General Discussion

CBC travelled to Stoneham, Mass., three kilometres from Sainte-Marie’s childhood home, to see the birth certificate she has claimed for years doesn’t exist.

Town clerk Maria Sagarino showed CBC the secure vault that contains all Stoneham birth certificates.

She flipped through a 1941 binder until she reached Feb. 20 — certificate No. 49.

She pulled Sainte-Marie’s original, handwritten birth certificate from its clear plastic sleeve. It was signed by Dr. Herbert Land — the same doctor who delivered Sainte-Marie’s sister, Lainey, in 1948. He certified that Sainte-Marie was born at 3:15 a.m. to Albert and Winifred Santamaria.

“This is the original that came from the hospital,” said Sagarino, who has worked at the Stoneham town hall for more than 20 years. “There’s no refuting this because it’s in my custody from my files in my vault.”

In her email to CBC, Sainte-Marie’s lawyer said: “Research has also revealed that children adopted by parents in Massachusetts were commonly issued new Massachusetts birth certificates with the name of their adoptive parents.”

CBC asked Sagarino if that happened in this case.

She said no.

“It doesn’t appear that she was adopted in any way, shape or form,” Sagarino said.

She said if Sainte-Marie had truly been adopted from Saskatchewan, the file would contain her legal adoption records and proof she entered the United States.

Instead, her file only contains an original Stoneham birth certificate.

“If you were to look at all the other ones in the book you would see the same thing,” she said. “They’re all set up the same way with the same information because it is a template.”

Furthermore, she said, as each certificate is registered, it is given a number and filed in chronological order.

So if Sainte-Marie was truly born in Saskatchewan on Feb. 20 as her 2018 biography indicates, and weeks or months later adopted into Massachusetts, it would be difficult to explain how birth certificate No. 49 sits neatly between baby 48 born on Feb. 18 and baby 50, born Feb. 24.

“I can say absolutely with 100 per cent certainty that this is the original birth certificate. Beverly Jean Santamaria was born in Stoneham, Mass., at New England Sanatorium and Hospital on Feb. 20, 1941,” said Sagarino.

https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/buffy-sainte-marie

FWIW, I would love for this story to turn out not to be true, but so far the evidence says otherwise.