I know first hand of someone who was born in the Canal Zone and now has been living in Texas for many years. All our birth certificates were packed up and sent to Washington D.C. in 1999 under the care of the State Department. Well guess what. The State Department lost his birth certificate. What is he going to do now? He has a “copy” of his birth certificate but isn’t worth anything since it isn’t a “certified copy” from the State Department.
I think I remember of a courthouse fire way back when. I was too young to pay much attention to what was destroyed.