Lesson 8

It's Vital!

Take a look at your Ancestral chart. If you haven’t filled out a ancestral chart, you should do so now. It asks for information on three major events in the life of each person: birth, marriage and death. Birth, marriage or death certificates were usually kept by government officials, and are called "vital" records.

Vital records are special documents that are kept in the courthouses or County in the place where the event happened. These are official records and were verified by a person in charge of those records.. 

 If you were born in Virginia, then no doctor or hospital in Ohio has the right to say you were born in Virginia. Only the Virginia hospital can issue your birth certificate. Now, if you were to lose your birth certificate, would you look for it in Ohio? Of course not! You would request it from the state in which the record was first created. They same applies to your ancestors.

What you’re learning here is the concept of jurisdiction. A jurisdiction is the territory within which authority may be exercised. The Maricopa County Vital Records office is the first office that has the right to record events that happen in Maricopa County, 

Now, some people choose to go to places like the Family History Library to find vital records. To receive copies of their certificates in the mail, others write the vital records offices in the states in which their ancestors were born, married or died. Still others take long journeys, preferring to see the original record, no matter where that record may be kept.

Types of Vital Records include Birth Certificates, Death Certificates, and Marriage Certificates

Check out the following link  to look at some copies of Vital Records.

Ancestors Vital Records

 Another place that you may find vital Records is through the Church your ancestor attended. Churches keep records of events and ceremonies  that took place in the church such as baptisms, weddings, and other events. Is some states before certain periods the church was the main recorded keeper for important events that took place in a person's life.

Check out the following links to look as some of the records that were kept by the Church.

Church Record

Along Those Lines

You may not have realized it, but as each record gives you clues to your ancestors, you begin to understand more about that ancestor’s immediate family. In fact, a good ancestor detective always looks for clues in records that will prove relationship, meaning, clues that will tell you who the ancestor’s mother was, or who their older brother might have been. On a marriage certificate, for instance, the witnesses to the marriage are often relatives. But is it the bride’s uncle or the groom’s father? You may not know who it is, but the record has at least given you a name that you can now look for in other records.

At http://www.CyndisList.com/topical.htm, you’ll find a listing of sources for the records of various religions, 

CHECK out the following links to see what information they contain.

Learn more about Quakers and their role in history.

Take a look at some very old and interesting Evangelical records.

ACTIVITY 1

NOW that you have found out about Vital Records and have had a chance to look at several.

CHOOSE and ancestor from your research.

CREATE a journal entry that you think your ancestor may have written.

CONSIDER the information you have gathered from Vital Records as well as historical events of the period.

WRITE the journal from your ancestors perspective.

SAVE the entry to your portfolio. After everyone has completed their journals you will  have an opportunity to share with your classmates.

Questions to Consider

1. What events do you consider to be most important?

2.  How did certain historical events affect your ancestor?

3. Based on what information you have gathered, how was your ancestors life different from yours?

What I have learned

In this lesson you have learned where you can find Vital records and why they are important. You have learned that Vital records carry important clues about your ancestors that can help you in your search. In Lesson 9 you will discover the stories a tombstone can tell.

Self-Assessment

Use the Journal Assessemnt Rubric to assess your Journal Entry. CREATE a document entitled Lesson 8 Journal Self-Assessment and include the grade you gave yourself. SAVE the document to your Portfolio.

To Lesson 9