--- title: Linking Parents and Children—Without the Help of Vital Records description: Linking Parents and Children—Without the Help of Vital Records image: https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shakshober-children-vital-records-300x248.jpg --- # [Vita Brevis A resource for family history from AmericanAncestors.org](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. # Linking Parents and Children—Without the Help of Vital Records [May 02, 2023](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2023/05/linking-parents-and-children-without-the-help-of-vital-records) [Photographs](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/photographs), [Research tips](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/research-tips), [Vital records](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/vital-records) [Jennifer Shakshober](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/author/jshakshober) [![](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shakshober-children-vital-records-300x248.jpg?width=300&height=248&name=shakshober-children-vital-records-300x248.jpg)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shakshober-children-vital-records.jpg) Photograph of children from the author’s family tree. From top left: Amy Hart, Vivian Hart, Harriet Hart (center), Florence Hart, Mary-Elizabeth Hart. C. 1909, Westwood, New Jersey. On November 2, 2022, my husband and I welcomed our first child: a son, named Jack William for his great-grandfathers. Several weeks after Jack’s birth, I requested a copy of his birth certificate from the town offices, an errand which immediately reminded me of submitting vital records requests for genealogical research. Obtaining my son’s birth record was far simpler—I only had to wait a few minutes—and I left the town offices that same day with the record in hand. I looked down at the certificate, with all the fields neatly filled out, and realized genealogical researchers are perhaps the only people who wouldn’t take this record for granted. Vital records are often the first and best places to check when seeking information about our ancestors. But what is a researcher to do when a vital record simply doesn’t exist, or provides minimal information? In a previous blog post, I discussed [the usefulness of family Bibles](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2022/08/locating-family-bible-records/) as vital records substitutes. There are numerous other record types that link parents and their children, with baptismal records and wills being the next best options. Other records that can identify the names of an ancestor’s children include the following types: #### Deeds Not surprisingly, many historical land transactions occurred between parties who were related to each other. This is most evident when grantor and grantee share a last name, though it is common to find documentation of in-laws, cousins, and more distant kin exchanging land as well. Some deeds explicitly refer to the relationship between the grantor and grantee, usually in the case of a father conveying land to a son or daughter. Look for land transactions occurring within a few years of an ancestor’s death, in which heirs of the decedent sell off their interests in the estate. Sometimes out-of-state or otherwise incapacitated heirs will grant power of attorney to a third party, who will conduct the land sale on their behalf. Historical land deeds for most U.S. states are available on [Family Search](https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/United_States_Deeds) at the county level. The states of Connecticut, Vermont, and Rhode Island organize their deeds at the town level. #### Chancery Records Black’s Law Directory defines chancery cases as those in which “justice is administered according to *fairness* as contrasted with the strictly formulated rules of common law.” Unlike civil cases, chancery suits are decided by a judge, not a jury, and include debt, divorce, and estate disputes. Fortunately for genealogists, the complex nature of administering justice based on moral principles generates an extensive volume of paperwork. Documents in a chancery court file may include affidavits from relatives, friends, and neighbors of the plaintiff and/or defendant, correspondence, or copies of wills and plats. One notable collection of chancery court records is called [Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index](https://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/default.asp#res), accessible through the Library of Virginia. You can search the collection by surname, and narrow your results by county or year range. #### Obituaries An obvious—though sometimes overlooked—step in identifying an ancestor’s children is to search for a death notice, estate notice, or obituary. While the earliest mortuary notices usually do not give much information aside from the subject’s death date and age, late nineteenth- and twentieth-century notices are more likely to acknowledge the decedent’s heirs. Major repositories to check include [Newspaper Archive](https://newspaperarchive.com/), [Genealogy Bank](https://www.genealogybank.com/), [Chronicling America (Library of Congress)](https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/), and [Newspapers.com (Ancestry)](https://www.newspapers.com/). Some historical newspaper subscription sites, like Genealogy Bank, even allow the researcher to narrow search results to articles tagged as obituaries. If a search of online newspaper databases fails to produce results, check the websites for county and local libraries in the vicinity of your ancestor’s residence. Through library websites, you will sometimes be able to access locale-specific newspaper databases for free. If online databases are not available, you can contact reference staff to inquire about historical newspaper coverage on microfilm. #### Cemetery Records [Find A Grave](https://www.findagrave.com/) is an excellent resource for locating ancestral graves, but it is important to remember not all memorials listed represent an actual grave. Be wary of memorials that lack tombstone photographs, and use the “Request photo” button to be paired with a local volunteer who can scout the area for your ancestor’s plot. Once the family plot is located, there is a good chance you will find parents buried with at least some of their children; this is especially true in the event of a young child’s death. Also check city and state archives for collections of local cemetery records, which typically consist of documents like burial permits, interment orders, deeds, and lot sales: all documents which may infer, if not outright state, relationships between the person authorizing or paying for the interment and the deceased. Locating the children of our ancestors who lived before the implementation of modern vital registration systems can seem a daunting task—but that’s what makes the discovery of a revealing land record, court document, newspaper article, or cemetery record even more gratifying! ### Share this: - [mailto:?body=https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2023/05/linking-parents-and-children-without-the-help-of-vital-records](mailto:?body=https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2023/05/linking-parents-and-children-without-the-help-of-vital-records) - - - More - - ![Jennifer Shakshober](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Jennifer_Shakshober_Jan25.jpg) ## About Jennifer Shakshober Jen earned a dual B.A. in English and Economics from Westfield State University, an M.F.A. in Creative Nonfiction from Bennington College, an M.L.I.S. in Archives Management from Simmons University, and a certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University. In 2018, she completed a graduate internship at Old Sturbridge Village's Research Library, where she arranged an early nineteenth century manuscript collection. Areas of Expertise: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland.[View all posts by Jennifer Shakshober →](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/author/jshakshober) [← The Curious Case of John Dunn](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2023/05/the-curious-case-of-john-dunn) [Chasing Grandma →](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2023/04/chasing-grandma) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ### Recent Posts [How Bronzed Baby Shoes Became More Than Just a Mother’s Treasure!](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/bronzed-baby-shoes) [Charles Bulfinch – A Father of Federal Style Architecture](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/charles-bulfinch) [Sailor Bill and His Forgotten Wife](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/sailor-bill-and-his-forgotten-wife) [Professor X](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/professor-x) [Part I: Malaga Island, Maine](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/part-i-malaga-island-maine) ### Archives - [October 2014 (27)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/10) - [December 2015 (24)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/12) - [July 2020 (24)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2020/07) - [April 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/04) - [July 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/07) - [December 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/12) - [July 2015 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/07) - [March 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/03) - [May 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/05) - [August 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/08) - [January 2018 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2018/01) - [March 2014 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/03) - [August 2014 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/08) - [April 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/04) - [September 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/09) - [October 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/10) - [March 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/03) - [June 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/06) - [August 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/08) - [September 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/09) - [November 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/11) - [December 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/12) - [January 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/01) - [June 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/06) - [November 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/11) ### Categories - [Family stories (1261)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/family-stories) - [American History (1137)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/american-history) - [Critical Analysis (1126)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/critical-analysis) - [Research Methods (881)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/research-methods) - [Brick Walls (674)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/brick-walls) - [Object Lessons (617)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/object-lessons) - [Spotlight (617)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/spotlight) - [Genealogical Writing (554)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/genealogical-writing) - [Research tips (510)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/research-tips) - [Serendipity (479)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/serendipity) - [Road Trips (393)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/road-trips) ### Recent Posts [How Bronzed Baby Shoes Became More Than Just a Mother’s Treasure!](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/bronzed-baby-shoes) [Charles Bulfinch – A Father of Federal Style Architecture](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/charles-bulfinch) [Sailor Bill and His Forgotten Wife](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/sailor-bill-and-his-forgotten-wife) [Professor X](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/professor-x) [Part I: Malaga Island, Maine](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/part-i-malaga-island-maine) ### Meta - [Log in](https://vita-brevis.org/wp-login.php) - [Entries RSS](https://vita-brevis.org/feed/) - [Comments RSS](https://vita-brevis.org/comments/feed/) - [WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/) ### Subscribe to Blog via Email Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. ### Archives - [October 2014 (27)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/10) - [December 2015 (24)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/12) - [July 2020 (24)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2020/07) - [April 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/04) - [July 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/07) - [December 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/12) - [July 2015 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/07) - [March 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/03) - [May 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/05) - [August 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/08) - [January 2018 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2018/01) - [March 2014 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/03) - [August 2014 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/08) - [April 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/04) - [September 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/09) - [October 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/10) - [March 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/03) - [June 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/06) - [August 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/08) - [September 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/09) - [November 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/11) - [December 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/12) - [January 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/01) - [June 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/06) - [November 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/11)