Citing a "Notice of Birth Registration" issued at time of birth by Bureau of Vital Statistics

By rtkoehler on Fri, 04/26/2024 - 10:45

Forums

In Florida, when a birth certificate is filed for a child, the Office of Vital Statistics mails a one-time "Notice of Birth Registration" to the mother. A sample of this notice is attached. Once it is mailed to the mother, the notice is never issued again and it is not possible to obtain another one from Vital Statistics. I am guessing that since the document is in my possession and irreplaceable, I would cite it as a Private Holding/Artifact using Template 7. There is no issue date listed anywhere on the document, but I happen to know that it was issued by the Florida Office of Vital Statistics (now called the Bureau of Vital Statistics), in Jacksonville, Florida.

Florida notice of birth registration

My proposed citation is: 

Notice of birth registration, [child's name], birth number [#], issued by the Florida Office of Vital Statistics, Jacksonville, Florida; Koehler Family Collection, privately held by R. T. Koehler, [address for private use,] Tampa, Florida, 2024.

Would appreciate any input!

Submitted byEEon Sat, 04/27/2024 - 09:14

You are correct, Robert. It should be cited as a family artifact. However, if the certificate was not issued to you then an accurate statement of provenance would require you to identify the person to whom the certificate was issued (presumably the person who still holds the original), adding that an image copy is privately held by you.