Problems with obtaining vital records
Time period limitations
Needing detailed information to obtain the proper records you're hoping to obtain the detailed information from
Reliability; have the records been falsified intentionally or via mis-statement
Sketchiness of early forms
Confusion on actual birthdate vs. christening date
Interpreting handwriting
Condition of the documents, presuming they exist
Confidentiality legislation restricting information access, particularly adoption and divorce
The federal government does not maintain records of births, deaths and marriages other than ancillary information that might be provided in the federal decennial census via the odd enumerator's note or interpolations made from the listings. Minimal help can be obtained from a website such as "Calculating Birth Year Based on Census Information."
This is quasi-federal in the sense that the records were collected by the Social Security Administration, a federal agency, but the compilation into an accessible database was undertaken by the private sector. Ancestry.com maintains a free search for the Social Security Death Index. This index primarily covers 1962 through November 2001, with some as early as 1937. It contains over 68 million names, but only those with a social security number and only those reported to the Social Security Administration. SSDI entries contain the name, social security number, date of birth, date of death, date of last known residence (which may help locate death certificate or obituary), location of last benefit and date and place of issuance. See the FAQ for additional information. RootsWeb also has a search portal for the SSDI and they provide place name links to other RootsWeb pages relevant to the geographical location. Upon locating an ancestor in the SSDI, a copy of the original SS application can be requested, for a fee.
To obtain an individual's vital record information, the National Center for
Health Statistics, links to "Where
to Write for Vital Records," and upon choosing the proper US state,
will give type of record, cost of copy, contact information, and remarks which
include any known information on extent of the records. Records for New
York State are managed separately from those for New
York City. "The New York State Department of Health does not file New York City birth and death
certificates. To obtain a copy of a New York City birth or death certificate, you must
contact the New York City Department of Health. Do not submit requests for copies of
New York City birth and death certificates to the New York State Department of Health."
Official registration of the vital events of people's lives was not required
in many locales, until the 20th century, so the existence and access to such
records is highly dependent on the state, town or church where the event
occurred. Obtaining
New York State Records for Genealogy Purposes outlines the limitations on
available records for ancestor hunting at the state level. Birth certificates
have to have been on file for at least 75 years and the individual known to be
dead. For death certificates, they must have been on file for at least 50 years
and the same time period for marriages, although both individuals have to be
known deceased. According to this page, "Records on file date back to 1881 for
births and marriages and 1880 for deaths, EXCEPT for records filed in Albany,
Buffalo and Yonkers prior to 1914. Applications for records prior to 1914 for
these cities must be made directly to the local office." Microfiche copies
of the Indexes to the vital records that are currently available to the
public contain the following information: name, place, date, and certificate
number. The Indexes are currently available upstate only at the New York
State Archives, 11th Floor, Cultural Education Center, Empire State Plaza,
Albany, NY 12230, 518-474-8955; and Rochester Public Library, 115 South Avenue,
Rochester, NY 14604, 716-428-8440. Indexes at the State Archives in
Albany can be used from 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. The Department of Health's Bureau
of Vital Records no longer provides access to the microfiche Indexes by
appointment. The National Archives and Records Administration's Northeast Region
office in New York City (201 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014-4811,
212-401-1620) also has the Indexes. [Rochester
Public Library the public libraries in Buffalo and Syracuse, and the
NARA
branch in NYC are the only other places where the index is accessible for
searching.] Application forms for copies of the records are available in
PDF.
Relevant to NYC, "for genealogy copies of certificates for birth or deaths that occurred
within the 5 boroughs of NYC, you may contact the New York City Archives at 212-788-8580.
For marriages that took place in one of the five boroughs of NYC, contact the City Clerk's office in the borough in which the marriage
certificate was obtained. One exception to this is that marriage certificates older than 1898 from Queens and Richmond counties are on
file in the office of the New York State Department of Health." There
is a short reference to
New
York City Vital Records at the Municipal Archives, vital records, census and city directories on the Municipal
Archives of the City of New York web page and
ordering
forms.
To summarize, according to the NYS Department of Health's web page, "If the event took place in New York State and you are seeking a copy of the record, you may
be able to obtain the copy from one or more agencies. The different types of certificates may
be on file at the New York State Department of Health, the New York City Department of
Health, and/or a local clerk or registrar's office, including city, town and county clerks and
other local officials."
It wouldn't hurt to repeat that state archives/record centers may be of assistance and Censusdiggins.com gives Links to State Archives.
LOCAL SOURCES
To aid in county history and information, check out the name and address directory for New York State County Historians on the Association of Public Historians of New York State. Caveat--it's undated as to when it was posted.
COMMERCIAL SOURCES
Note: There are commercial services, for example USA Vital.com that charge for retrieving records. On clicking on New York, it is noted that NYS does not release information to third party vendors.
Other "for fee" information can be found via databases on Ancestry.com, as for those like New York state.
Vitalrec.com offers Vital Records Information, in particular a very helpful connection to county level records offices [arrow down the page] for New York State.
LDS (Mormon Family History Center)
The Ancestral file and International Genealogical Index of this organization is probably the most comprehensive, freely accessible source for birth, death and marriage dates since the records were compiled from site visits to churches, town halls and county clerks all around the United States (and internationally as well). As such, they do remain subject to human error. They also offer some access to various other types of vital records such as Bible records and cemeteries browsable at the international and state level, as well as church, civil registration (designation for vital records in other countries and Quebec), divorce, funeral homes, obituaries and other vital records collections.
DEATH
19th and 20th century newspapers routinely included obituaries or death or funeral notices for local residents. Birth, wedding and anniversary announcements didn't become standard until the 1900s. Newspaper searching requires local, name and time frame information, but can be a "genealogical jackpot."
For help in determining what exactly is on that death certificate, consult Genealogy Today's "Old World Diseases."
Check the NYS Newspaper Project listing for papers in NYS at the local level
Interment.net allows browsing of nearly 3 million cemetery records across 5,775 cemeteries from around the world. A search function permits searching of the whole database by surname, or it can be limited geographically to specific countries or states. New York is available.
Online Searchable Death Indexes for the United States; a guide for genealogists and other researchers
Genealogy.com offers the Virtual Cemetery which is more limited since it relies on contributions from genealogists.
New York State Cemetery Directory (viaNYGenweb)
Ancestry.com has a nice article on Locating People in Cemeteries and gives advice on Visiting Cemeteries and Cemetery Research Online.
The National Cemetery Administration offers a web page of State Veterans Cemeteries and the 120 Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemeteries by state. There is also a Department of Veterans Affairs Nationwide Gravesite Locator.
NAMES
Cyndi's List has an extensive listing of Names links for both given and surname sites
Surname meanings, more common ones but including foreign (commercial site)
About.com's Naming Patterns for Countries and Cultures (Arabic, British, colonial, Czech, German, Finnish, India, Irish, Jewish, Korea, Russia, Poland, etc...)
Surname-origins-L mailing list
Family naming traditions (recurrence of the same names throughout family lines) can provide a pattern that might yield clues in a search as well as name spelling idiosyncrasies over time.
MILITARY RECORDS
National Personnel Records Center is is the repository of millions of military personnel, health, and medical records of discharged and deceased veterans of all services during the 20th century. NPRC (MPR) also stores medical treatment records of retirees from all services, as well as records for dependent and other persons treated at naval medical facilities. Information from the records is made available upon written request (with signature and date) to the extent allowed by law. Access By The Public is strictly outlined.
Access to Military Service and Pension Records at the NARA is summarized with branch of service and dates of coverage. While service records aren't as helpful genealogically, they can lead to pension records which do include family information.
Military records up through the Korean War are thoroughly covered on NARA's "An Overview of Records at the National Archives Relating to Military Service" page.
Military Collection Links (US Internet Genealogical Society Research Library) offers online links categorized by war/conflict and then by state
HELPFUL SITES:
Genealogy.com's About Dates and Dates for Genealogists
Genealogy.com's article about Finding Marriage Dates with suggestions for alternatives
Period Approximation Chart which gives the researcher a target range in which to concentrate the search.
Relationship Chart for those pesky "removed cousin" questions
Pictures of my family members? Genealogy Today's article "Looking at Our Ancestors," gives an excellent timeline as to the types and timing of particular forms of photographs and photography.