1860s birth in New York

[BumbleB]

Hi:  I'd like some guidance please.  Does anyone have an idea whether I could obtain birth details for a person born in New York in 1864-5.

The only information I have is her name, father's name, and from the UK census returns, that she was born in New York.  Is it too much to hope that I could find more information, such as her date of birth and possibly her mother's name?  The 1871 UK census shows her, aged 6, with her father, aged 41, plus his wife who is only 23 and so unlikely to be her birth mother.

Any thoughts, ideas or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

BumbleB

[Jacquie in Canada]

Statutory registration of births didn't start in New York State until 1881. It did start earlier in New York City. Here's a link to the New York City vital records website that has information about what records they hold:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/vitalrecords/birth.shtml
If she was born in NYC, it will be a bit pricey to have a search done when you do not know when or in what Burough she was born.

If she was born outside NYC, you would need to know at least what county she was born in to try to ascertain if there are any type of records available.

Jacquie

[BumbleB]

Thanks Jacquie, that's much as a I expected the answer to be, but if you don't ask the question, you don't get an answer! 

Unfortunately that is all the information I have on her, that she was born in New York!!  She'll just have to stay on the back burner for a while longer.  Maybe my new-found cousins in Canada have more news than I do.

At the moment the US is my bick brick wall, as I've got another 1870s birth date in Delaware as a mystery.  Makes me realise how lucky we are in the UK to have such excellent records to consult.

Thanks again for your input.

BumbleB

[Cheryl_US]

Did you check for her in the 1870 US census?  If she was still in the US at the time, the census will give you the location.  Then there could be town records, although way too many births were not reported.  Deaths were more likely reported.  There could also be church records (not at all easy to track).  What about the marriage of her parents?  Perhaps her father was in the US for the 1860 census? 

[BumbleB]

Thanks Cheryl.  The family isn't in the US in 1870, they are in the UK, and Mary is the only one born in the US.  I must admit that I haven't tried the 1860 US census for the parents - an idea to be pursued as I can't readily find the father on the UK 1861 census, and the wife on the 1871 census would be a bit too young to have produced Mary.  Thanks for the suggestion.

BumbleB