Today is the day! Grandma Ruth Wheeler nee Ilg would have been 100 years old today. She has been gone now for about 5 years and every day I miss her so. She was the reason I got into genealogy research to begin with. She had no clue what she was starting when she gave me those boxes of photos. She never realized the secrets I would uncover in my research. And I wish I could share some of them with her today.
There is another reason this particular day is special and why I've been waiting for it to arrive. Today is the day I can send off for her birth certificate from the state of Michigan. They have a privacy law when it comes to birth certificates. You can request a copy of the birth certificate only if you are listed on the birth certificate (ex. the parents or the person being born). What do you do if all the persons listed are deceased? Well, you can try to request a copy by filling out paperwork and showing proof you are a descendant or you can wait until the date of the certificate has passed 100 years. To ensure there wouldn't be any problems or disputes, I decided to wait until the 100-year mark. And that is today!!
So I am taking the envelope with the application to the post office today to be sent off. It is supposed to take about 5-6 weeks for a reply, but with the pandemic going on, I suspect it will take longer, but that's ok. At least it's sent. And I didn't want to send it before the 100-year mark fearing it would arrive a day before and they reject it. I'm not taking any chances.
I don't expect to find any surprises on the birth certificate, but you never know when it comes to my family. I have no clue what was required on the certificate at this time, so it should be interesting. Will it provide an address for my great-grandparents? I have no clue where they lived when they stayed in Michigan. I just know they went up there to get married to hide the fact that they got pregnant out of wedlock. They stayed up there until my grandma was about 1-1 1/2 years old, then came back home to St. Louis. Otherwise, it will just be another source to add to my collection.
I will be putting together a video reveal when it arrives so be sure to check back for that. But off to the post office, I go! Hopefully, they 5-6 weeks pass quickly.
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