Difference between revisions of "GuidedResearch:Why Can't I Find the Record - Alabama Births"

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| width="10%" | <center>[[Alabama Vital Records|Death Records]]  </center>
 
| width="10%" | <center>[[Alabama Vital Records|Death Records]]  </center>
 
| width="15%" | <center><u>[[GuidedResearch:Alabama|Alabama Death Guided Research]]</u></center>
 
| width="15%" | <center><u>[[GuidedResearch:Alabama|Alabama Death Guided Research]]</u></center>
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| width="75%" | Go back to the Alabama Guided Research page, and click on "Death". Death records may include the deceased individual's birthday or age at death is given, suggesting an approximate birthdate by subtracting the age from the death date.
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| width="75%" | Death records may include the birthdate or age of the deceased. With the age, a birthdate can be approximated. Click on the link to the left to return to the "Death" page.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| width="10%" | <center>[[Alabama Cemeteries|Cemetery Records]] </center>
 
| width="10%" | <center>[[Alabama Cemeteries|Cemetery Records]] </center>
 
| width="15%" | <center><u>[https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&localeSubcountryName=Alabama&collection_id=(2286030%202026973%202221801)&query=%2Brecord_country%3A%22United%20States%22%20%2Brecord_subcountry%3A%22United%20States%2CAlabama%22 Alabama Cemetery FS Collections]</u></center>
 
| width="15%" | <center><u>[https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&localeSubcountryName=Alabama&collection_id=(2286030%202026973%202221801)&query=%2Brecord_country%3A%22United%20States%22%20%2Brecord_subcountry%3A%22United%20States%2CAlabama%22 Alabama Cemetery FS Collections]</u></center>
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| width="75%" | Tombstone inscriptions and records created when a deceased individual was interred in a cemetery.  
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| width="75%" | Gravestone inscriptions and cemetery records may include a birthdate.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| width="10%" | <center>[[Alabama Census|Census Records]] </center>
 
| width="10%" | <center>[[Alabama Census|Census Records]] </center>
 
| width="15%" | <center><u>[https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&localeSubcountryName=Alabama&collection_id=(1915984%201915987%202487274%201420441%201420440%201821205%201803958%201786457%201401638%201473181%201438024%201417683%201610551%201325221%201727033%201488411%201810731%202000219)&query=%2Brecord_country%3A%22United%20States%22%20%2Brecord_subcountry%3A%22United%20States%2CAlabama%22 U.S. Census FS Collections]</u></center>
 
| width="15%" | <center><u>[https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&localeSubcountryName=Alabama&collection_id=(1915984%201915987%202487274%201420441%201420440%201821205%201803958%201786457%201401638%201473181%201438024%201417683%201610551%201325221%201727033%201488411%201810731%202000219)&query=%2Brecord_country%3A%22United%20States%22%20%2Brecord_subcountry%3A%22United%20States%2CAlabama%22 U.S. Census FS Collections]</u></center>
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| width="75%" | Census records from 1830 onward give ages of the recorded individuals, allowing researchers to calculate birth years.   
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| width="75%" | Census records beginning with the 1850 census give names and ages of individuals, allowing researchers to estimate birth years.   
 
|-
 
|-
 
| width="10%" | <center>[[Alabama Church Records|Church Records]] </center>
 
| width="10%" | <center>[[Alabama Church Records|Church Records]] </center>
 
| width="15%" | <center>See Wiki page</center>
 
| width="15%" | <center>See Wiki page</center>
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| width="75%" | Include baptism records, which occasionally give the individual's birthday. Also includes death and burial records, sometimes giving individual's age at death, allowing researchers to calculate approximate birth years. In order to access these records, researchers need to know the church their ancestor attended.
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| width="75%" | Baptism records occasionally provide a birthdate. In addition, a death or burial record may include an age than can approximate a birthdate.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| width="10%" | <center>[[Alabama Newspapers|Newspapers]] </center>
 
| width="10%" | <center>[[Alabama Newspapers|Newspapers]] </center>
 
| width="15%" | <center>See Wiki page</center>
 
| width="15%" | <center>See Wiki page</center>
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| width="75%" | Contain obituaries. Before the 21st century, obituaries were mostly restricted to leading members of a community or for those who died in an unusual manner. While the majority of the population did not have their own obituaries, such records often give the individual's age at death, and sometimes include birth information.
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| width="75%" |In addition to obituaries, newspapers publish notices of marriages, divorces, deaths, and funerals. In recent years birth notices have also been published providing the names of the parents and sex of the child.
 
|-
 
|-
 
| width="10%" | <center>[[United States Obituaries|Obituaries]] </center>
 
| width="10%" | <center>[[United States Obituaries|Obituaries]] </center>

Revision as of 11:17, 19 July 2018


This page will give you additional guidance and resources to find birth information for your ancestor. Use this page after first completing the birth section of the Alabama Guided Research page.


Additional records

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Additional Databases and Online Resources






Substitute records

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Additional Records with Birth Information

Substitute records can contain information about more than one event, and are used when records for an event are not available. Because the substitute records may not be created at the time of the event, it may contain incorrect information. Search for as many substitute records as possible to corroborate information found in substitute records to help improve accuracy.

Use these substitute records to locate birth information about your ancestor:
Wiki Page
FamilySearch(FS) Collections
 Why to search the records
Death Records
Alabama Death Guided Research
 Death records may include the birthdate or age of the deceased. With the age, a birthdate can be approximated. Click on the link to the left to return to the "Death" page.
Cemetery Records
Alabama Cemetery FS Collections
 Gravestone inscriptions and cemetery records may include a birthdate.
Census Records
U.S. Census FS Collections
 Census records beginning with the 1850 census give names and ages of individuals, allowing researchers to estimate birth years.
Church Records
See Wiki page
 Baptism records occasionally provide a birthdate. In addition, a death or burial record may include an age than can approximate a birthdate.
Newspapers
See Wiki page
 In addition to obituaries, newspapers publish notices of marriages, divorces, deaths, and funerals. In recent years birth notices have also been published providing the names of the parents and sex of the child.
Obituaries
Alabama Obituary FS Collections
 Obituaries often include the birth date and place of the deceased.
Military Records
Alabama Military FS Collections
 May provide the age and/or birth date of the individuals who served in military positions.
Bible Records
See Wiki page
 May include dates of birth for family members.





Improve searching

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Tips for finding births

Successfully finding birth records in online databases depends on a few key points. Try the following search suggestions:

  • Spelling variations. Your ancestor's name may be misspelled. Search with spelling variations for the first and last name of your ancestor.
  • Search parents. Search for the parents, if known, as the child's first name may not be on the birth record.
  • Search given name. Search by given name (leave out the last name) with the approximate date of birth.
  • Add information. For common names, add more information to narrow the search such as approximate birth date or parent's names if known.
  • Date range. Expand the date range of the search by 5 years.
  • Search state. Search using the state name only instead of by county.





Why the record may not exist

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Known Record Gaps

Records Start

  • 1881--Some counties, inconsistent coverage
  • 1908--Statewide registration
  • 1927--Compliance to statewide registration


Records Published
Collection coverage tables show the places and time periods of original records published. Check the coverage table for the collections you searched which did not include your ancestor. Gaps in the online collection may require searches in other records or original birth records at an archive.


Records destroyed
The following counties had record loss. Click on the county for more information.






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