Читать книгу Collins Tracing Your Irish Family History - Ryan Tubridy, Anthony Adolph - Страница 63

Civil registration for births and deaths started in the late 18th century in certain cities, such as New Orleans (1790), and on a state level in the 19th century, beginning with Massachusetts (1840), the latest to start being Georgia (1919). Marriages were performed by clergymen or justices of the peace, with licences issued by county clerks, with civil registration only starting in the late 19th or early 20th century. Each state differs in its start dates, accessibility of its records and the amount of information recorded. The best sources are www.cyndislist.com under the individual state, and A. Eakle and J. Cerny, The Source; a Guidebook of American Genealogy (Ancestry, new edn 1996 by L. Szucs and S. Luebking). At best civil registration records can tell you how long an immigrant had lived in America, whether they were naturalised, and whence they came, though this will usually just be the country, not exact place, of origin.

Some civil registration is becoming available at www.ancestry.com. The US Social Security Death Index (1962–96), available at www.familysearch.org, includes dates of birth. It’s an excellent way of tracing where the descendants of immigrants ended up.