Sunday, June 18, 2006

Can one find a birth registration by first name and birthdate and not surname? Cynthia Foster born Feb 1 1880 and raised by paternal grandparents (Charles Foster & Sarah Jane Carey) in Millgrove Ontario. We cannot find her under Foster in Ontario Birth Registration Index at Ontario Archives. She may have been registered under the unknown surname of her mother.

Yes. You can locate a birth registration any way you like. The index is by surname but the registrations themselves were put on microfilm by area and date. So just locate the microfilm that covers the area and year you're interested in and start scrolling. (If you're using Ancestry to locate this birth registration you can enter any search parameter). Keep in mind that while registration began in 1869 it wasn't enforced until the 1880's and many births went unregistered.