Genetically Libra....

[fajrdrako]

The other day I was talking to a friend who said she was a third-generation Libra; both her mother and her grandmother were Libra.

It struck me that I am the same: My birthday Sept. 14, my mother's Oct. 9, her mother's Sept. 28. I have no idea when my grandmother's mother's birthday was. I wonder if I could find out?

Comments

[luthien.livejournal.com]

You should be able to find out, even if you have no family documents which might contain the information. It all depends on where and when she was born. If she was born in Canada, then it is quite possible that she was born before civil registration - the date for commencement of civil registration varies from province to province - in which case you'd be looking for a record of baptism in a parish register. Before the 20th century, babies were usually baptised within a few days of birth, so that information would probably still be enough to work out the astrological sign.

If you don't know where or when she was born, start with your grandmother's birth certificate/baptism information and work back from there through marriage and birth records.

If your great-grandmother was born in, say, England, then it's possible you can find a birth certificate for her, since civil registration commenced there in 1837.

Um, I'll be quiet now, shall I? *g*

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I really appreciate the comment. As far as I know, my great grandmother was born in Ontario - I'm not sure which part; part of the problem is in remembering my mother's stories about her two grandmothers. I can never remember which was which!

But I have a few leads: there is an extant book of family geneology (though I don't have it) and I have a cousin who traced both sides of the family, so she might know more.

Thanks for the advice. Can I turn to you when/if I get stuck?

[luthien.livejournal.com]

Certainly. I used to work as a reference archivist in a major archival institution, so I'm used to answering questions of this nature.

The main rule of thumb with this sort of research is to start with what you know. If you can't get hold of research already done by someone else, it might be worth trying to get your grandmother's birth or marriage certificate and work with the information on it. Depending on the place and the registration information required, it might contain things like her mother's maiden name and soforth, which would help you track back further.