Dear Rootschatters,
This afternoon I was on phone with the Vital Records Division in Virginia to confirm whether they had received the letter and cheque from my aunt.
The lady rattled off how many requests they had received, etc...without giving me an opportunity to explain the situation. I was speaking to the same person I spoke to two months ago.
She replied that she had received my aunt's letter & form along with the check. She proceeded to say that they cannot search for my aunt's father without knowing where he died or which hospital he died in.
I was shocked because she herself told me to put down on the form and in the letter asking for State-Wide and explain the situation as to why there is no information.
I asked to speak with her supervisor or boss. And the supervisor rattled off same things to me. After explaining a bit to her, she is willing to try again and gets someone who is very, very good with searches in her division--a Mr. Expert. Interestingly, she said she looked at the computer and it seems there is no record on Michael W. Costigan with an exact death date.
I appealed to her to help us out. She simply said she would try her best.
It is appalled that the public servants like to work minimally for their paychecks and do not want to work any harder than necessary. I still do not understand why the lady told me what to do then did the opposite when receiving my auntie's letter, form and check. It seems the lady at the division completely disregarded the letter and the printout of the Social Security Death Index.
Now I am at the wit's end as how to help my auntie to find her father's death record. We only know that her father, Michael W. Costigan, was born in Brooklyn and died somewhere in VA according to the Social Security Death Index.
We were unable to obtain his birth record without a proof of his death record. Social Security Administration won't help my aunt by providing her the information as to where he passed away. We could not ask the Veterans Administration because he was inhonorably discharged (for what reasons we do not know).
We do have his birth date on one of the court documents that my aunt has inherited from her Mother. Her parents were separated for many, many years before they finalized their divorce. In the reality, they were truly divorced even if it was not legalized.
My aunt has very, very little information on her Father. All of the information she has on him are based on the documents such as the court papers, marriage certificate and her birth certificate.
Is there any Rootschatter here who has similar experience to this problem? Or anyone who has a better expertise than I as to how to get around the problem?
I sincerely welcome any assistance and it will be most gratefully received. I just want to bring a closure to my Aunt's painful chapter with her Father.
She has been searching for her Father for past 25 years to no avail after her Mother passed away.
Sincerely yours,
Tees and his Auntie