The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-04-14
UNIFORMITY IN EFFORT.

The following, which has just been
issued by the health officer of Fairfield
county is OF Importance as a clear, per-
spcicacious and comprehensive state
ment on an important subject:
Dear sir: A uniform effort through
out the state is being made by the
county health officers to perfect the
registration of vital statistics. / have
called the attention Of most physicians
In this county to the requirements of
the law in respect to the promptness
of return, in which particular l find
there has been much Improvement.
now desire to call your attention
particularly to the need of greater care
and accuracy in the individual certi-
ficates, especially those of births.
The main purpose Of the registration
of births is to furnish to the public a
reliable means of tracing relationship,
upon which depends matters of inner
itance, descent of property, pension
rights, etc, as well as matters of more
sentimental interest, such as geneal-
ogies, etc, and to furnish such records
as will be reliable and full, years hence
NllClt SOlleitCI oil SouiSSo VI AiiOh iAAeASASiA
have disappeared.
These returns should therefore be
made with sufficient care, accuracy and
completeness to render them useful as
evidence in court.
All facts tending to prove the identity
| of parents should be carefully includ-
! ed, as this may be the vital point at
| issue in many important matters. The
| frequent repetition of the Same name
renders it particularly desirable that
| the birthplace age, etc, of the parents
4 and the maiden name of the mother
1 should be carefully given in the certi-
| flcate.
A certificate which gives the birth
| place Of the parents as ~. ST. Ire
| land" or Hungary" is of but little
! value for the purpose of Identification
| compared with one which contains the
| exact age of the parents, the town in
| which each was born, etc, etc.
The maiden name of the mother is a
| very useful fact in identification. 1t is
! often omitted, but should always be
| supplied in birth certificates. ...
1t may seem sufficient to certify that
child was born in the town of 'B, y
instead of Bridgeport, but such certi-
ficate would hardly be satisfactory
| evidence that the child was born in
Bridgeport While for practical pur-
poses we should assume that such was
the case, such certificate would fa'
short of satisfactory proof Of the fact
in a judicial inquiry.
For mere statistical purposes these
inaccuracies may seem of but little i'm
portance, but when the records are
viewed as means of proof of facts years
afterwards, then weighty matters may
depend upon them, they become of the
utmost moment.
| Many other inaccuracies and abbre
viations appear in birth and death GER
tificates, which at first seem to be O
little Importance, yet when the pur
pose of the record is considered 1t l!
seen that the certificate is vitiated fol
the purpose for which it is designed.
This letter is sent to all physicians il
Fairfield county in the hope that thos'
| whose who have made their returns
hitherto with the accuracy which thu
law contemplates will continue to do so
and those who have fallen into the err
rors pointed out will take pains tt
make their returns with such care tina
they will accomplish the purpose 70
which they are designed. Yours yer,
respectfully, GEORGE e. HILL,
County Health officer of Fairfield
County, Al Sanford Building, Bridge
port, Conn, March 16th 1869.