Sources of Inquiry

Case 2: Vital Records

Vital records are those that document significant life events. They primarily consist of birth certificates, marriage licenses, and death certificates. Cities, counties and states create and maintain vital records, and are responsible for doing so even in the event of wars, revolutions, and other consequential events. Vital records in the US are public, and in most cases anyone can request copies as a result.

Though they are often a single page in length, vital records can provide evidence of personal tragedies, the impact of state policies on citizens, political upheaval, and more. One of the oldest vital records on display is the 1866 marriage certificate of Sidney Pearson and Louisa Garian, residents of Lawrence County, Alabama. Pearson and Garian were emancipated with ratification of the 13th amendment in December 1865. When their civil rights as US citizens were affirmed via passage of the first federal civil rights act in April 1866, they chose to exercise them by legally marrying each other a few weeks later.

Joseph Kaufmann and Else Schartenberg wed in Germany in 1938. Their marriage certificate identifies them as Jews a few inches above the Nazi regime's imperial eagle and swastika emblem. The marriage certificate for Tatiana Titov and Benjamin Veditsky, Soviet citizens who wed in China in 1923, bears both the Julian (October 22) and Gregorian (November 4) date, one for use by the Soviet state and the other for the Russian Orthodox Church. The marriage certificate for Serge Barbash and Tatiana Belitsky bears the seal of the Republic of China, which would cease to exist just months later when the Mao Zedong's Communist Party of China declared victory in the Chinese Civil War.

Case 3, Government Records, is the tall case that's closest to the Gohstand Reading Room.

• 1

  Marriage Certificate for Sidney Pearson and Louisa Garian, Lawrence County, Alabama, June 2, 1866Legal and Financial Documents on Slaves and Slavery in the United States Collection

• 2

  Standard Certificate of Birth for Pedro Serrano, May 27, 1929Julian Nava Collection

• 3

  Marriage License for Caleb Gilbert and Eliza Ann Hazelet[t], Warren County, Kentucky, August 5, 1865Legal and Financial Documents on Slaves and Slavery in the United States Collection

• 4

  Original Certificate of Death for Valentin Rodrigues, Cochise County, Arizona, April 10, 1914Felipe and Blandina (Guerrero) Rodriguez Family Collection

• 5

  Certificate of Marriage for Antonio Calvo and Luz Mendez, San Fernando, California, April 24, 1926Antonio and Luz Mendez Calvo Family Collection

• 6

  Standard Certificate of Birth for Rodolfo Acuña, Los Angeles County, California, May 18, 1932Rodolfo F. Acuña Collection

• 7

  Marriage Certificate for Joseph Straus Kaufmann and Else Schartenberg, Essen, Germany, September 22, 1938Stephen E. Stuart Collection

• 8

  Certificate of Marriage for Serge R. Barbash and Tatiana D. Belitsky, Shanghai, January 10, 1949Dr. Tatiana Belitsky Collection

• 9

  True Copy of entry no. 98 in the Register Book of Births, British Consulate-General at Shanghai, for May Gloria Watson, February 18, 1927Gloria Watson Curtis Kliene Collection

• 10

  Certificate of Birth Registration for Jose Antonio da Motta, Portuguese Consulate-General at Hong Kong, March 14, 1928Jorge P. Forjaz Collection

• 11

  Marriage certificate for Tatiana Titov and Benjamin Veditsky, Harbin, China, October 22 / November 4, 1923Dr. Tatiana Belitsky Collection