[or-roots] Copies at the Archives in Salem

[Wordsmith]

Okay, folks, here it is again--my semi-annual offer to make copies at the
archives in Salem. Please read the fine print before dropping me a note
off-list.

1. Death certificates are only available through 1952, not for 1953 yet
(that will happen early in 2004).
2. Birth certificates are only available if the person was born more than
100 years ago, so anyone who was born in 1903 or later will not have a birth
certificate, delayed or regular. Most (if not all) birth certificates for
people born in 1902 or earlier were delayed birth certificates, usually
filed so the person could get Social Security benefits. These were mostly
filed during the 1940s and 1950s. Not everyone got one, though.
3. The information from the certificates I pull is abstracted and put on the
internet. This is my other reason for making this offer--not just to be
helpful, but to make information available to as many people as possible.
4. Offer is limited to two requests per person. I need the name, county,
file# and type of document. I will be going probably the last week in
October or first week in November.
5. If you have something more complicated you really want, such as a probate
or divorce file, please contact me off list and we can discuss it.
6. It will help me greatly if you can check the Archives index and make sure
of the spelling of the person's name, the county, the date, and type of
document. The archives website is http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us. I will not
be able to honor requests for something like "All the Joan Johnsons who died
in Portland in the 1940s."

Here's my end of the deal. I'll make up to two copies at no charge to you,
scan the copies and send them as an attachment to e-mail, thus avoiding
postage charges. I will put the name of the person in the subject line so
you and your spam filter knows what's coming.

When I abstract the documents and put them on line, I put exactly what's in
the document, no more and no less. I might know, from doing other research,
that John Watson's mother is Lillian, but if it says "unknown" on the death
certificate, that's what I put down. I may make a note at the end of the
abstract that says that his mother's name is Lillian and give the source,
but the actual abstract is just that.

Any questions, please contact me off-list.