Hello listers I am trying to obtain a medical record of an ancestor's at Eastern State Hospital. They want me to provide copies of birth and death certificates. My question is: when did VA start with reporting births and deaths? He was born in 1830 and died in 1878. I do have a birth cert for his nephew who was born in 1857. I can't even find an obit or death notice for him. For death indexes, aren't those just people that were on social security? I don't understand why the such big deal for someone who's been gone for more than 125 yrs? Has anyone else on this list attempted to get medical records? Can I use the Freedom of Information Act for this? Patti Searching ROWE, PURCELL, PEYTON, LEITCH To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html