GuidedResearch:Why Can't I Find the Record - American Samoa Births

This page will give you additional guidance and resources to find birth information for your ancestor. Use this page after first completing the birth section of the American Samoa Guided Research page.

Additional Databases and Online Resources

 * U.S., American Samoa, Passenger Lists and Travel Documents, 1918-1965 at Ancestry ($)

Additional Records with Birth Information
Substitute records may contain information about more than one event and are used when records for an event are not available. Records that are used to substitute for birth events may not have been created at the time of the birth. The accuracy of the record is contingent upon when the information was recorded. Search for information in multiple substitute records to confirm the accuracy of these records.

Finding Town of Origin
Knowing an ancestor’s hometown can be important to locate more records. If a person immigrated to the United States, try Finding Town of Origin to find the ancestor’s hometown.

Virtual Genealogy Consultations
Schedule a free online consultation with a research specialist:

Ask the Community
Select a community research group where you can ask questions and receive free genealogy help.

Tips for finding births
Successfully finding birth records in online databases depends on a few key points. Try the following search suggestions:
 * Your ancestor’s name and surname may have had many different spelling variations.
 * If you are not finding what you’re looking for, try using wildcard characters. That is, use an asterisk * to replace one or more characters.
 * Try searching surrounding areas. Your ancestors may have been born in another town than where they lived later in life.
 * Be flexible with year searches. Give a year range of about 2-3 years on either side of the believed year of the event.

Known Record Gaps
Records Start American Samoa became a territory of the United States in 1900. For records prior to 1900 try searching in Samoa or American Samoa Oral Genealogies.