ChicagoGenealogy: Research Insights from Study and Serendipity

I received an email from one of my clients and I think she’s come across a wonderful example of how powerful the Record Search pilot site is. With her permission, I will post her note here in a slightly edited form. Thank you, Margie! Cynthia ________________________________________________________________________ When the Chicago birth certificates became available [at www.familysearch.org] I pulled up everyone I could think of. I was looking for two sisters, Mabel and Joan Hayes. I found Joan. Baby not yet named Second baby, two living Father, Joseph Hayes, born in Pontiac Illinois, age 37, laborer Mother Hannah Austgen Hayes, born in St. John, Indiana, age 31 I could not find Mabel. When I search for the name Austgen, I came up with Mary *BROWN* First baby, one living Born December 29, 1910 Father, Joseph BROWN, born in Pontiac, Illinois, age 37, laborer Mother, Hannah AUSTIN BROWN, born in Dyer, Illinois, age 29 Dyer is in Indiana, not Illinois, and is right ne

My husband pointed me to a blog called "TransylvanianDutch" which mentions the Cook County birth records online at FamilySearch Record Search. The author spotlights a birth record that's indexed as "Clifford Paul Cruvant" but clearly says "Edward Cruvant" and asks "What was the indexer looking at?" He goes on to say, "I want to know what that document is, what other information I might expect to find on it, and where I can get a copy of it." I think I can be of help here. The indexer must have been looking at the Certificate of Correction which was filmed just after the original birth certificate. This correction form doesn't seem to be included with the linked records on the FamilySearch Record Search site but it is available on Family History Library Film 1288077. The Certificate of Correction is numbered the same as the birth record and it includes the child's name as it appears on the certificate, the corrected name