Thank you for the info, Michelle and Kevin. While I've been researching for over thirty years including NYC, I always find something new with these postings. I did not know about the info with the Poor houses nor about Footnote.com. Thanks again. Nora Hopkins FitzGerald Hopkins - Castlebar, Co. Mayo/New York City Grant - Drumboniff, Co. Down/NYC In a message dated 1/14/2008 3:20:38 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, _kmct@earthlink.net_ (mailto:kmct@earthlink.net) writes: Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 15:38:55 -0600 From: Michelle and Kevin Cassidy Could people list strategies that work for them researching NYC families? I try to start with death records because you have an event in time that will be recorded at the municipal archive, the cemetery and the funeral home. There might be an obituary or a memorial card to start with as well. Everyone dies. The obituary might list relatives both living and deceased along with birth and marriage dates and major events. The cemetery provides a possible connection to other dead people. People are buried in groups generally and one would not expect to have a John Brown in a plot unless he is related or connected somehow. Calvary in particular has been helpful in my search. Knowing who purchased the grave and when is a big help. Death certificates are great but often can be incorrect. Be careful not to be a literalist because if a mistake is made in names of ancestors it is most likely to be on the death certificate. Don't dismiss it but look to verify it. My ancestor was the last of the immigrant siblings to immigrate. His death certificate said his parents were Michael Cassidy and Mary Rabey. His spinster sister died three months earlier and hers said Michael Cassidy and Mary Ravey. The middle brother died in 1908 and his said John Cassidy and Mary Ravey. The youngest brother died in 1905 and it said Michael Cassidy and Mary Reavey(might be Rooney). The records in Newry, County Down verified Michael Cassidy and Mary Reavey as the parents' names. Using four records can correct discrepancies. My next big record is the census both federal and state/local. A person may not show up every census but they usually show up enough to provide a detailed picture of age and family structure. It also helps along with city directories to know where they lived and what parish they might have attended. Surprise family members in the census can be key. Next is using the IGI at Family Search. Doing a parent search for both North America/NY and British Isles/Ireland has provided extra dates and addresses for ancestors and collaterals. Check the Italian Genealogical Group site at italiangen.org These NYC vital records indexes are most helpful tracking people that pop up unexpectedly in a census or other record. This fleshes out the tree and expedites the tree. They have other records there as well. Church records are a last resort. Often challenging to obtain but sometimes worth the wait and expense. Sponsors and witnesses are key. Nice for completion to have full dates. Make sure to ask for full notations and send a SASE and a donation. They will let you know if it was not enough. Some will send info along and mention that your donation was short. Please send in the difference to maintain goodwill for you and the rest of us. Poor house records gave detailed information. I am still trying to find a gentleman entering the poor house. If I can see his card it will verify his parents' names and give the name of his closest kin at that date. This will verify who was his kid and when they were last known to be living. Online databases can be helpful too. Footnote.com has many Naturalization records online and you can search for ones where your ancestor was not only the new citizen but the witness sometimes telling you the address. Use birth dates to track relatives that died in the Social Security Death index. I found my grandmother's cousin because I knew her birth date from the church records. There was a burial in the family grave in 1984. I put in birth date and a death in 1984 and 17 names were pulled. The last one was a name that was her. With a death date one can get an obituary searched in the locality and sent over the e-mail sometimes. Then one can contact living members possibly and try to compare notes. **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489