Walter William Dymek, son of Stanisław Dymek and Franciszka Ksepka, was born on 28 December 1911 in Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA . His birth was actually recorded twice in the ledgers for the city of Worcester. The first ledger was recorded in January 1912, shortly after his birth . The second ledger was recorded in January 1913, over a year after his birth.
The Birth Record of Walter William Dymek – 1912
SOURCE: “Massachusetts Vital Records, 1911-1915,” digital images, American Ancestors (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 15 February 2011), Birth of Vadislof Demick, vol. 608, page 488, no. 1970, Worcester, Massachusetts, 01 January 1912; citing Vital Records: 1841-1915, Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, Massachusetts.
The image above is a composite image from the ledger, cropped to emphasize the information for Walter William Dymek . Click on the link for a PDF copy of the second birth record of Walter William Dymek . The ledger states:
- Walter William Dymek’s birth is recorded as No. 1970 in the ledger for the city of Worcester
- His name is recorded as Waslav Dimick, a male child born in Worcester
- He was born on 01 January 1912 and his birth was recorded in January 1913
- His father was Sephen Dimick [Stanisław Dymek], a laborer from Russia Poland residing in Worcester
- His mother was Frances Zipka [Franciszka Ksepka] from Russia Poland, residing in Worcester
As usual, the names in this record are badly misspelled, but the most startling thing is that Walter’s birth was recorded twice, reporting that he was born on 28 December 1911 in the first record and that he was born on 01 January 1912 in the second record . He, himself, used the 28 December 1911 birthdate, which is the most reliable from the records since the 01 January 1912 date was recorded in the ledger over a year after his birth.
At the time of Walter’s birth, there was no requirement in Massachusetts for physicians and midwives to promptly report births to the town . To ensure that all births in a town were properly recorded, canvassers asked local residents about births in their families and reported the results to the town . Walter’s birth was recorded twice (under different spellings) probably because the family didn’t remember that they had already reported his birth in January 1912, and reported it again in January 1913.
Copyright © 2011 by Stephen J. Danko
