Vital records can be a great starting point for your family history genealogy project. On each record, you'll find names, dates and locations of events like births, deaths, marriages and divorces. Even if you know the date of death of your great-grandfather, you may be interested to see the record, which will also contain where he was buried and who reported the death. Or you may know your great-aunt's birthdate, but her certificate will also contain the name of her parents and her birthplace as well. Divorce records list the names of any children and marriage records will also contain both the bride and groom's parent's full names and birthplaces. You can fill in a lot of gaps in your family tree by verifying your existing information with these records.

Most of the existing family genealogy records were collected by local governments, starting in the early 1900s. However, the Quakers and earliest immigrants to America were also very diligent note-takers, the Genealogical Publishing Company tells us. In the Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy 1750 to 1930, William Wade Hinshaw lists 455,000 Quakers from New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

In the monthly Society of Friends meetings, members listed all births, marriages and deaths dating as far back as 1850. Other records include early immigrant migrations from countries like Germany, Switzerland and Britain, as well as complete histories of the earliest ancestors to states like New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The CDs can be purchased for $39.99 to $59.99 at www.genealogical.com and can be a great way to continue your search of early historical records.

The federal government does not keep vital records, so it will be your responsibility to look up birth records, death records, marriage records and divorce records within your state or county. You can find a list of places offering these services at the Center for Disease Control website (www.cdc/gov/nchs/w2w.htm). Each state is different. For instance, New York State charges $30 for birth/death/marriage certificates dating as far back as 1880, while Georgia only charges $10 for records dating back to 1914. Some records can be found as low as $5 in North Dakota and divorce certificates usually only cost a few dollars.

You should send all mail correspondence separately to avoid confusion. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope with your genealogical research request. If you don't know the exact date, then write a span of years to narrow it down. Some places have a set fee, while others charge you extra for searches that span several decades or amount to a number of pages. If you wish, you may send a blank check (with a note beneath that says "not to exceed $20" or whatever amount you wish to specify). Otherwise, you may have to wait until they phone you with a total to charge by phone. Take note that it is not the county or state office's primary responsibility to look up your family's vital records, so they ask that you exercise patience.

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