Did MD do work at the local courthouse in 1961? IIRC that was later.
And why send SD to Canada to have the baby?
Why not send her to the Booth Home in Honolulu or Spokane?
Do you think SD could have paid her own plane fair to Washington? Obviously MD was running the show.
BTW, here is the Pennsylvania law (VITAL STATISTICS LAW OF 1953) on registering births (amended in 2001):
“Section 401. Birth Registration: General Provisions.—(a) A
certificate of each birth occurring in this Commonwealth shall be filed with the local registrar of the district in which the birth occurs within a period prescribed by regulations of the Advisory Health Board. The certificate shall be prepared, signed and filed by the attending physician or licensed midwife, except that when there is no attending physician or licensed midwife the certificate shall be prepared, signed and filed (1) by the father, or (2) in the event of his death, disability or absence,
by the mother, or (3) in the event of her death or disability, by the householder of the premises or superintendent of the institution in which the birth occurs, or (4) in the event of the absence or disability of all persons heretofore named, then by such person acquainted with the facts as the local registrar
shall designate. The Social Security number or numbers of each parent shall be obtained and maintained separately by the department in a fashion that permits routine screened inquiries, unless there is good cause for not requiring the furnishing of such number or numbers in accordance with Federal regulations. This information is considered confidential and is to be made available only to Federal and State agencies responsible for establishing paternity or enforcing child support orders.
(b) Upon filing of the certificate, the department shall
provide the father or the mother with a brochure relating to
the existence of and eligibility for the Children’s Health
Insurance Program (CHIP) under Article XXIII of the act of May 17, 1921 (P.L.682, No.284), known as “The Insurance Company Law of 1921.”
(401 amended June 25, 2001, P.L.725, No.69)
Looks like just about anybody can register a birth in Pennsylvania.
Possibly valid point. This stuff is starting to run together for me, and I just haven't been keeping up with it like I used to.
And why send SD to Canada to have the baby?
There is a story about Madelyn Dunham's coworkers having no idea she had a grandson until he ran for the Illinois Senate. (some 30 years or more after the fact.) It mentions that she kept no pictures of him on her desk, and never mentioned during all the time she worked there that she had a grandson.
Her behavior is that of someone who is not proud of her grandson, which is an unusual behavior in most cases. However, Madelyn Dunham came from a time period in which miscegenation was illegal in many states. Madelyn Dunham was born in Kansas during some very serious racial strife between blacks and whites, and she had without a doubt the attitudes of her era, as did likewise Mr Stanley Dunham. (Also born in Kansas.) Obama even said so. (Typical white woman of her era.)
In 1960, it was extremely unusual for a white girl to get pregnant from a black man, and I have little doubt that Stanley and Madelyn Dunham were none to pleased about it. So what was the normal process for embarrassing pregnancies back in 1961? Go send them to live with a distant relative. Well guess where Stanely Ann's Aunt was living in 1959? Canada. Later in Blaine Washington, right smack on the border with Canada, and with the only nearby hospital across the border *IN* Canada.
So why send SD to Canada to have the baby? Because her parents were embarrassed and that's where her nearest female relative was.
Do you think SD could have paid her own plane fair to Washington? Obviously MD was running the show.
It is reasonable to suggest that both Madelyn Dunham and Stanley Dunham likely agreed that Stanley Ann needed to go elsewhere to have her baby. Specifically to her Aunt Eleanor Belle Dunham Berkebile.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=34618044