I was born 75 years ago. For the first 66 of those years, I regularly saw my brother, Richard. I didn't always know that he had a Birthday, and it was probably eight years before I realized that his Birthday was August 16, and even more until I knew or cared that he was born in Hammond, Lake county, Indiana, in the year 1936. Until Yesterday, I knew that date and place- but if you asked me for proof, all I could say was that he or my parents told me so. Out of all these sources, my parents are the only primary sources. I certainly wasn't there, and my brother, always reliable and truthful, was unable to form any real memories at the time of the event.
Now I can see an image of a primary source for that place and date, and for his parents' names and hometown. Ancestry has a new collection of records and images recorded in cooperation with the Indiana State Department of Health, 17 million (we are told) images of birth, marriage, and death certificates. These records are available to subscribers, of course, but also to those who visit ISDH in person. I have not yet tested the access to these records on the Library edition of Ancestry.
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