I had to get a copy of my birth certificate to get a passport (which just arrived yesterday). I should compare it to my boys’ certificates to see how things have changed in 35 years.

Some of the fields are interesting to note, not for what was entered, but for what they ask. To start with something that isn’t actually a field, but is just the title of the paper: “Certificate of Live Birth” This suggests that there are certificates of . . . not live births. I guess it makes sense, for an official record-keeping purpose, but it just gives a creepy feeling to think about it.

Field 8 and 13 ask the parents “Color or Race.” There’s a field for the father’s “Usual Occupation,” but there isn’t such a field for the mother. Does this show an assumption that mothers in the 60s didn’t have occupations?

Then there’s the fields that I find slightly disturbing: [Capitalizations as on the form.]
“How many OTHER children are now living?”
“How many OTHER children were born alive but are now dead?”
“How many fetal deaths (fetuses born dead at ANY time after conception?”

And finally, there’s this note: “Has mother inspected certificate for accuracy of information?” “No” is checked. So they didn’t have my mother (or father) check the birth certificate for accuracy before finalizing it? So it could be wrong?

So my birth date could be wrong? I might not be who I think I am? I might not have been a live birth?

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com

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