Perry, I am a librarian with a background in genealogy and manuscripts cataloging so I found your question very intriguing. I unfortunately don't have access to the New York Public Library but will offer some suggestions. I have access to Cocheu, Lincoln. The Couenhovens and Kinsfolk: Some Descendants of Wolphert Gerritse vanKowenhoven and Neeltje Janse through their son Jacob Wolphertsen van Cowuwenhoven and his first wife Hester Jansen. New York City: The author, 1947. Typescript. On page ii he writes: "In 1939 and 1940 'The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society' published in vols. LXX [70] and LXXI [71] of the Record, the early known generation of the vanKowenhoven-Conover family as gathered and arranged by this compiler. The numbering of the individuals shown in the Record is a consecutive system rather than the one used in our researches where the descendants of each of the three sons of the original settler (Gerret, Jacob and Peter) are identified by letters 'G,' 'J' and 'I.' As this compilation is of Jacob's descendants only, each individual number is made up of the letter 'J' followed by a number denoting the American born generation, and preceded by a consecutive number showing the individual's approximate position in that generation." In other words, the first born daughter of Jacob is Neeltje (1J1). Her first born is Hester Pluvier (1J2) I have also briefly skimmed the Van Couenhoven Family Bulletin and later Tidings to see if anyone has written about using the collection for research. I didn't find anything but a closer purusal, or looking in other publications, might bring up such an article. Using an educated guess, the compiler Lincoln Cocheu would want to be able to go back and forth from his research notes to his compilation. Using the above book might offer the answer to the number system. The "various stamped numbers" on each individual's page, as mentioned by Anonymous, below, might be the same number as in the book. The notebooks might be layed out according to generation and birth order, geographic, or they might be random according to how he worked on them. The index would provide alphabetical name access. Since I haven't seen the collection, this is all only a guess. When the key is discovered, someone should write a guide to the use of the collection. Honor Conklin >>> <PStreeter@roc.acccorp.com> 09/30 8:38 AM >>> An extremely helpful person who wishes to remain anonymous has been looking through Lincoln Cocheu's VAN KOUWENHOVEN notebooks at the New York Public Library on my behalf while conducting her own research on the family. In response to her message below, can anyone shed some light on how this enormous collection is organized? Perry Streeter (perry@streeter.com) Canandaigua, New York USA -----Original Message----- I spent some time last week at the NYPL, and among other things, looked up the Cocheu material. It appears to be a typewritten index and 43 3-hole notebooks with say, 200 pages each, each page with a name, DOB DOD on a line and various stamped numbers. As far as I and the librarians could tell there is no way to tell which books contain which numbers or letters of the alphabet. Do you have any clues? The genealogy at the NYPL section will be moving downstairs and after the move it may be easier to work with the material -- in a month or two. At the moment, the index is on film which must be viewed on a different floor, and the notebooks must be viewed one at a time. The librarians are not too familiar with the material. I find it interesting to see how other complilers worked -- find the little newsprint and letters more interesting than the notes. ==== GEN-NYS Mailing List ==== Have you forgotten how to UNSUBSCRIBE? Visit the GEN-NYS-L Frequently Asked Questions (And Answers!) web page: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nozell/GEN-NYS-L/FAQ/GEN-NYS-L.html