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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Back in the mid-60's - My sister's twin was not stillborn as my parents always said but rather was born alive.  I found this out while investigating our family tree a few years ago. There is no death certificate and no information via the social security db's that he has died for him to this day but there was a birth certificate and it does report him as a live birth.

My parents are dead. My siblings still give the same story - the twin was stilborn. I believe they have no idea this is in fact not true. They have no reason to lie at this point - we have very little family left and none were around back when he was born.

I am guessing he was placed for adoption but have no idead the motivation or reasons. No one in our family has ever been contacted by an unknown adult claiming to be our sibling so I don't think anyone is looking for us.

[/quote]Or he may have had a serious disability...and was placed in a facility [/quote]
That was what I though when I read it. I was born in the mid-60s, and growing up I knew a set of identical twins where one was typically developing, and the other had some sort of mental disability due to lack of oxygen at birth.[/quote]

Unlikely.  You will not find this child listed in the SS death database because, in all likelihood, no one ever applied for a SSN for him/her.  The correct place to search for a death record would be the Vital Records office of the state where the birth/death occurred.  Sometimes these records are limited in access, but you are a direct relative, so you might be able to get it.

As far as a birth certificate being issued for a stillborn, please keep in mind that there are differing defintions for what constitutes stillbirth, and what children are issued birth certificates.  This is especially true back in the 1960s.  The child could have been issued one even if he/she was truly born dead just because he/she was full term.  He/she could have lived for a very short time after birth, and thus been issued a birth certificate, but your family personally considered it a stillbirth at the time, or called it a stillbirth to avoid further hurt to your sister or other family members, especially if they did not collect the body for a burial.  (I know one family who, very recently, heartbreakingly lost a set of twins, full term.  One was issued a birth certificate, one was not, based on some stupid quirk in how the hospital interpreted the state law, and this really, really upset the parents.)  So, you really should not put too much stock in what the birth certificate implies.

Really, truly, I highly doubt that your family is lying about this or you have a sibling stashed somewhere.  [/quote]

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