Monday, June 23, 2014

Do Birth Certificates Lie?

91 years ago today my father was born in Newellton, Louisiana. But if you use this date to try to verify who he was and his birth, you may be in for some difficulty.

Daddy always joked that he had two birthdays. (He was a dessert lover, so maybe he was after two of Mom's birthday cakes!) And recently when I was using free Ancestry searches, I found my dad's info by using that birth day date that he always said was his second birthday, June 27, 1923.  

So that got me to thinking (oh, I am sounding more Southern the older I get!!!) what birthdate is written on his birth certificate, passport, driver's license, military records, etc.?

For all of my family members who are as curious as I am, I'll have to ask Memaw if she still has those documents and will let me check them out. 

In the meantime, we will remember today, June 23 as Dad's birthday and light a candle for him on our memory table. (I personally like it better today, since I was his early birthday present on June 22 back in 1948.)



10 comments:

  1. May you be gifted with life's biggest joys and never ending bliss. Happy Belated Birthday!

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    1. Many thanks, Paulette. What a sweet comment! Hugs, Linda

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  2. How interesting. Did he ever give an explanation about the two birthdays?

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    1. If he did, I don't remember it. I'll ask my mom. Thanks for reminding me how important it is to know that. Hugs, Linda

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  3. When my husband's mother passed away Jim and I were cleaning out her things. We found 2 birth certificates for Jim. We already had one that showed Sep. 21 and the one we found showed Sep. 20th. I think in those days that the doctor's waited several days to record the birth, in my husband's case it was recorded twice.
    Happy birthday to your dad!

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    1. Thanks, Beth. Old records are not as accurate as they should be. :( Hugs, Linda

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  4. Yes, I discovered that as well...old records and recordings can vary, Linda...:)JP

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  5. I like the idea of a memory table.

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  6. I want to know the reason for the two birthdays. I hope you find the info.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Mom does not know. She did say June 27 was my aunt's date of birth. Whoever registered Dad's birth must have gotten mixed up. We will probably never know now, since all of his siblings have passed. Now to find out why my Dutch MIL had the same first name as her oldest sister (who was living when my MIL was born). Family mysteries!!! Linda

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