Nurse Cadet Corps

My mom was a Registered Nurse, but she never worked when we were kids.  I don't mean that she did not work at all, she was a housewife and mother of seven children - probably busier and harder worker than most.  She just never worked as a Registered Nurse - unless she was treating one of us or our friends for any number of ailments and/or injuries.  Although, after we were all in school, she did substitute for the local school nurse on occasion, and she always kept her nursing license up to date and active.

My mom had told us that she had been a member of the Nurse Cadet Corps during World War II, and I even have a picture that she signed to our dad, that I think is a picture of her in her "uniform".  The other day, I was listening to Genealogy Gems Podcast with Lisa Louise Cooke from May 19th of this year, and she mentioned that Ancestry.com had recently put records on line from the Nurse Cadet Corps from WWII.  I listened to the podcast on my ipod at work, so as soon as I got home, I went on the internet on Ancestry.com and found the database.  I put my mother's name in and oila! There was a document: Form 300A Federal Security Agency, U.S. Public Health Service, Division of Nurse Education Serial No. 60020, for a Cadet Nurse named Claire Alice Bergen (we just called her Mom).  It has the school that she attended: Medical Centre, Jersey City, NJ, the date of admission to School 26 Jun 1944, date of admission to the Corps 26 June 1944, the date that her registration card was issued 1 July 1944.  The card had two signatures: the Director of School of Nursing and the Cadet Nurse (Mom).

Mom's registration with US Cadet Nurse Corps

My understanding is that the United States Cadet Nurse Corps was initiated in 1943, because of a shortage of nurses during World War II.  The purpose of the Corps was to ensure that the US had sufficient numbers of trained nurses to care for the needs of its citizens, both at home and on the war front.  Nursing Schools were offered grants to train nurses for duty abroad and at home.  I am not quite certain, but I think you applied to the school and were trained, and in exchange you owed an amount of years of service as a repayment for the training. 

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense for my mom to sign up for this  training and join the "war effort".  Her parents were both deceased by this time, and both of her brothers were in the service.  Uncle Bill was a second Lieutenant in the Army and Uncle Ed was serving in the Pacific in the US Navy.  I don't really know that much about Uncle Bill's service, but I do know that Ed was on the USS Monssen, which was a Destroyer sunk at the Battle of Guadalcanal.  He survived the sinking and the war.  My Dad and two of his brothers were also serving overseas, but mom and dad did not meet until after the war.  Turns out that they had lived only blocks away from each other in Jersey City, but they had never met.  Matter of fact, my dad's brother and my mom's brother knew each other from school.   I was thinking that World War II should be a blog unto itself, but the more I think about it, it could be a book.

Finding this document on ancestry.com got me thinking more about my parents, both of them passed away
a few years ago, and how many questions I would love to ask them now.  I have my mom's cousin Florence who has already helped me more that Ancestry.com could ever help.  That's not to say that Ancestry.com's data bases aren't helpful, but Florence knows my mom's family and their history.  She can tell you personal things that you cannot find in a database anywhere else.  I can find names of neighbors in census records or church records, but Florence can tell me who these people are, and how they are related, which leads me to more family that I would never have known that I had. I have actually found info that confirms what she has told me, so not only do I enjoy talking to her, but she is right on the money.  I don't have a Florence on my Dad's side, so there is really no one to ask any questions about his family.  When they passed away, all of that family information went with them and I will probably never find out most of it.  My point is that you should talk to your older family members while you still can, you may get some information that could lead to an unknown cousin who may know even more about the family.  Hey it could happen.

Arthur Riedinger

I know it has been almost three weeks since my last post, in case you haven't noticed I try to post something every other Sunday, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way.  Well, I am late again, but I have some new information.  A couple of posts ago, I told you about my mom's cousin, Arthur E Riedinger, who died in 1970 and I found him via a shaky leaf in Find A Grave.  On a side note, they might want to find a new name for that website, because every time I tell someone about Find A Grave, they look at me like I am some kind of vampire who is up all night waiting for the full moon. ( by the way, please don't look at the time that this was posted).

Headstone for Arthur and Mary Riedinger

 Well, I drove to St Joseph's Cemetery in Toms River and found his grave, as well as, the grave of his wife Mary.  I checked nearby graves for names that I might recognize, but saw none.  Then I wondered if he and his wife had children, that wondering lasted until I  saw a small shell on the base of the headstone that said Grandmother.  So now I know that they had children.  The next step for me is to call the Bergen - McConville authority Aunt Florence, but I found out that she is in Georgia, but I did talk to Regina.  Later in the week I spoke with Aunt Florence and asked about Arthur Riedinger.  She said that he died young in a accident.  He used to drive one of those big yellow trucks like a tractor  and had some kind of accident and was killed.  Well, the ghoul in me could not resist.  I recruited my sister Joan, who happens to be a best selling author, to accompany me to the Ocean County Library to look for any articles on the death of my cousin, Arthur Riedinger.

So Joan read in the library, while I checked the microfilm.  I found two articles in the Asbury Park Press from 25 Feb 1970 and the next day 26 Feb 1970.  There was also an article in the Ocean County Observer from 25 Feb 1970.  The Press article says that Arthur Ritchenger (bad spelling) of 129 Tennant Ave, Beachwood, NJ , age 48 was killed in a construction accident.  He worked for  Sambol Construction Co. and was crushed beneath a payloader, when the earth moving rig - about the size of a bulldozer - toppled at 3:40 PM.  He was taken to Pt Pleasant Hospital where he was pronounced dead.  The NJ State Police investigated.  I am not sure if Brick Township - where the accident happened -  had their own Police Department at the time.

Asbury Park Press 25 Feb 1970

The article in the next day's paper was better.  They spelled his name right this time, and it said that he died of a broken neck and that he was working to clear land for Greenbriar, a senior citizen's complex to be built.  My mom would move to Greenbriar Woodlands in 2006, which is another complex by the same owners.  The last part of the article  gives alot of genealogical information.  It says that he was born in Jersey City and lived in the Bayville area for 21 years.  He was a veteran of WWII,  and he attended St. Barnabas Roman Catholic Church in Bayville.  It goes on to list survivors:  his widow Mary Totomasi Riedinger, his mother, Mrs Edna Riedinger, three daughters: Mrs. Jo-Ann Armino, Bayville: Mary Edna and Rose Marie, both at home: two brothers, John and Edward, both of Jersey City: and a sister, Mrs Lenore Parrott, Hasbrouck Heights.  The Funeral Home is also listed as Anderson and Campbell, Toms River.  That's alot of information.

Asbury Park Press 26 Feb 1970

I did not find an obituary in the Press, and the information in the Observer was not very revealing.  A month ago, I could not have told you anything about this man, but after doing the Shaky Leaf Shuffle and locating him in Find A Grave, I know alot more.  He was a veteran of WWII, in the artillery, survived the war to return home and marry Mary Tortomasi, had three daughters, one of whom was married.  He apparently never got to see his grandchildren, and he worked for a construction company and died while trying to support his wife and children.  It appears that he was a good man who served his country and was working to raise his family and had his life cut short by a tragic accident

Jersey City, NJ

Just yesterday, I went to Jersey City with Katrina, to attend a walking tour of Bergen Square given by the Hudson County Genealogy Society.  The tour was to include a tour of the inside and outside of Old Bergen Church ( built around 1660) and St Aeden's Church, built around 1912 (they are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the church this year).  We also walked through Old Bergen Cemetery, and walked past Speer Cemetery, as well as a few other historical areas of Bergen Square.

St. Aeden's Roman Catholic Church

This interested me because just recently I found (and promptly lost) my mother's baptismal certificate.  It says that she was baptized at St Aeden's Church on 28 Mar 1926.  Her sponsors were Florence Markey (who was her mother's sister) and Harry Belton.  I have no clue who Harry Belton is, I have never heard the name before.  I did put in a call to my McConville-Bergen expert, Aunt Florence (who is actually Florence Markey's daughter) to find out who Mr. Belton is, but no one was home.

St. Aeden's was actually the last stop on the tour, and it was just huge.  The communion rail is about 96' across, and the large dome in the picture above is 108' from floor to ceiling and 60' in diameter.  Very impressive.  The floor and pillars inside are marble and the website says that it cost a million dollars to construct.  (Dad always said that the Catholic Church is the best run business in the world, apparently he was right again).

Although the corner stone says 1912 and after taking pictures inside of the Baptismal Font and where mom would have been baptized, I read on their website that the church was not built in 1912.  Apparently the Priest felt that they needed a school more than a church, so they built the school first and while they were building the church, they used the first floor of the school as the church until the church opened in 1931.  Ergo, my mother was not baptized in this cathedral, but in a temporary church on the first floor of St Aeden's School.

Before getting to St Aeden's, we walked around Bergen Square and came across Newkirk St.  I have a copy of my mother's birth certificate (I made several copies and have not lost it yet), and it says that she was born at 131 Newkirk St.  Well, half a block north of Bergen Ave I found three row houses, and the last one before coming to a large commercial building with a Bergen Ave address was number 129, then there is an alley before the commercial building.  Apparently I was too late to get a picture of her house, but I got a picture of the houses next door.  While on Newkirk St, I saw a sign for Dick St.  I remember seeing that name on a McConville death Certificate.  It was Edward McConville, born 7 Jan 1902 and died 24 Dec 1925, Merry Christmas... again.  But the death certificate said that they lived at 25 Dick St.  Dick St today is just an alley, and it doesn't appear to have any houses on it.  Going on this tour now tells me that the McConvilles lived only a few houses away from my mom.  Actually, he died only three months before my mom was born.  So my grandmother was six months pregnant when her brother died, that's gotta suck.

123 through 129 Newkirk St Jersey City

After the tour, Katrina and I decided to take a tour of our own, and we drove to the address where we lived in Jersey City when I was born: 422 Bergen Ave.  We took a picture of the current house, and I say that because I don't think it is the same building we lived in.  I seem to recall old pictures of a large house with a big front porch.

422 Bergen Ave Jersey City

Last,  but not least, we continued down Bergen Ave, mainly because I couldn't figure out where we were and how to get to the turnpike, and we came upon Armstrong Ave.  We hung a right and drove past 343 Armstrong Ave, the house where my mom lived for a while after her mother died.   There was a group of people on the porch so we decided not to take a picture.  So I guess this was actually alot about my mother's days in Jersey City.

When we got home, I remembered that on my Dad's discharge papers after WWII, his address was 159 Bergen Ave.  I have to go back and photo that one, as well as All Saints Church, where he was baptized and later married my mom.

Memorial Day 2012

     It really seems appropriate to post a blog about those who have gone before us, on Memorial Day.  The best part is that I have found a couple of things to write about.  I am really loving this Ancestry App on my ipod, and all of those shaking leaves.  Honestly, I never used them before, but I am now finding census records for distant relatives that I never really looked for before.  The best part is that those clue/hints (shaking leaves) do not represent only records found on Ancestry.com.  They will also find information of Family Search ( the Mormon Church site) and Find A Grave, just to name two.
     So last week, I have my new Ipad with the Ancestry App, and I am doing the shaky leaf shuffle on random ancestors.  So I go to Thomas F Keaveney, who was my great grandmother (Annie Bergen's) half brother, and there is a shaking leaf, when you touch it, it gives you about 6 hints for him.  Most are census records that I had found on my own, and WWI Draft Registration.  But at the bottom of the list, the last hint says Michigan Find A Grave Index 1805 - 2011, Birth 1877, Death 1936, Burial Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan, USA, with a picture of his headstone.  It also tells me that he is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Lansing, so I can call them and see if they can give me the date of burial.  The info was entered by a man in Lansing, MI who enters info from local cemeteries into this database.  I intend to e mail him to see if we are related or if he is just a good deed doer.  I almost spelled Deed as Dead, would have actually worked either way.  Here is his headstone:
 

While on this site, I decided to check on Thomas' wife: Martha Flaherty Keaveney, and I found her too.  Martha was buried in 1930, and there is a picture of her headstone also:
 

I had found their marriage record on Familysearch.org, which is the Mormon Church website.  That is when I realized that his mother was also my great grandmother (Annie Sullivan Bergen)'s mother.  Another thing that comes up with the Shaking Leaf is some City directory records.  These are like phone books before the invention of the telephone.  It was made up by a local business and listed residents of the city and their address and occupation.  The City directory list Thos F Keaveney (Martha F)(Capital City cigar and Tobacco Co) h 216 Marshall Ave.  Pretty good info.

Just about two days ago I was doing the shaky leaf shuffle with another of my mother's ancestors: Arthur E Riedinger, who is my mother's first cousin (makes him my first cousin one time removed).  I hit the shaky leaf on him and found two hints: Social Security Death Index, which says he died in February 1970 and New Jersey Find A Grave Index, 1664 - 2011 (I guess NJ was inhabited and burying people before Michigan).  He is buried in St Joseph's Catholic Cemetery in Toms River, NJ, which is probably about a thirty minute drive from me.  Lucky for you there is no picture of his deadstone, (oops, did it again).  There is a note with his memorial : Cpl Battery A, 478 AAA, AW WWII, I am assuming this was his unit in World War II.  So I have to call St Joseph's and take the drive to take a  picture.

The last thing I want to mention is a web site that my friend George found for me in a Genealogy Society of NJ Newsletter.  This is a database for searching burials at several cemeteries in the Archdiocese of Newark.  The database is not complete yet, but it does include burials at two Brady - Bergen favorites: Holy Name cemetery in Jersey City and Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington, as well as, Holy Sepulchre in East Orange.  ( this is the huge one on the Garden State Parkway at about exit 145)  There are other cemeteries included in the database, which can be searched by surname, forename and cemetery.  Below is  the website:
http://www.rcancem.org/deceased

I hope some of the info is helpful and helps you find those who came before you.

The Bradleys of Schuylkill County

Wow, I didn't realize that it had been three weeks since my last post.  Time flies when you have five kids or when you're having fun (which is usually the same thing in my house).  I know my last post was about my home town in the 1940 Census, but I have uncovered some new information since then that I want to share.

Remember that I had mentioned that I found date of death for my Great Great Grandmother Anna Bradley in the Pennsylvania Archives website?  Well, while looking through that same year, I found another Bradley who died in Minersville on May 22, 1928:  James Bradley.  Last weekend I drove to my sister's house near Scranton Pa, with two of my sons, to visit for the weekend.  On my way back, I gave the boys a thrill of a lifetime by taking them by the Pottsville Free Public Library to search through microfilm of the Pottsville Republican for 1928 for obituaries.  They were nearly thrill to tears.  But it turned out to be a short sentence for them - only an  hour, because I had to get Jack home so he could get to work.  He has a real appreciation for work now.  My search was successful and I found two obits for the Bradley family, the first one was for Anna:

Don' you just love the way that she is treated as a second class citizen.  She is listed as the "widow of the late James Bradley", no mention of her maiden name and the killer (no pun intended) is that the funeral will be held at the home of "his" son, Joseph Bradley of Carbon St in Minersville.  It doesn't happen to mention that he is "her" son also.  Now I could be wrong, but I think the US government even allowed women to vote in 1928, but I guess citizenship and voting doesn't trump dead.  I was expecting to maybe see it mentioned that she lived in Pottsville with her daughter, that she had other children still living and some who predeceased her.  I also expected to see grandchildren and great grandchildren (my father and his siblings), but nothing.  Even in death she was still only the widow of James Bradley.

On to the more important obituary (just kidding) James Bradley, her son.  Here is his obit:

Now that's an obituary.  Well known Minersville Man - he must have been an important guy.  Remember, that this was May 1928 - prior to his mother's death, and she is not mentioned by name in his obit either.  He is survived by his mother ("what's her name" Bradley), brother Joseph, who is starting to have a real bad 1928, and sisters: Mrs Chas Long of Philadelphia, Mamie McMurtha of Pottsville (this is the daughter that Anna lives with until her death in December) and Susan of Gordon.  Gordon is the same town that James Brady and Madge (Maggie Bradley) Brady lived in when Maggie died in 1892.  How would you like to be Joseph having to have two funerals in his home in 1928 - I guess it beats the hell out of being James or Anna, but a pretty depressing year when you think about it.

I just feel compelled to mention that perhaps in the twenties and thirties, women were treated as second class citizens and just an extension of her husband (unless of course she was unmarried by the age of 16 or 17, then she was a "Spinster"), I think the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction today.  You can't watch a television show or commercial without seeing the husband or boyfriend or baby daddy, depicted as a complete moron.  Wives or girlfriends or baby mamas are all infinitely wiser and relish every opportunity to make him look stupid.  His children are smarter and have a higher IQ than he does.  Hell, most of the pets can hold a more intelligent conversation than he can (except the fish - cause you can't understand them speaking underwater).   I guess the times are changing, and I'm not so sure it's for the better.

One last thing to note about these two deaths: they are both interred in St Vincent de Paul Parish cemetery in Minersville.  You may remember that this is the same cemetery where Madge (Maggie Bradley) Brady was buried in 1892.  The same cemetery that charged me a $20.00 genealogy fee to obtain information about where in the cemetery she is buried - only to find out that they cannot find any record of her burial.  I called the church and found that several of the local churches have merged, and now I must write to St Michael the Archangel (the church not the saint) for any genealogy information - burials, baptisms, etc... Being that St Michael the Archangel is the Patron Saint of  Police Officers and I am a retired cop, perhaps I'll get a little professional courtesy - I better get out my PBA cards.

The 1940 US Census

If you are a genealogist, professional or as a hobby, and you don't know that the 1940 US Census was released to the public on April 2, 2012 - just turn in your membership card now.  Every past census that has been released, has been on microfilm and later digitized.  The 1940 Census will be released in digitized format only and easy to find: Just Google 1940 US Census, and you will find several websites that offer the census free of charge.  The thing about this census is that it has not yet been indexed, in other words you cannot search it by name yet.  You can, however, search by place or by ED (Enumeration District not the other ED).

So I did some searching, I found my wife Katrina's mother in Red Bank at 5 years old, Katrina's father in Shrewsbury at 6 years old, my mother Claire in Jersey City at 14 years old, but man are those Bradys elusive.  The first three, Katrina's parents and my mother, were easy because I knew where they lived.  Dad - well I just don't know,  I have ideas, but have not been successful yet.  In all fairness,  Jersey City is a big city to search if you don't have an idea where your people live in Jersey City - at least a street, hopefully a house number.  If you don't know an approximate address, you have to scroll through probably thousands of pages of census to find your people.

Today I was home and on the computer, and I started checking  our first address on Evergreen Ave in Neptune City and I'll tell you why.  I have been thinking alot lately about how a young family in Jersey City in the 1950's would find a house to move to in a small borough like Neptune City, which is about an hour and change south along the Jersey Shore.  I got my answer by talking to my sisters Pat and Joan and asking them if they knew how it happened.  Both of them said that my father's best friend, Jack Specht, had moved down to Neptune City, and my mom and dad had visited with the kids a couple of times.  One time when they visited, Jack told dad that the woman across the street had her house for sale.  Mom and Dad went across the street and saw the house, fell in love with it and the rest is history.

So, I am on the computer and I decided to  "scroll" through Neptune City in 1940.  It turned out to be almost a "stroll" through the town that I would live in eighteen years later.  The first person I came across was Darwin "Bucky" Glover on Laird Ave.  He was 12 years old at the time and lived with his  siblings and his parents, the records list his father as a boatman.  The reason that his name jumped out at me is that he would later become a Police Sergeant in Neptune City and worked with my brother Paul, when Paul was a Policeman in Neptune City.  He was still working when I worked as a Policeman in Neptune Township (the town next door) so I actually worked many a night shift with "Bucky" Glover before he retired.

Another person I strolled past on my way to my old address, was a man named Forest Cottrell.   He was 39 years old and lived on South Wall St. with his wife Carol, and his children Gloria age 11, Catherine age 10, and Richard age 9.  He jumped out at me because his occupation is listed as Policeman.  I happen to know, from living in the town for about 30 years, that he was the Chief of Police, 9 year old Richard would later become the Chief of Police (when my brother worked there) and I went to grammar school and high school with his (Richard's) son Richard (who would also become a Policeman in Neptune City).

I also came across five year old James Dugan living with his family on Sylvania Ave.  He would also become a Police Sergeant in Neptune City who worked with my brother (I also worked many a shift in Neptune when he was still working).

I finally found my way to the area Evergreen Ave and Steiner Ave where I lived in 1958.  The first person that looking familiar was Richard Ruppel, living with his wife Dorothy and daughters Dorothy, Lorraine, and Barbara.  His occupation was listed as Banker, my memory tells me that he was an accountant.  He and  my dad became friendly later, and his daughter Mary was friends with us growing up.  The other thing about Mr. Ruppel is that I remember his wife as being Isabel, because she was friendly with my mom.  Maybe there was a second marriage but I don't know.  I kinda think that he had something to do with the Board of Education, but I could be wrong.

The other day I was talking to my sisters, and Joan remembered a woman named Carrie who was a nurse and lived a few houses down on Steiner Ave and Third Ave.  Well I found her - Carrie Clayton living with her widowed mother, her sister, and an aunt.

I found the Trimbles living next door at 20 Evergreen Ave, Robert and Nettie and their four children: Annette, June, Lois and Robert Jr.  There was also Mr and Mrs Merkel across the street at 25 Evergreen.  They were both born in Germany, he was a painter and she was a presser, I can remember both of them from my time living there.

Last, but not least, I found our house - but it is listed as 24 Evergreen, instead of 22 Evergreen. Fred and Margaret Slater are listed as the owners and Fred's occupation is listed as Gas Station Attendant.

We had many a memorable moment in that house, but looking back the thing that I remember most about the house was that there was a basement.  In the basement under the stairs was a large safe - I don't think it was locked, but it looked like something out of a bank.   I remember it as being very large, but that may be due to my small stature and large imagination.  There was one other thing that my sister Joan pointed out. When we moved from Jersey City, we lived at 422 Bergen Ave.  We moved to Neptune City and lived at 22 Evergreen Ave.  Joan said that she remembers the house number being painted on the house as 22, but there was an 8 in front of it that was not painted over.  She asked mom about it, and my mother said that it was because we lived on the eighth block from the ocean (the first seven of which are in Bradley Beach).  This could be true because I seem to remember that Bradley Beach and Neptune City were part of the same  town at one point in time.  So my stroll through the 1940 census turned into a history lesson of Small Town USA, and the great town that I grew up in.

Bad News and Good News

I'm sure you've heard the old saying: "I've got good news and bad news, which do you want first?"  Well, in genealogy you hear this every other day.  Remember the obit I was waiting for from the Pottsville Republican and the Shenandoah Evening Herald for Anna Bradley, well I got it in the mail this week.  So much for good news.  The bad news - after paying the $10.00 fee, she is not MY Anna Bradley.  The first clue was the title of the obit: Miss Anna Bradley - I wasn't a Detective for ten years for nothing.   Well  back to the drawing board.

Next good news:  I got a letter from the Hoboken Cemetery in the mail today.  Bad news:  They have no records of Jack (John) Brady - the younger brother of my father who died at about two months old.  They also have no record of Mary Ann Sullivan - which does not surprise me because I know her last name was not Sullivan, but I don't know what it was because she married before her death and I don't know her married name.  Actually there is more good news in this letter - they did not request a genealogy fee.

Now I have some good news with no bad news to counter it.  I was listening to a podcast - The Genealogy Guys - and they go over news and answer e mail questions.  One of the news items was that Pennsylvania Births and Deaths between 1904 and 1961 are now public records and stored in the PA State Archives.  They are indexed on line on the PA Archives site by year.  Once you get the year, they are indexed in one of two way: either alphabetical or in the Russell system.  The Russell system is a combination of key letters and numbers used to find the page on which your name is listed in the ledger book.  They include  instructions with the on line index, but I find it difficult to understand sometimes.  I have never used it by myself,  I usually have someone there to help.  So this exercise should at least help me understand it better.

When you look up the name, it will give you a date of death, and the place, and a state file number (which is the important thing).  Well, actually it is all important. I find the place of death is a great clue.  If I had looked up Anna Bradley in the index, I would have seen that she died in Philadelphia, but I knew she lived with her daughter in Pottsville for at least ten years (1910 census and 1920 census, and the family is still there in 1930, but she is not). So if I were a betting man, my money for place of death would have been Pottsville not Philadelphia and I could have saved a few bucks.  Are you picking up the underlying theme here - all of the $10.00 and $20.00 fees that I don't like paying - so a free one here and there helps keeps you going, cause this can get expensive.  So anyway, I looked up Ann Bradley starting in 1929 and working backwards to 1920, and I found her.  She died 27 Dec 1928 - Merry Christmas, in Pottsville, PA (don't forget the important part) State File #124066.  So now you download the form on line to order a Non-Certified Death certificate and the best part - $3.00 each.  I have ordered death certificates before and they were $20.00 to $25.00 each, so this is really good news - Break out the party hats and blow up some balloons YAHOO.  The form does not give you a turn around time, but it has to be quicker.  The last one I sent for took about four months.

Just in case you're new at this and don't know why I am so happy about finding death certificates, I'm going to tell you.  Death certificates help you big time in genealogy.  They are usually filed within a couple of days of death, which means it is fresh information.  The person getting the information writes it down right away, so there is a smaller window for memory to screw up, and secondly it helps you go back further because it usually lists the names of the deceased person's parents (including mother's maiden name) and their place of birth, it usually gives the birth date and place of birth for the deceased, if your ancestor is a married female, you also get her maiden name (and her mother's maiden name).  The last tidbit that you get is the name of the informant.  That is the person who gave any personal information to the doctor - like birth date, parents names, etc (obviously the deceased didn't spill his guts before he checked out).  So you might find a name you know, or someone else to look up.  For example when I got our Great Grandfather, "Pop" Bergen's death certificate, the informant was our mother Claire Bergen.  It was actually kind of sad to see her name there.  It was 1943 and both of her parents had died, her two brothers were off to war and she was living with her mother's family, and giving information to a doctor on the last of her father's family.  It may have made it easier because she was in Nursing School at the time and becoming more used to seeing people dying, (this is no reflection on my mother's nursing skills - just a fact of life) but this was a man that she had grown up living with.  I don't care if she was an undertaker - that had to be tough.

When our Great Grandfather, James E Brady, died in Gordon, PA, his death certificate coughed up some info that I had been trying to find for awhile.  The informant was his sister, Mary G Brady of Scranton, PA.  She informed the doctor that their parents: Thomas A Brady and Bridget Convey were both born in Ireland - but she added a place in Ireland - Swinford.  I don't know how she let that slip out, apparently her parents must have thought that if anyone knew the town that they were born in they could break the DaVinci Code with it.  Well, maybe not - but no one had ever mentioned where in Ireland they came from - now I know Swinford, County Mayo. Ah the joys of death certificates.