Elizabeth & Cheri: NorCal Genealogy provides the following:
http://www.sfgenealogy.com/norcal/caldata.htm#calvitals Some of what is listed are free, and quite good. Denis Meals On Tue, Feb 24, 2015 at 11:18 AM, Elizabeth Migliori <lizmi...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Cheri, > Is there a link for the CA. Birth and Death Indexes? > If so could you send me. > > Thx mucho > Liz > > On Sun, Feb 15, 2015 at 9:49 AM, Cheri Mello <gfsche...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Hi Bill, >> >> I have a lot of experience with the California Birth Index and the >> California Death Index. >> >> First, a mini lesson on sources. >> 1) Primary Sources: Something that is generated AT THE TIME of the >> event. For example, a birth certificate is a primary source for a birth. >> A death certificate is a primary source for a death. The U.S. Federal >> census can be considered a primary source for residence. >> >> 2) Secondary Sources: Something that is generated AFTER the event. For >> example, a birth date obtained from a death certificate. If a person is >> born in 1905 and that date appears on a 1940 document, then it's not a >> primary source. >> >> Birth and death indices are created by the state (at least in California) >> by people (same is true for the Social Security Death Index). To err is >> human. So an index can have an error. I suppose technically, the CA Birth >> and Death Indices are not a source. I utilize them as a source in my >> genealogy program because I don't have the money to order a birth or death >> on every ancestor I find. I don't do only my direct line. I try to get >> the whole family (siblings and grandkids). But these indices are not my >> only source. If I'm using the CA Birth Index as a source, I try to have >> 1-2 others agree with this source. If they don't agree, I have a lot of >> sources on 1 event! In all my work with the indices, I've found a mistake >> once. (What I mean by that is they've typed the wrong month of death in the >> death index). Overall, pretty accurate! >> >> The CA Birth and Death Indices are getting their information from the >> Birth or Death Certificate. That certificate has an informant on it, who >> gave the information. The earlier ones don't ask the name of the >> informant. The later ones do. The information is only as good as what the >> informant provides given the circumstances. >> >> Example of a Death Certificate from 1961 in CA: >> Informant is the wife. Right off the bat, I question EVERYTHING on the >> death certificate except the death. The spouse just died. How upset is >> the wife? Is the wife an immigrant too and whose information is she >> giving? The death for my ancestor in 1961 gives the wrong date of birth, >> states he was a U.S. citizen (he wasn't, but his wife was), and something >> else I can't remember. >> >> Example of a Death Certificate from 1992 in CA: >> Informant was the son. The death wasn't expected. I should probably >> question everything, except the informant was my dad. Almost everything >> checked out. By 1992, CA wanted to know how many years of education the >> deceased had. It said 12th grade. I asked my dad. My dad said he was >> never asked that question at all, as he knew his father only went to 8th >> grade. No hesitation in answering that question at all. Someone forgot to >> ask my dad and just took a guess. >> >> Example of a Birth Certificate in 1912 in CA: >> Informants weren't listed in 1912. There still were informants, we just >> don't know who they were. On my grandfather's birth, it lists his dad as >> his dad, and his paternal grandmother as his mom. Huh, what? She never >> came to America. I never understood why or how that happened. One day, I >> pulled his birth and was looking at it again. I noted there was no box or >> line to list an informant. At first, I told myself the informant was the >> mom. Then I thought about it and said, no, moms were told to rest. Then >> it dawned on me. It was dad. They asked dad (the immigrant) for the >> information. Being the proud papa, he gave the baby's name and even gave >> his name. When they asked him the name of the mother, he gave the name of >> the mother - HIS MOTHER! After all, Gloria was his wife. He misunderstood >> given the level of his English skills at that time. >> >> Bill, you're going to have to narrow down the freguesia first. Could the >> attached record by your Joao? Maybe. My immigrant ancestor generally had >> his month and day right, but he gave the years of 1884, 1885, 1886, and >> 1887! Who says the person giving Joao's information wasn't off by a year >> or 2? Maybe your Joao was indeed born Aug 15th...but in 1904 or 1906. >> >> If your ancestor didn't naturalize, he probably lived long enough to >> register when the Smith Act took place in June, 1940. We call that Alien >> Registration. You need to order his naturalization information or his >> Alien Registration information from the USCIS. In it, he will hopefully >> give his correct freguesia. If not, you'll get at least the island, maybe >> the council. You are probably searching 50 freguesias in the central >> island group, hoping for the right one. Start with your ancestor's death >> in Orange Co, CA and work back in time. If you hit his immigration into >> America and get that date, you might get lucky and be able to hire Joao >> Ventura, the archivist in Terceira to search the passaportes out of Angra >> for the time period you ancestor could have sailed. But note that I said >> "lucky." >> >>> >>> >> Cheri Mello >> Listowner, Azores-Gen >> Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das >> Tainhas, Achada >> >> -- >> For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail >> (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the >> right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my >> membership." >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Azores Genealogy" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores. >> > > -- > For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail > (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the > right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my > membership." > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Azores Genealogy" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores. > -- For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores.
