People

City Government

Death certificates may usually be found at city, county, or state health departments. A death certificate provides the name of the decedent, address, sex, age, race, birthplace, birth date, death place, date and time of death, social security number, medical certificate, and coroner's certificate. Additionally, a death certificate generally provides information about the decedent's parents and their occupations.

This department maintains the following information:

personal history statements on city employees and political leaders and employment records, efficiency reports, and records of salary liens on city employees.

City public schools/systems maintain the following information:

teachers' biographies, showing personal background, education, and former employment, and

• students' records, showing biographies (in some school districts), grades, and disciplinary actions.

Applications for licenses often have valuable information about certain groups of people. For example, in many cities, professionals—including certified public accountants, dentists, doctors, plumbers, electricians, and optometrists-must be licensed to conduct business. See chapter 1, "City Government - Regulatory Agencies" for more information.

A city tax collector's office retains the following information:

names and addresses of payers of property taxes, even if the taxes were paid by individuals other than the apparent owners, and

People

County Government

Coroner

A county coroner's register generally contains the name or a description of the deceased; date of inquest, if any; property found on the deceased and its disposition; and cause of death.

Court Clerk

A county court clerk often maintains court files that contain papers in such civil actions as liens, name changes, and divorces. These papers generally include the complaint (identifying the plaintiffs, the defendants, and the cause of action); the answer to the complaint; and the judgment rendered. In some instances, depositions are introduced as exhibits and become part of the court records. Whether a transcript of the proceedings was taken may be indicated in the court clerk's minutes or in the file jacket.

In divorce case files, the complaint should identify the plaintiff and defendant; place and date of marriage (which indicates the appropriate county recorder's records); date of separation, if applicable; children's names, ages, and birth dates; community property; and grounds or charges, if any. The complaint also identifies the attorneys in the action and contains the plaintiff's signature. A cross complaint or answer should contain the defendant's signature.

A probate index will list actions alphabetically, by name of the estate or petitioner, and will give the date of filing and the docket number. The case file often lists causes of action and rulings regarding the estate, status of potential beneficiaries, status as a minor, adoption, incompetence, or insanity.

The court clerk also maintains criminal court files, which may contain information describing the crime and the counts. These files may also contain the complainant's signature (exemplar); a transcript of the preliminary hearing (usually consisting of testimony of the complainant, defendant, witnesses, and arresting officer); the names of the prosecuting and defense attorneys; the probation officer's report, with complete background investigation of the defendant; and subpoenas issued in the case.

People

Personnel Department

Public Schools

Recorder

Registrar of Voters

Regulatory Agencies

Tax Collector

Welfare Commission

A county personnel department maintains information similar to that maintained by a city personnel department.

County public schools/systems maintain information similar to that found in city public schools/systems.

A county recorder's office maintains, among other documents, marriage licenses and certificates, which can provide such information as the names of the bride and groom; maiden name of the bride; ages; cities of residence; places of birth; date and place of marriage; names of witnesses to the marriage and their cities of residence; and names of the cleric, judge, or justice of the peace who performed the ceremony. See chapter 1, "County Government - Recorder" for additional information.

A registrar of voters may maintain the following:

• Affidavit of Registration, which includes the name and age of the registrant, address at time of registration, occupation, and party affiliation, and

nomination papers of candidates for office (papers of candidates for state office are generally filed with the Secretary of State; those for city office are generally filed with the city clerk).

County regulatory agencies retain information similar to that retained by the city regulatory agencies.

A county tax collector's office retains information similar to that
retained in a city tax collector's office.

Files of a county welfare commission are gathered by social workers, psychologists, and physicians. Frequently, the recipient of benefits provides the information, which is generally not verified. Files contain such information as the recipient's address, previous employment, how much the recipient earned, property the recipient or the recipient's relatives may have, the family's attitudes, the state of their health, and criminal records.