In my case (which is still in process) not one document was "original". I think the term "original" is confusing, there are copies of the original documents, those were used to obtain certified records. Often those are lost, especially after death and the family splits up possessions and family feuds stop all communication.lucaless wrote: 04 Dec 2021, 18:44 To the people that had success with their case, I have a question regarding the documents needed. Did they all have to be original certificates? Do certified copies work? I can imagine how hard it might be to obtain original birth and marriage from family members not wanting to part with their originals even just for the time being. What about their certificates of naturalization? Did documentation from USCIS work if you couldn't get the original certificate? Thanks in advance.
Also the "original" birth record in Italy is often in a book at the comune, best you can get is a scan from familysearch.org, visit in person and get a copy or take a picture. I saw these books in person last time I was in Italy at one comune my ancestors came from.
For me:
-Birth and Death, certified copies from the state of PA
-Marriage and Naturalization, certified copies from the County in PA.
-USCIS and NARA search, no records found
Not sure what state you are in, but you don't need "originals" from family either alive or deceased.
In my case I had to get my deceased grandfather and great-grandmother's names corrected because they were misspelled.
Again YMMV depending on where your ancestors settled, but within PA it's quite easy to obtain these records for the most part, the smaller counties mine lived in are not all online, so a phone call or snail mail was the only option. ICA pretty much obtained everything for me or gave me clear instructions on what was needed.
all the years waiting were worth it!!!
% correct!
