.com and what a large one it is. Browsing through what they have online right now is very promising. I am salivating at what states they are going to do next. The text below is from their website:

Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29 – Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If you’re unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu. These records can be searched by father’s first and last names, mother’s first and maiden names, year, county, and city. The certificates include the child and parents’ full names, residence, occupations, age, time and date of the birth, and the name of the physician attending the birth.

and this one

Texas Death Certificates, 1890-1976 – These records are searchable by first and last name of the deceased, year, county, and city. A certificate may include the decedent’s date, place, and cause of death; age; date of birth; last residence; and marital status. If known, it will also include occupation, birth place, parents’ names, and place of burial. Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu.

Although I don’t have many ancestors in Texas I am sure many of you do. At this posting the birth Certificates were 32% complete and the Death Certificate were 4% Complete. I will post on this again when they are near completion and/or I hear what state will be next!