You have to love a death certificate like this one from Mercer County, Illinois. The place of birth for Sarah Smith is listed as "Franklin County." No state is given. One might think it is Franklin County, Illinois, but it is not. The actual county is in Ohio.
Sarah was actually the daughter of Archibald and Lucinda (Wickiser) Kile who migrated to Mercer County, Illinois in the late 1840s.