Be Sure to Visit my new 1900 Galveston Storm Website at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootseb.com/~barnette 

TEXAS BIRTH INDEXES ON INTERNET

 It is getting easier to conduct 20th Century research. Indexes to Texas birth records are now on the Internet.

 Texas began registering births on a statewide basis in 1903. Many counties, however, were not in very good compliance with the law until the late 1920's. Theoretically, one should be able to obtain a birth record both, in the county where the birth occurred or from the State in Vital records office in Austin. According to law, a copy of the birth record was to be recorded in the county where the birth occurred and a copy was to have been sent to the State Bureau of Vital Records in Austin. If a record was not filed there will be no record.

 About 1989 the Texas legislature passed a privacy law closing public access to birth records for 50 years. The law, however, did not address indexes to birth. Last year a new law was passed allowing public access to the indexes as long as no identifying information was present in the record. Identifying information might be construed as information that would identify the birth parents of an adoptee in a sealed adoption case.

 There are two types of indexes to births, Summary and General. Summary indexes are the ones usually available for public viewing. As a rule, it has enough information to identify a birth, but, does not identify the parents. General indexes, on the other hand, usually contain the identifying information, such as, the names of parents. Normally, this index is used by county and state officials in their everyday duties.

 Recently the Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics placed indexes to Texas births on their website on the Internet at http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/bvs/registra/INDEX.H TM. The indexes are not designed to be easily searched. The researcher has to download a whole year to locate one birth. If the year of birth is unknown a search of several years has to be conducted. The online index is not user-friendly and appears to facilitate the sale of CD-ROMs and microfiche.

 20th Century Texas researchers can now rejoice. Volunteers at Rootsweb have come to the rescue. These volunteers have taken the State's database and placed a search engine on it. The ease of completing a search is quick, easy and very rewarding. One may search only a surname, only a given name or only a date or county. The results are displayed in nanoseconds.

 Birth records for the years 1903 through 1925 are not in the State online database. They are, however, on microfiche which is available for sale from the State Vital Records office in Austin. There is a set of the same microfiche at Clayton Genealogical Library in Houston and at other genealogical libraries.

 Birth records for 1926 through 1949 are from the General Index and may be searched online on Rootsweb at http://userdb.rootsweb.com/tx/birth/general/sea rch.cgi. The database has 3,211,268 records including 164,733 surnames. One may search for exact, soundex or metaphone spellings of given or surnames. A search will yield results for the following data categories: first, last or middle name, date or county of birth and even, name of father or mother.

 Birth records for 1950-1995 are from the Summary Index and may be searched on Rootsweb at http://userdb.rootsweb.com/tx/birth/summary/se arch.cgi. The database contains 11,974,269 records including 308,979 surnames. One may search for exact, soundex or metaphone spellings of given or surnames. A search will yield results for the following data categories: first, last or middle name, date or county of birth. the names of father and mother are not available, as stated earlier, due to privacy laws.

 Certified birth certificates are available from the Bureau of Vital Statistics, Texas Department of Health, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, TX 78756-3195. the search fee and a certified birth certificate is $11.

 Online search databases for Texas death, marriages and divorces are also on Rootsweb. They will be discussed in continuing columns.

ANCESTOR SWAP-MEET

 The Cherokee County Genealogical Society will hold their second annual Ancestor Swap Meet from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. Saturday June 24. The festivities will be held at the Norman Activity Center, 526 East Commerce in Jacksonville. For more information contact 903-586-0135 or visit the society's website at http://www.tyler.net/ccgs/

GENEALOGICAL CLASSES

 Emily Croom will present several beginning genealogical classes in early June. The first, is a four week class from 1 P.M. to 4 P.M. each Sunday from June 4 through June 25. Classes will be held at Houston Community College's West Loop Campus, 5601 West Loop South in the former Incredible Universe Building. For more information and to register, contact HCC at 713-718-7720.

 Croom will present a six week beginning genealogy class at Houston Community College's Bellaire High School campus. Classes will be held each Tuesday from 7 P.M. to 9 P.M. June 6 through July 18. For more information and to register, contact HCC at 713-718-7720.

 Croom will , also, present a two week beginning genealogy at Houston Community College's Missouri City Campus, 1681 Cartwright Road. Classes will be held from 9 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. on Saturday June 10 and June 17. for more information and to register, contact HCC at 281-835-5539.