TXBELL-L Archives

From: "Jody Dillard" <>
Subject: [TXBELL] Birth records
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 14:16:21 -0700

Most of you probably know this, but in case you don't, a little tip. Birth and death records were not recorded until 1903 in the state of Texas. I was disappointed when I couldn't find some of the names of people I was searching for in the first index. One of the ladies asked me if I had looked at "Delayed Records". I didn't even know about them.

Many birth certificates were not filed until much later when a person had a need for it. For example, my father was born in 1915 but he never needed his birth certificate until he sold his home in 1971. That was the index I found his name listed in... 1971. I looked through all the indexes and to my amazement, I found almost every one of his brothers and sisters in various years that had nothing to do with their birth date.

Another interesting tip; when the person filed for a birth certificate and none was on record, they had to have a friend or relative who knew them at birth come to testify to the actual date and verify that the person filing was in fact, the one for whom the birth certificate was intended. When looking at it from this angle, I found the witnesses to be relatives that I may have had no record of. So even more discoveries were made.

In Bell County, in both the library and the County Clerk's office, they keep a list of all the people doing genealogy. You can find others on that list that are searching for the same people you are searching for. Very helpful resource.

By the way, thanks for your kind responses. I am happy to know I am not boring every body with these long notes. I think all of you working on family history can understand how the adrenalin rushes when you make a new discovery or find a tombstone that you have been searching for.

Happy Researching,
Jody Dillard

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