Looking for an Oklahoma birth

[Nicolina]

I Googled "Oklahoma Births" and one of the hits was for Oklahoma Birth Records Information at https://birth.recordsproject.com/oklahoma.asp

[Colin Rowledge]

Have made contact with the site and explained who I am and what I would like. I doubt that I will get the actual birth certificate, but I hope they can provide details of his parents and whether or not he was a twin - I believe he was.

Will let you know how it goes.

Colin

[Nicolina]

I cannot work out their reasoning. What harm would there be in issuing certificates for people who are obviously dead? They must have plenty of money in Oklahoma to turn down such an opportunity to make more.

[Colin Rowledge]

Maybe they are just not 'socialable'. I found a similar 'type of person' when back in 1967, I was driving through Nebraska and got the cold shoulder. Later, after I had left the State, I met a couple from Nebraska. We chatted and when I mentioned the cold shoulder treatment, they were not surprised. They mentioned that in 'small-town', Nebraska, if you weren't from there, people just didn't want to be obliging.

Maybe a similar outlook in Oklahoma?

Colin

[bwarnerok]

Alrighty... I missed this post a year ago, but Oklahomans are hardly unsocialable! Every country differs in the way they treat their records and in the USA, each state also has the ability to do some things in their own way. Because it is different than what you might be familiar with does not make them rude, ignorant, nor unsocialable.
When I first stepped off the shores to take my ancestors back in England I was devastated that I could not find tombstones. Why? Because in America, tombstones are the genealogists very best friend. Because pieces of paper on birth, marriage and death are not always available (lack of record keeping, fires and destruction we learned to find other ways to track our ancestry. The tombstone could provide us with birth and death and even more. A good trip to a graveyard could answer many questions.
On the other hand, in some other countries there seems to be a need to have a piece of paper for every passage in life from birth, baptism, marriage,death and sometimes even burial. While I have pieces of paper for many of my English ancestors, I feel a void as I cannot find where the bodies are buried.
In the USA we are finding it more and more difficult to protect what privacy we have -- dead and alive. Some other states like Ohio and Missouri have made many of their records available online at no charge. Colorado used to provide marriage information online for free, now they don't. California can't make up its mind. Each state has the right to choose how they will handle these things.
Because the USA was founded where there was a separation of church and state, after 1776, the churches no longer kept "parish" records. Some earlier records can be found in some church records in new england.
Remember that in comparison, the USA is a "young" country. While it posted its first census in 1790, it wasn't for another 100 years or so that most states began keeping records and since some states aren't yet 100 years old, challenges are unavoidable. Oklahoma became a state in 1907 but the doctors were not interested in registering the births. Many doctors found this inconvenient and didn't make the effort. For a year or two, Oklahoma paid the doctors for each birth certificate they completed and the numbers shot up.
Many people who were born prior to 1900 never had a "birth certificate" as we know them today. When they went to get passports they had to have people vouch for them, usually long time family friends.
I'm sorry that your frustrations caused you to generalize. If there's something I can do to help you in your search, please don't hesitate to ask.
Betsy from, <gasp> the unfriendly and horribly unsocialable State of Oklahoma.

[Colin Rowledge]

Hi Betsy.
Thank you for responding as you did above. It was certainly an 'eye opener' and now I want to apologise to you and other Oklahomans for my generalization and comparison to another State wherein I was frustrated - see post 14.

Another cause of my frustration was the response - or rather the lack thereof - to my request to the State for such information [see post #7]. I took this as meaning that I was not deemed worthy of a response as I was not qualified to request such information.

You mentioned that you may be able to assist me further in my search, but as for Clyde W. although born in Oklahoma - according to his niece - 3 October 1911, he and his widowed father were living with his mother in 1920 at a residence at Waltham Township, Kay County, Oklahoma. His father, Ben was working in the Oil Field. By 1930 Clyde W. was living with his Aunt and Uncle - Winfred and Myrtle Gipson in Nampa City, Canyon County, Idaho and was a Labourer doing odd jobs.

I cannot find Clyde W. in 1940 census.

His niece has confirmed that when he married and became the 4th husband of my 1st cousin 21 May 1946, in Clark County, Washington, he was a Heavy Equipment Operator. He died on 14 February 1976, at age 64 and his last residence was 98617 Dallesport, Kliickitat, Washington [according to the the Social Security Death Index].

Can you assist me in filling in gaps?

[bwarnerok]

He would have registered for the draft although you won't find all of these easily. I think they are all on microfilm. States and/or counties might have a listing. I would look in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.. particularly where any relatives might have been living.
During World War II there were seven draft registrations:
October 16, 1940 - all men 21-31 years residing in the U.S. - whether native born, naturalized, or alien
July 1, 1941 - men who reached age 21 since the first registration
February 16, 1942 - men 20-21 and 35-44 years of age
April 27, 1942 - Men 45-64 years of age. Not liable for military service. *Only draft cards open to public
June 30, 1942 - Men 18-20 years of age
December 10-31, 1942 - Men who reached the age of 18 since the previous registration
November 16 - December 31, 1943 - American men living abroad, aged 18-44

The family would've been in Oklahoma to work the oil fields and Osage County was a major location for oil & gas at the time. Many then followed the work south to Texas.

We've found not to get stumped up because you want a piece of paper as you might not find it. The census problem might be due to spelling or a faulty transcription in 1940 or by the ancestry volunteers.
Do you need the birth certificate and 1940 census because you are trying to fill your "scrapbook", or are you missing something in your research that you are hoping these will drop a clue?
-b-

[Colin Rowledge]

We've found not to get stumped up because you want a piece of paper as you might not find it. The census problem might be due to spelling or a faulty transcription in 1940 or by the ancestry volunteers.
Do you need the birth certificate and 1940 census because you are trying to fill your "scrapbook", or are you missing something in your research that you are hoping these will drop a clue?
-b-

Thanks Betsy for the information about draft registration.

As for Clyde - no I'm not building a srapbook. The reason I wanted the birth certificate was to nfirm that his mother was - prior to marriage - named Catherine Banning [or something similar] as this appears to be the name on the various family trees I've seen and also appears on the Missouri Find a Grave Index. As for the 1940 census, I would like to view it see if he was married or not and whether he had children prior to his marriage to my 1st cousin.

Colin

[bwarnerok]

If you can tell me what you do know, I can see what I can turn up for you in regards to who you think his parents were as well as a previous possible spouse and/or marriage and any dates. have you compiled a tree on ancestry for your family that I can look at?
thx

[Colin Rowledge]

If you can tell me what you do know, I can see what I can turn up for you in regards to who you think his parents were as well as a previous possible spouse and/or marriage and any dates. have you compiled a tree on ancestry for your family that I can look at?
thx

Currently, I am working on this part of the tree. This particular tree is on Ancestry but is private Can you give me a contact name that when I've finished - may be a day or so - so that I can send you an invite?

Colin