Birth certificate

By Anonymous on Fri, 04/01/2016 - 11:03

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I have recieved, from my uncle, a digital image of his notification of birth registration. The certificate was issued via the U.S. Dept of Commerce, Bureau of Census. The certificate blank was printed by the U.S. government printing office in the year prior (1936) to my uncle's birth (1937). It states the record of birth is registered and preserved at the State Registrar of vital Statistics in Lincoln, Nebraska. Obviously this is NOT a State issued birth certificate. Is this somewhat like a fraktur and should it be cited as such, or should it be treated as an artifact or as any other certificate issued by a government body? I have written two citations:

 

Kent William Luby, birth certificate no. H9518, Giltner, Nebraska, 27 June 1937; digital image held by Teresa (Allen) Mills [address for private use] of Virginia Beach, Virginia, 2016. Original held by Kent William Luby [address for private use] of Spokane,Washington. Digital image supplied by Kent William Luby to Teresa (Allen) Mills on 30 March 2016.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, Notification of Registration of Birth, Kent William Luby, birth certificate no. H9518 (1937); State Registrar of Vital Records, Lincoln, Nebraska. Digital image supplied by Kent William Luby [address for private use] of Spokane, Washington to Teresa (Allen) Mills [address for private use] of Virginia Beach, Virginia, 2016.

The first citation uses artifact model with provenance, the second follows state issued certificate model with provenance. I am not sure whether either model is appropriate.

 

 

Submitted byMillsTAon Fri, 04/01/2016 - 13:57

Editor, 

Then, this is a derivative? If I send to Nebraska vital records and get a short form  would that also be a derivative? 

Submitted byEEon Fri, 04/01/2016 - 20:11

Teresa, the short form would definitely be a derivative. The Census Bureau form might be--although variances from one year and place to another raise too many issues to make any blanket statement without comparing the Census Bureau form to the original filing. Citation wise, I would treat the copy supplied by the Census Bureau, which cannot be retrieved now by a request to the Census Bureau, as a family artifact.