Niagara Falls woman receives document from NYS after years of waiting

UPDATE: A few hours after this story first aired on Tuesday morning, Heather called saying that she received the marriage certificate in the mail.

ORIGINAL: Heather Culverwell of Niagara Falls has been waiting more than four years for a marriage certificate that she requested from the New York State Department of Health's Bureau of Vital Records.

"I'd like to get that record before I die," said Culverwell. "It's holding up a whole line of research that I can't do."

Culverwell has traced back her roots to the 19th century. She has found fascinating information about her family, including information on the relatives who founded Buffalo's Swannie House.

"History is important to me," said Culverwell.

However, she hit a roadblock trying to find the name of her great-grandfather's in-laws and believes that information can be found on a marriage certificate from November 19, 1893. Culverwell has the certificate's index number and the name of the church in Batavia where the marriage took place.

In the spring of 2020, Culverwell requested that certificate from the New York State Department of Health's Bureau of Vital Records, with a $22 check.

"I emailed them in November 2020...They're behind," explained Culverwell. "I emailed them again in November of 2021...They're behind."

Culverwell said she requested documents from other states during the pandemic, and it took weeks if not days.

"I sent for a record in Pennsylvania in March of 2021, I had it in five days," said Culverwell, who keeps track of these requests on a handwritten correspondence record sheet.

Culverwell emailed again in February 2023 and got a letter six days later from Ursula Bauer, the then-acting director of the state's Bureau of Vital Records. Bauer said the bureau was dealing with a "substantial backlog," and genealogy requests take time to find through on a microfiche.

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In the February 9, 2023 letter, Bauer said that the bureau was currently processing requests from January 2020, but now 15 months later, Culverwell still has no status update on her document.

"Why is New York so far behind?" exclaimed Culverwell to 7 Problem Solvers' Michael Schwartz.

After Culverwell contacted Schwartz, he emailed the New York State Department of Health. A public information officer responded:

"The Department has received Heather Culverwell’s request and will process it in the order received. The Department cannot hold checks until a request is filled as the check may not be serviceable at that time, causing further delays. The Department of Health continues to experience a backlog in processing requests for historical or genealogical records, in part, due to a decrease in staffing in the Bureau of Vital Records. However, we are consistently increasing staffing capacity in the bureau."

Schwartz followed up by asking when Culverwell is expected to get the marriage certificate, but he hasn't heard back in a week.

As we continue looking into this issue to help Culverwell, if you have a consumer issue email Michael at 7ProblemSolvers@WKBW.com