Question

Is there a way to get birth or death certificates without having to pay for them?

Comments

• What county/country?
• What time period?
• Do you have a WikiTreeID for the profile you work with?

 

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USA-Lexington County

Time period-1800-1900's

Wiki Tree ID: 303 & 239

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Thanks its outside my Swedish radar. Have you checked

• Lexington_County,_South_Carolina_Genealogy 

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Birth, marriage, and death records were not recorded by South Carolina until the 1900s, thus leaving a lack of vital records. Substitute records, when available, are used to obtain this information. These substitute records including newspapers, court records have been added to this section, when applicable. 

• Lutheran Visitor (Abstracts: 1866-1868, 1870-1904), including births, marriages, deaths. (Abstracted and contributed by Edith Greisser, South Carolina Genealogy Trails
• Marriages & Death Notice Abstracted from Newspapers in Camden, SC 1822-1842

Birth

State-wide birth registration began in 1915.  For a copy of a birth from 1915 or later, contact the South Carolina Department of Health.  The Lexington County Health Department also has copies but they provide only an abbreviated form with limited information.  For more information, see the South Carolina Vital Records page.

• 1766-1900 - South Carolina, Delayed Birth Certificates, 1766-1900 at FamilySearch — images

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Thank you!

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I am trying to make the connection between John Buck Quattlebaum and John Doyle Quattlebaum as father and son.  I have ordered a death certificate on John Doyle from the SC Vital Statistics Office but it came back that there wasn't one and he died in 1930 so there should be one,

Answer 1

Cynthia, Never seen any free,

Answer 2

Well, Family Search has a lot of them availible.  The state I'm most familial with is Ohio and  they have death certificates for about all of the for people who died from 1908-1953.  If you happen to have a subscription to Ancestry.com they have some additional ones and some birth certificates I've run accross.  I suppose if it hasn't already been done to  make up a list of when ones are available where.  BTW there aren't B & D certs before 1900 most places but there are birth / death records which give you much the same information.

Comments

Thank you!

Answer 3

I even went to city hall in Waltham, MA for these and had to pay!

Comments

Thanks

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Not all cities/towns require payment, though. I went to Westborough MA for some records and I could look them up in an old-fashioned card catalog and write the info down, but if I wanted a copy, I had to make a payment. I chose to write down the information.