Birth and death certificates, even in 1895, simply didn't exist in some areas of Clinton County even though they were "required" by the State of New York. For example, my great great grandmother, Lydia Butler Guynup, died in 1894 and no death certificate could be found at either the state or town levels. I've found far more pre-1900 birth and death information in the PLATTSBURGH REPUBLICAN, or in church records, than in the state or various town files. Many cemeteries were actually on family land (at least two that I know of in my own family) so there was no reason to involve the authorities, especially in the case of infant deaths. Linda Guynup Dewey