What documentation are you missing for key ancestors such as those in your direct line or specific ancestors of particular interest?
I suggest inventorying birth, marriage, and death records in your possession and prioritizing the process of ordering what you're missing. Try to obtain original documents sooner rather than later.
Why? Many municipalities are increasing fees, some are limiting access to vital records, and a few have a backlog of orders that translates into a long wait.
Also order a copy, not an extract, if you have a choice. This way you can see the actual document, not selected data retyped by a clerk who viewed the document and extracted info to send you. You never know what interesting details will be left off the extract!
New York ugh
My immigrant ancestors settled in New York City/State, and my dad-in-law passed away in New York State. Inventorying my documentation last year, I realized I was missing a key ancestor's death cert from a county north of the city.
I was lucky: I waited only nine months for that death cert, despite having been told the wait would be 6-10 weeks. Other genealogy folks have waited years, literally, and some are still waiting long long after the state cashed their checks.
As I write this, New York State is considering tighter restrictions on access to vital records as well as ridiculously higher fees to obtain records. The genealogy community has protested, but the situation is not pretty at this moment.
In some cases, you can either send to the New York county or city where birth/marriage/death took place or actually visit the county/city clerk to obtain the vital record. For more info, here's the Family Search wiki page about New York State vital records.
Ohio yay
My experience with Ohio has been the opposite of my experience with New York. My husband was born in Ohio, as were many of his ancestors, and it has been much easier to obtain vital records.
Some death records are available from Ohio History Connection, at a fee lower than the government charges. I've used this source many times in the past decade. Detailed info about Ohio vital records are on this Family Search wiki page.
When I ordered a birth cert and a death cert from Cleveland recently, I received certified printed copies in less than two weeks! The death cert included the coroner's report, which explained the many health problems that contributed to the man's untimely death before age 50.
Worth the investment
Vital records for selected ancestors are a worthy investment IMHO and can be kept with your family history documentation to be passed along to descendants. They are full of clues and can help fill in the gaps in our knowledge of ancestors and their family relationships.
Please start the process of obtaining any original vital records sooner rather than later. If record access is restricted in the future, or fees skyrocket, or wait times stretch out, you won't be shut out.
