[Publius]

...convincing him Missouri didn't keep public records of birth.

Correct. Not until 1924 did the federal government lay an unfunded mandate upon the states to keep track of births, deaths and marriages.

[Floratina]

“Correct. Not until 1924 did the federal government lay an unfunded mandate upon the states to keep track of births, deaths and marriages.”

As unfunded mandates go, my thought when I read your post was that I’m glad this one happened but...I feel bad that I was glad, though.