Thank you, Pat, for the great link. I have been at a loss as to where to look next. I have a great grandfather James J. Phelan who married Ellen Morrissey and I can't find record of them other than the 1910 census. Then they lived in Massachusetts where my family is now from. Something happened and my grandmother ended up in an orphanage so we don't know much. From what she said I she thought they had come to Massachusetts from New York and her birth record says both were from Waterford County. The 1910 census says they had been married for 8 years, or 1902, which seems about right as my grandmother was born 1903 (it also said she was 5 and she was 7 so usual variances in census info). I looked on the New York German site and they do have an Ellen Morrissey marrying a James J. Lenihan in 1899- possible misspelling I guess. It may be them but, unfortunately, I can't use it until I have searched and found no other record for them. With the link you provided I can now start to search the individual churches and see what I find. Do you have any other suggestions for me? I don't know their parents names at this point. Just that they were from Waterford. Thank you, Janet ________________________________ From: Pat Connors <nymets22@gmail.com> To: ny-irish@rootsweb.com Sent: Fri, December 18, 2009 4:20:57 PM Subject: Re: [NY-IRISH] Starting point I put this online a few years back: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nynewyo2/RCchurchregisters.htm It shows what records are available per church plus the church's address. This was from a book that contained work done by the federal program, the WPA, during the Great Depression. Wouldn't it be nice if through the new stimulus bill other such projects could be made available? > Any suggestions as to which Roman Catholic Church to start my quest? > The oldest source I have is his marriage certificate. St. Vincent De Paul > 116 West 24th St. 8 August, 1894. > > PS If you don't know the church, there are maps on the site that should help you find in what church parish your ancestors lived. -- Pat Connors, Sacramento CA http://www.connorsgenealogy.com ====NY-Irish Mailing List==== Don't forget to check out the NY-Irish mailing list website. Also, check/add your NY-Irish surnames on the Surname Registry: http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/NYIrishList/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NY-IRISH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Were they from Waterford County in New York State or County Waterford in Ireland? It makes a big difference as you can imagine as to your course for searching up records. If you already have the church where they were married, I would try to get the marriage record from the church to find parents names and then use the censuses to track them backward. I needed a baptism record from New Rochelle NY so my son could apply for dual citizenship with Ireland and all I had to do is call the rectory and the record was sent without charge. >From what she said I she thought they had come to Massachusetts from New > York and her birth record says both were from Waterford County. The 1910 > census says they had been married for 8 years, or 1902, which seems about > right as my grandmother was born 1903 (it also said she was 5 and she was 7 > so usual variances in census info). > > I looked on the New York German site and they do have an Ellen Morrissey > marrying a James J. Lenihan in 1899- possible misspelling I guess. It may > be them but, unfortunately, I can't use it until I have searched and found > no other record for them. With the link you provided I can now start to > search the individual churches and see what I find. > > Do you have any other suggestions for me? I don't know their parents names > at this point. Just that they were from Waterford. > > -- Pat Connors, Sacramento CA http://www.connorsgenealogy.com

Hi Pat; I was just searching my e-mails for the NY-Irish and found your response. I had missed it. Thank you for your response. I had no idea there was a Waterford County in New York and that is something I will have to keep in mind. I appreciate that. My grandmothers birth record said parents place of birth was "Waterford County, Ireland" but you know how that can be, they did come to Mass from New York. I do not have a marriage record for them yet. That is what I am currently trying to find as it would probably have parent names on it. For the 1910 census they were living in Mass, had been married 8 years and immigration dates were shown as 1901 for him and 1898 for her. This means they would have to have married in the US. I know there is no marriage record for them in Massachusetts. My grandmother said they were in New York before they came to Massachusetts and she was born in 1903. At least I have a fairly narrow window to search. Now I am faced with the daunting prospect of searching New York which I don't know much about. No immigration records have given a clue as to possible family/extended family. btw - I have a membership at the New England Historical Society which expires the end of January. It includes online access for Massachusetts BMD's through 1915. If anyone needs anything looked up please let me know and I will do that for you. The online database includes a photo of the original record. Hope you had a great holiday, Janet ________________________________ From: Pat Connors <nymets22@gmail.com> To: ny-irish@rootsweb.com Sent: Mon, December 21, 2009 2:01:37 PM Subject: Re: [NY-IRISH] Starting point Were they from Waterford County in New York State or County Waterford in Ireland? It makes a big difference as you can imagine as to your course for searching up records. If you already have the church where they were married, I would try to get the marriage record from the church to find parents names and then use the censuses to track them backward. I needed a baptism record from New Rochelle NY so my son could apply for dual citizenship with Ireland and all I had to do is call the rectory and the record was sent without charge. >From what she said I she thought they had come to Massachusetts from New > York and her birth record says both were from Waterford County. The 1910 > census says they had been married for 8 years, or 1902, which seems about > right as my grandmother was born 1903 (it also said she was 5 and she was 7 > so usual variances in census info). > > I looked on the New York German site and they do have an Ellen Morrissey > marrying a James J. Lenihan in 1899- possible misspelling I guess. It may > be them but, unfortunately, I can't use it until I have searched and found > no other record for them. With the link you provided I can now start to > search the individual churches and see what I find. > > Do you have any other suggestions for me? I don't know their parents names > at this point. Just that they were from Waterford. > > -- Pat Connors, Sacramento CA http://www.connorsgenealogy.com ====NY-Irish Mailing List==== Don't forget to check out the NY-Irish mailing list website. Also, check/add your NY-Irish surnames on the Surname Registry: http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/NYIrishList/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NY-IRISH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message