ANNOUNCING NEW DATABASE: MARRIAGE INDEX FOR RENSSELAER COUNTY, NEW YORK In addition to the Troy Irish Genealogy Society mailing list, this message is also being sent to the following genealogy mailing lists: MAILING LIST COVERS Rensselaer County List - Research in Rensselaer County. Albany County List - Research in Albany County. Schenectady County List - Research in Schenectady County. Saratoga County List - Research in Saratoga County. Genealogy NYS List - Research in New York State. Chenango County List - Research in Chenango County. NY-Hudson River List - Research in counties bordering Hudson River; (Rockland, Orange, Ulster, Greene, Albany, Rensselaer, Columbia, Dutchess, Putnam Westchester) & Schenectady County. NY-RollCall List - Research on New York State kin. NY-Mohawk Valley List - Research in Mohawk Valley Region of NYS, covers Albany, Fulton, Herkimer, Madison, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego, Schenectady & Schoharie Counties. NY-WarWashSar List - Research in Warren, Washington and Saratoga Counties. NYC-Roots List - Research in New York City. New York List - Research in New York State where County is unknown. Irish-NY-Troy List - Research of Irish Ancestry in City of Troy, Rensselaer County, New York. NY-Irish List - Research on Irish immigrants who landed, lived in or passed through New York State. NY-Southern List - Research in Southern counties of New York, covers Broome, Bronx, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Queens, Putnam, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan,Tioga, Ulster & Westchester Columbia County List - Research in Columbia County A. The message can be forwarded to other lists where you feel it would be appropriate. If posted to any other lists, please copy: [email protected] B. The largest project the Troy Irish Genealogy Society has undertaken so far is the automation of the Rensselaer County Marriage Index. This 10 Volume Marriage Index of Rensselaer County marriages, from 1908 to 1935, has over 60,000 names. Volume I, with its 5,000 marriages and 10,000 names was the initial step of this major project and is now available on the TIGS website. C. You can view these marriage records by going to the Troy Irish Genealogy website at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nytigs/ and click on TIGS PROJECTS and then click on TIGS Projects In The Works. It should be noted that these records, like most of the TIGS data series, cover the general population in the area and are NOT restricted to Irish surnames. D. If you are researching relatives with a RENSSELAER COUNTY, NY area connection, you will be interested in this new on-line, name searchable, data base of 10,000 names of local residents who were married in Rensselaer County, New York. If you live in a nearby county or even further away, you might want to check out the data base. There are also marriages in the data base where both individuals lived in Albany County or other nearby counties, and where some individuals lived in other states, especially Massachusetts and Vermont, or even foreign countries. One record even was for a bride and groom who both lived in Pennsylvania. You may even find earlier marriages that you were unaware of. Take a look at the data base, you never know what you will find. E. In order to appreciate the marriage index on the TIGS website, you need an understanding of the set up of the Marriage Index book at the County Clerk's Office. All marriages, along with complete detailed information on the bride and groom and their parents, were first entered into the Record of Marriages Book. Brides and Grooms names were then posted to the Marriage Index Book which served as a locating device to find the complete record in the Record of Marriages Book itself. Without the Marriage Index, you could not locate a name in the Record of Marriages Book. The Marriage Index Book has SEPARATE pages of data for Brides and SEPARATE pages of data for Grooms. For example, for the letter "A", there is a page of Brides names beginning with "A" and ANOTHER page of Grooms names beginning with the letter "A". The data on each page is limited to the first and last name, a page reference number, a marriage license number and the date of the marriage. The name of the SPO! USE is NOT shown in the index. The only linkage to the spouse in the Marriage Index is the marriage number. F. The TIGS data base has greatly improved the usefulness of the Marriage Index as follows: 1. By using the marriage number, the TIGS Marriage Index now links the names of the brides AND the grooms on ONE LINE of data, thus providing a much more useful research tool. 2. Some entries in the Record of Marriages Book were never posted to the Marriage Index Book. These missing records were identified by TIGS workers and added to the TIGS Marriage Index. 3. A number of records in the Marriage Index showed only INITIALS for either the bride or the groom. In many cases TIGS workers were able to determine the ACTUAL names from the original source documents and added them to the TIGS data base. 4. Several records for grooms names were originally posted to the brides pages of the Marriage Index Book and a number of brides names were posted to the grooms pages of the Marriage Index Book. TIGS workers corrected these errors in developing the TIGS index. 5. A number of transcribing errors when the Marriage Index Book was created were discovered by TIGS workers and corrected. 6. Last but not least, the TIGS Marriage Index is in strict alphabetical order unlike the original index. For example, on the original index, you may have four or more pages of Grooms names all beginning with the first two letters "Ma" and in no order whatsoever. G. In using the TIGS Marriage Index data base, keep in mind the following: 1. Handwriting in some cases was very difficult to read and there could be some problems with spelling. 2. At times, the original posting to the Marriage Index Book showed the marriage filing data instead of the date of the marriage. 3. Remember, the TIGS index is a transcription of the Marriage Index Book and NOT the Record of Marriages Book itself. It is always possible that the original source documents, the Affidavit For License To Marry, the Certificate And Record of Marriage and the Certificate of Consent, (for minors), were not posted correctly to the Record of Marriages Book, or that entries in the Record of Marriages Book were not posted correctly to the Marriage Index Book, or that TIGS transcribers misread the handwriting. If there is a question on any entry, the actual source documents at the County Clerk's Office would have to be referenced. The TIGS website has a PRINTABLE FORM that can be used to request copies of the above documents from the Rensselaer County Clerk's Office. Mailing instructions and fees are on the request form. H. An example of two entries in the Record of Marriages Book is shown on the TIGS website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nytigs/ Click on PROJECTS, then click on TIGS PROJECTS IN THE WORKS and then click "See Sample Record". The following information for the bride and the groom is shown in the Record of Marriages Book and in the primary source documents: 1. Name. 2. Residence. 3. Occupation. 4. Birthplace. 5. Color. 6. Age. 7. Number of Marriage. (first, second, etc.) 8. If widowed or Divorced, Where & When. 9. Father's Name and Birthplace. 10. Mother's Name and Birthplace. 11. Consent By & Relationship (For Minors) 12. Date of License. 13. Date of Marriage. 14. Place of Marriage. 15. Official Performing Marriage & Profession. (Priest, Minister, Rabbi, etc) 16. Names of Witnesses. I. The original pages of the Marriage Index Book were scanned by TIGS members. The resulting pdf files were then sent to the volunteers working on the project as an attachment to an email, along with an Excel spreadsheet for data entry. This extensive data base was made possible by the following volunteers who did a fantastic job on Volume I., the initial phase of this project. Please note that we had volunteers from all over the United States and even up into Canada. Kay Brearton - Wynantskill, New York Linda Christian-Herot - Newton, Massachusetts Penny Christopher - Melrose, New York Bill Delaney - California Lynn Carey Grice - New Paltz, New York Joan Howe - Iowa Jeanne Keefe - Troy, New York Stephanie Kinney-Dewey - Logan, Ohio Marilyn Mahoney - Arlington, Massachusetts Bob McConihe - Haverhill, Massachusetts Cathy & Bill McGrath - Clifton Park, New York James L. Owens, Rockville, Maryland Jayne Paradis - Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Carol Schrom - Troy, New York Barbara Skerritt - South Carolina Lizette Strait - New York State Janice Sullivan - Clifton Park, New York Lori Taylor-Blitz - Escanaba, Michigan Susan Toomy Russell - Georgia Pam Trudeau - Advance, North Carolina Carol Waldron - Saratoga Springs, New York Eileen Callahan Werth - Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania Valerie Werth - Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania Donna Vaughn, New York State J. We invite you to explore the TIGS website where you will find local history articles, resources and genealogy research tips as well as a number of free data bases. The TIGS mailing list, which is also free, is ideal for posting your Troy area genealogy queries. There are also some interesting photographs on the TIGS website from our group tours of the Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel at Oakwood Cemetery, the Burden Iron Works Museum and the Watervliet Arsenal Museum. To see these photographs click on "NEXT" on the first page of the website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nytigs/ and then click on "TOURS" on the left side of the next screen. Also, you can search your surnames in the following additional records transcribed by TIGS members and other volunteers. These data bases are part of a continuing effort by the Troy Irish Genealogy Group to make available on line, Troy and other nearby area records, that may be of interest to genealogy researchers, especially those outside ! the Capital Area. Burden Iron Company Steam Mill Payroll Records. (8,236 names) Troy Area Marriage Records. (1,448 names) Troy Area Death Records. (6,031 names) Index-History of the Troy Police Department. (668 names) Bank Officers in Troy Banks From 1801-1891. (299 names) Prominent Citizens of Troy, NY & Rensselaer County. (1,800 names) Representative Young Irish-Americans of Troy, NY - 1899 (400 names) Deceased Troy, NY Area Individuals Listed in 1902 City Directory (700 names) Alderman/Assistants In Troy, NY (1,400 names) K. The next step in the Marriage Index Project will be Volume II, which is another 5,000 records and 10,000 names. Volume II covers Rensselaer County marriages from April 23, 1913 to June 17, 1918. (Note: There will be a few records in Volume II with dates prior to April 23, 1913). If you want to be added to the list of volunteer transcribers, send an email off list to: [email protected] with your name, address and telephone number. You will be contacted when work on Volume II starts in a few months time. L. TIGS would like to hear from you if this marriage index was helpful in your family research. Regards, Bill McGrath TIGS Project Coordinator Clifton Park, NY