I Need A Little Help

[boyando]

Here's my problem; Years ago, my Mother did a little of the genealogy for my Father's side of my family. Because of reason's too complecated to go into, my Mother left my Father when I was seventeen. My Father past on shortly after that.

For a couple of years now, I'v tried to do the right thing and take the work that My Mother did and go forward. Here is my road block.

My Grandfather's name was either Joseph Raymond Smith or Raymond Joseph Smith. I was told by my Mother that his real name is Joseph Raymond and that He went by the name Ray because no one in Iowa goes by the name Joseph Smith. My Father said that his Father left home when he was five and "we never saw him again". My father was born in 1925 so when I look on the 1930 cences, I expected to see my father's name on the rolls. Instead I found Ray Smith as head of household and no mention of my Father.

Next problem; May great Grandfather, according to my Mother's research was born in Iowa, but I can not find his name anywere. His name is Byron Smith and I can not find anything on Him in Iowa. some have said that the RLDS Church won't release those records out of spite. I don't know if that is true so I'm not trying to jump to conclusions.

If someone knows Iowa and could help, please answer back or e-mail me at [email protected].

There are no known relatives, alive, in that line, that I know of.

Thanks for all your help - Allmosthumble

[MBASS]

Wish I could help! I am stuck big time myself. My grandma doesnt want to give any information on her relatives and I cant find squat on them. They're from Germany and I speak no German at all! ARGGGHH!

[JohnTaylor1886]

I hope that I may be of some help. I do speak German and I can also read and write it. Send me anything you need to have translated at my LDSTalk address (same as my name here).

As far as Iowa goes, I don't know much about it, but perhaps I can help with linking. I ran into the same road block when I was doing work up in Ohio. Fortunately, the death certificates there listed the names of the parents of the deceased. With that information, I was able to link up some of the names in my family tree and find out more information.

According to the information I have pulled up, official registration of births, marriages, and deaths began in Iowa on 1 July 1880. So, what you would need to do is find out which department keeps the vital records (vital records being birth, marraige and death certificates). It is usually done by the county health department. Find the county where he lived, contact the health department there, and obtain the information.

If you knew where he died, you could also contact the health department there and ask for a copy of the death certificate. I used to work in a credit insurance bureau and I have had to view death certificates from several states in order to pay out benefits. Most, if not all, list the names of the parents on them. All you would need to know is where he died. If you knew when he died, that would help narrow thngs down a good bit.

I hope this helps. Write to my LDSTalk mailbox if you have further questions.