Sheila If Capt John Bishop is not the father or grandfather to your Asa it might help if you tell us who his parents are or the reason you know that Capt John is not related. It is possible looking at the time span that Capt John's son Asa was the grandfather of your Asa. You did state that your Asa was B in Sandy Creek NY and perhaps you could tell us the source or document that you got that information from. Do you have names of any siblings? Usually most Historical Societies will check what records they have in their family folders. They normally do not do additional indepth research for you. Many times these folders have information that was submitted by inexperienced people and they do not have any source or documents to support their information and the researcher should carefully double check all material to see if its correct. Even family or history books are not always correct and are secondary sources at the most. Was his birth in the Village of Sandy Creek or the Township? Since these 2 locations (Henderson and Sandy Creek) are only a short distance from one another it is always possible there is a relationship with the other Bishop families in the area.. One can often solve a brick wall following a Collateral family line. If your Asa and family lived on the Sandy Creek - Ellisburg Rd perhaps Ellisburg has information on them. I would snail mail a request for information from the Town Historian of Ellisburg also. There is the possibilty that Sandy Creek was a PO location rather than a Township location and the actual location was in another Town. Have you checked Land Records for Bishop in the area where he was B to see if his father owned property? Since he was B March 4 1848 there should be a Birth Record as this was during the 1847-1850 Period that New York State did keep birth records. If it was Oswego County the place to write would be the Oswego County County Clerks Office. If it was Jefferson County you would write the Jefferson County Clerk for the information. Have you checked all the Church Records in the area or located a Baptismal or Birth Record? Church records often have D records also. There are church records available through the Family History Center for Churches in these area's (Methodist). Most families Baptized their children during this time as it was the center of social life for many families. It is also possible that you might not locate the burial site as it could have been on the farm or in an abandoned cemetery. Many tombstones were missing when Survey's of these old cemeteries were done and therefore all the burials do not show on these cemetery lists. Asa could also be buried where his in-laws or his parents are buried in an unmarked grave. The website's that scanned newspaper gleanings such as Asa's accident and Obits for various family members are helpful. But, only if the information is there. Only a small number of these Obits have been put on the Internet, many have not made it. The only other way to locate the rest of these would be to order (by Inter Library Loan) through the NYS Newspaper Project the Microfilm Reel of the local papers for that date or to make a trip to So Jefferson Historical Society that has some newspapers or the Watertown Daily Times microfilm at the Flower Memorial Library and search the newspaper. Another place I would check would be the Genealogy Dept. at the Flower Memorial Library in Watertown NY. They cover along with Jefferson County all the surrounding counties and have many family folders and some Obit notices. You can Snail mail them and request the information and they will get back to you. They work with volunteers so you must give them ample time to search for you. They also are a Non Profit group and a small donation for their services and copies are alway welcome. Just a few other avenue's that you can search. I will keep an eye open for any clue's as I do visit these archives from time to time. Pat R