Tennessee didn't start keeping birth and death records until 1910. I was hoping that Kentucky was a bit better about this issue. I put in as many combinations I could think of on Ancestry.com and nothing came up. Then I decided to omit the first name of the child but include the parents names. Et voila! I found a birth index.
You ask why he changed his name. I asked the same question and will never know. The thing is, this man was able to get into the army, obtain a Social Security card, and a driver's license without a valid birth certificate that matched his name. How can people do this? I was able to find his marriage information eventually but I still cannot find when Uncle Tom passed away. I have hope that I will someday.

