Marriage and birth records purchased in person at the county clerk office

By Linda Rogers on Sun, 03/06/2022 - 15:39

Forums

Hello,

I have some marriage certificates and birth certificates that I purchased at the county clerk office.  I am trying to cite one of those marriage records.  Here is what I have done so far:

Source List Entry (EE)

California. Los Angeles County. Marriage Certificates. Registrar of Vital Statistics, Los Angeles.

First Reference Note (EE)

Los Angeles County, California, marriage certificate no. 3353 (1948), Rogers-Burn, Registrar of Vital Statistics, Los Angeles.

Subsequent Note (EE)

Los Angeles Co., Calif., marriage certificate no. 3545 (1948), Rogers-Burn.

There is additional information, on a separate paper, attached to the bottom of the certificate that says the marriage is registered in Book no. 2961, Page 10 of Record of Marriage which is on file in my office and of which I am the legal custodian.  Signed by Mame B. Beatty, Registrar of Vital Statistics.  Do I need to include this information in the citation?  My immediate thought was to rewrite the First Reference Note to include that information:

Los Angeles County, California, marriage certificate, book no. 2961, page 10, marriage certificate no. 3353 (1948), Rogers-Burn, Registrar of Vital Statistics, Los Angeles.

If this is the correct way to do this? If so, then do I need to add this information to the Subsequent Note as well?

Thank you,

Linda Rogers

 

Submitted byEEon Sun, 03/06/2022 - 19:07

Linda, your first instinct was correct. Your second thought, to include the additional book/page information added to the bottom of the certificate is also good. However, you should add a clear statement to the basic citation.

Remember: The most basic principle of all is "We cite what we use."  You did not photocopy the actual book and page. You obtained a certificate, so that is what you should cite.  After you cite that, add a semicolon and start a second layer that says

; signed by Mame B. Beatty, Registrar, citing "Book No. 2961, Page 10 of Record of Marriage .. on file in my office."

If you add the book/page into the basic citation then you will mislead others into thinking you have a copy of the original book/page (and mislead yourself, down the road, after your recollection of this record has gone cold).

Thank you!  Here is what my citation now looks like:

Los Angeles County, California, marriage certificate no. 3353 (1948), Rogers-Burn, Registrar of Vital Statistics, Los Angeles; signed by Mame B. Beatty, Registrar, citing “Book No. 2961, Page 10 of Record of Marriage which is on file in my office.”

Thanks again,

Linda Rogers

Submitted byEEon Thu, 03/10/2022 - 19:32

Linda, EE would split two hairs now:

1.

The phrase "marriage certificate no. 3353 (1948)."  If Mame B. Beatty created a new certificate for you in 2000 or 2022, then you are not citing "marriage certificate no. 3353" for the year 1948. You are citing a new certificate that is a derivative (and a different entity) from the original.

Sometimes a certificate created currently for us by an official will carry a certificate number, but that number applies only to the copy that was given to you and would not represent a means by which the 1948 registration could be identified. 

On the other hand, if she or you made an image copy of an original certificate (as with the QuickCheck model at p. 425 or EE 9.33), rather than creating a new derivative certificate, then the wording you used would be appropriate: “marriage certificate no. 3353 (1948).

2.

The "Registrar of Vital Statistics" is the office that created the record and should be identified in the "author/creator" field.

Considering these points, EE would tinker just a bit with the wording:

           1.  Registrar of Vital Statistics, Los Angeles County, California, marriage registration no. 3353 (1948), Rogers-Burn, Registrar of Vital Statistics, Los Angeles; certificate created and signed 10 March 2022 by Mame B. Beatty, Registrar, citing “Book No. 2961, Page 10 of Record of Marriage which is on file in my office.”

EE 7.24 also offers an example when a new certificate is issued by a church, drawn from its registers. This is a closer example to your situation than 9.33 which cites original civil certificates.