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As my devoted readers know, I am honored that one of my cousins is the President, Barack Hussein Obama II. I posted his Certificate of Live Birth here back in 2008. Soon after I posted that, I was contacted by several persons requesting my assistance to obtain the "other" birth certificate, because I was a relative of his. I declined at the time.
Finally, after three years of debate, the President, or his peeps, ordered a copy of his "long form" birth certificate, and released it today amidst great fanfare:
Is the image of the "long-form" "Certificate of Live Birth" duplicated above the "Original Source" record? It appears to be an image of the "Original Source." The parents provided the information. The mother signed it. The attending doctor signed it. The record and signatures occurred soon after the birth. The image was printed on "security paper" and the current State Registrar affixed his signature (but no official seal!) and dated it 25 April 2011.
Why did it take so long to provide this record? Sane people would say that it should be a no brainer - a person should be able to obtain, for a reasonable fee, a certified birth certificate with all of the necessary information on it, similar to the image above. Something like the above is required to obtain a Social Security card, to obtain a passport, etc.
That's all that people wanted. Why did people question this event? Because the previously released "Certificate of Life Birth" was a derivative copy created by a computer database, and therefore able to be manipulated. Politics brings out conspiracy theories, as we've seen over history. There were seemingly legitimate questions about the "short-form" document image.
If only the real political problems facing this country were so easy to solve!
In the interest of full disclosure, and in case I decide to run for office in the future, I am releasing an image copy of my own "original source" Birth Certificate:
Everything on that is handwritten, and it has my footprints and my mother's thumbprints on it. Of course, it doesn't list my parents. But I think that the above is the "Original Source" recording my birth, with an official seal of the hospital where I was born.
Hmmm, I wonder if I'm related to Donald Trump? Did William Reitwiesner research the Donald too? Yes - see http://www.wargs.com/other/trump.html. It shows only his parents and grandparents. His father was German, his mother was Scottish, and his grandmother's maiden name was Christ.
NOTE: I am not making political statements here, so please no flames. I have found this discussion interesting, and have had a small stake in it, and have followed it from the beginning.
UPDATE 10:30 a.m.: John noted in Comments that this was not my official "state birth certificate." That's true - if I go down to the San Diego County Recorder's office and obtain a state-issued birth certificate, it is different from the above. My point was that I think the hospital certificate above is the "Original Source" of my birth - the first recorded and provided. If I go down to the County Recorder and obtain a certified registration of birth, then that document is probably a "Derivative Source" - it's not the first recorded document, and was derived from information previously recorded. As genealogists, we are encouraged to find "Original Source" documents with primary information, and to evaluate all evidence from all sources to determine Facts.
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2024.
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9 comments:
That's not your state birth certificate. That's the hospital's certificate. And I don't believe the hospital's version of the birth certificate is valid for proof of citizenship for passports, etc, but I'm not certain of that.
It is my understanding that the COLB is valid, and what most Hawaiians receive when they request copies of their birth certificate for purposes of obtaining a passport, etc.
Thanks for this, Randy! I was born in Hawaii and my birth certificate looks exactly like the president's as presented here(except for the personal information, of course).
Randy, I hope as his cousin you are saving this copy. Because of Hawaii's rules, it's next to impossible for a person who is not listed on the certificate to get the long version of the birth certificate. I've ordered several of my relatives. I am allowed the official short version that the President showed as his birth certificate in 2007-2008. You are very fortunate to have this long version in your collection! (And, lucky to be related to a President!)
By the way, for years all I carried was a short receipt of birth issued to my parents from the state of California when I was born. They never got the original birth certs for us 5 kids. The receipts had my name and birth date on it and not much else. It was valid to get me a driver's permit, California ID, and to apply for work through the county. I doubt any organization would accept is an official document today.
Randy some of your "constituents" may have a problem with the Sanitarium part in the name of the hospital and ask questions! Ha!Ha! Great post.
Randy, My birth "proof" looks very similar to yours. Issued at the hospital, footprints on it, etc. When I applied for a passport I was told my birth certificate was "illegal". Then I showed them my birth registration. They said it was illegal too even though it named my parents and had my date of birth on it - the date of the birth registration wasn't on it! Dang! These are the only two birth proofs I have. I did get a passport based on having the two of them.
BTW both these documents were issued in Washington, DC. I have always found that ironic.
My birth certificate is not accurate. I was born at home--my parents didn't even make it as far as the car--but certificate states I was born in the hospital. Go figure.
Hi Randy, I think it's a sad comment on the state of The State that President Obama had to release his birth certificate to get the media's focus off this weapon of mass distraction. I hope all people of conscious call this move for what it is: a racist attack on our president.
Just got the merger note from Chris Whitten at WikiTree - Ann Bachiler is my 8th Great-Grandmother! She is on your list, as well. Are we cousins? billsmith2003@gmail.com Dr. Bill ;-)
My birth certificate is not as detailed as President Obama's. The one my mom gave me was the one with the footprints, I had to order my original one from Illinois, as my Dad was in the Navy when I was born, it only gives my parent's names and ages, 18 and 22, and that they were both born in Indiana, doesn't say where in Indiana and doesn't say anything about race.
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