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THIS PAGE IS DESIGNED FOR HINTS FOR RESEARCHERS.
e-mail Jo Ann ..will post your favorite tips look at bottom of page.
The Montana Historical Society Research Center has quite a bit of material
on the Mountain View School, aka State Vocational School for Girls.
Try searching our online catalog from our
home page: http://mhs.mt.gov/research Look for the box in the
lower right that says "Search Catalog." Use the search term, "State
Vocational School for Girls" and you should get 11 results. Most
of these results, of course, are materials that are NOT available online;
you must come to the Research Center to view them (I'm tempted to
call this the "Old Fashioned Way"). Take note of Item 9 in the results
which is a collection of historic photos related to the school. W
e also have reports and other public documents related to the school.
One collection that will NOT come up in the catalog search
is the actual records collection of the institution. Since
the school closed, the Dept. of Corrections has transferred
many records to us over the years, since we are the State Archives.
The student records files were included, however, given t
he confidential nature of these records they are restricted.
Only the students and their parents may request copies
of educational records such as transcripts, and this r
requires a signed release form from the student or parent.
An archivist should be consulted to make this request.
Please let me know if you have any specific questions.
Jeff Malcomson
Government Records Archivist
Montana Historical Society
Research Center
225 N Roberts St.
PO Box 201201
Helena, MT 59620-1201
406-444-7427
FIND VITAL RECORDS:
How to Obtain Montana Birth & Death Certificates.
Montana began recording births and deaths at the state level in 1907. It was not until about 1915 that mandatory registration of births became more complete. By 1922, compliance was about 90 percent. All pre-1907 birth and death records are filed with the county clerk, as are all original marriage certificates. The Department of Public Health has only indexes to marriages (and only for those after 1945). For birth and death records after 1907, write:Address: Office of Vital Statistics MT Dept. of Public Health and Human Services
111 N Sanders, Rm. 209
P.O. Box 4210
Helena, MT 59604
Event: Birth or death
Cost of copy: $12.00
Additional copies of the same record requested at the same time
are $5.00.Photocopy of picture ID and signature required.Personal
check or money order should be made payable to Montana Vital
Records. To verify current fees, the telephone number is
1-(888) 877-1946. Information on how to obtain certified
copies is also available via the internet at
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, which is
www.dphhs.state.mt.us
Event: Marriage (State)Cost of copy: Call phone number above.
Records since July 1943. Some items may be verified. Inquiries
will be forwarded to appropriate office. Apply to county where
license was issued if known. Certified copies are not available
from State office.
Event: Divorce (State)Remarks: Records since July 1943. Some items
may be verified. Inquiries will be forwarded to appropriate office.
Apply to court where divorce was granted if known. Certified
copies are not available from State office.
Montana Historical Society advice for MT.
research link to Society www.his.state.mt.us/
Certificates for Stillborn Children
Certificates for stillborn children may be more
problematic for your research. Because of
fraudulent use of information about stillborn children,
some states have sealed records of stillborn children and
allow no access to the records. Others have held the records
for a specific period and then destroyed them. In any event,
records about stillborn children are nearly impossible to
obtain. You most frequently must rely on medical records,
newspaper notices such as obituaries, funeral home records,
etc., to locate information about stillbirths.
Medical Records
In some cases, with sufficient proof of your identity
or direct relationship to the person you are researching,
you may be able to obtain a letter from a physician or
from a hospital confirming the date and details of a birth.
Because of the possibility of potential fraud and the
requirement of maintaining confidentiality of patient
information, be prepared for your inquiry to be closely
scrutinized.
Additional information:
- The Montana researcher will usually find the County Courthouse Records to be the best source. There are times, however, when you might not know the county in which an ancestor resided. In that event, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Vital Records Division is a good place to start. Be sure to include a S.A.S.E with your request!
- Records available in the Vital Records Division:
- Births and deaths began to be registered with the state in 1907. By about 1920, most counties were complying with the requirement. Marriages and Divorces from 1943
- Costs to Obtain a Document: Call to make sure of the current costs.
- The minimum charge for any record is $10.00. This includes up to a five-year search. Other charges would apply at that rate, i.e.: If you were to ask for a Death Record for John Doe who died "sometime between 1940 and 1960", the charge for said search would be $40.00 and would include the cost of the record, if found.
- To obtain a Birth Certificate, send in the following information:
- Date of Request
- Name of Person
- Date of Birth
- Mother's Maiden Name
- Father's Name
- Name of Requestor
- Relationship to Party, or Reason for Request
- Signature of Requestor
- To obtain a Death Certificate, send in the following information:
- Date of Request
- Name of Deceased
- Date of Death
- Relationship or Reason for Request
- Signature of Requestor
- Mailing Address:
- DPHHS/Vital Records,
P. O. Box 4210
111 North Sanders
Helena, MT 59604-4210
- The 30-Year Law.
- In 1995, a "30-Year Law" was enacted in Montana concerning birth and death records. In a telephone conversation with the Montana Vital Records Office June, 1996, I was informed that their interpretation of the law is as follows: Copies of death and birth records that are less than thirty years old can be obtained only by the Mother, Father, Spouse or Child of the individual for whom the record is requested. Records more than thirty years old are open and may be released to a non-direct relative, and perhaps a genealogist.
From personal experience: e-mail me with your favorites
If necessary use a search engine for “border” crossings MT/Canada, workers at military Forts, what was happening in Montana during time of your research. Missions, Montana Historical Society, P.O. Box,201201, Helena, MT. 5962
Remember Public Libraries, they will have many of the Heritage Books and other books from the area counties. Ask to look in their “vertical” files, ask to look at the “old” books,(make yourself a category you are searching and make it broad. The libraries have treasures, explore. Some libraries have the old newspapers from that county; many rolls of film that you may explore. Ask what kind of “look up services” they have and the cost. Look for genealogy centers in each town or county and when do they have their book sales?
County Courthouses: ask when/year they started recording data. Ask if they have digitized all their data. If they are orfinished,..ask if you can buy the files? Or offer to take them to the dump. Sound silly? Well many courthouses I know personally simply dump the files. Genealogy Societies will verify this in some areas. As they digitize the often sell or dump the files.
Another great place for data is in the basements of court houses. You must have a scanner and electric outlet but it is absolutely wonderful. My idea of a great day or next to walking cemeteries and photographing tombstones!
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