There's a lot of good information on NYC, particularly Brooklyn, on the Brooklyn GenWeb site.  The URL is http://www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com/  There are links there to BMD databases that have been put together by various genealogy groups, and there are also excerpts from newspapers, city directories, etc.  I've found out a great deal about my Brooklyn ancestors using this site.  You can search the site for the last name, to start with, and see what comes up.  Anna Caulfield ________________________________ From: Pat Jones <kin-hunter25@cox.net> To: ny-irish@rootsweb.com Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2009 10:51:56 AM Subject: [NY-IRISH] Need help/suggestions for a tough genealogical search/brickwall I need some help/suggestions from you experienced genealogists involving a really big brickwall. My grandfather once told me that when his family came over from Ireland (Co Roscommon) to New York in the mid-1860s and then on almost immediately to Illinois, they left behind in New York other members of his father's family; however, he never said their names of if he did, I have no memory of them.  I do not know anything about his father's family and am trying to trace them in both New York and Ireland.  This request pertains only to New York. His father, Patrick Higgins, came over ahead of his wife and children in 1863 and informtion in the Emigrants' Saving Bank Enrties indict that he was working as a long shoreman and living at 57 Washington St, no city given.  I am told that there is/was a 57 Washington Street in both New York City and Brooklyn at that time, so I'm not sure of which city Washington Street would have been in.  The only other clue is that the family no doubt was Catholic.  Then I found this little notice in the newspaper from Decatur, Illinois.  Newspaper article, Decatur (Illinois) Daily Review, 14 Aug 1927 indicates that a Miss Nellie Higgins of Brooklyn, NY was the guest of Mr and Mrs Edward Higgins, 1052 East Eldorado St. Edward Higgins was my grandfather and I'm thinking that Nellie Higgins may be a descendant of the family left behind in New York.  Finding information about her and her family is the only hint I have. How would you go about following up on this lead with the little information I have? I have no living relatives that can shed any light.  I've tried Federal census without much success and have been told that city directories aren't available.  Who knows if she had a phone and if so, how it was listed.  I'm stuck. kin-hunter25@cox.net Oklahoma ====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