First posting here. Although I have done research for many years, none of it was in the USA (except contacting a few living distant cousins), so please feel free to state the obvious (to anyone else) about existing records, because I probably don't know about them. First the facts (as I know them), then the questions... I found the family of William and Ann James in 1850 and 1860 census in NY-Oneida. 1850 US Census - town of Florence William 42, Ann 39, Arthur 12, William E 9, John W 5, Charles R 2 1860 US Census - town of Camden; Florence Post Office William 53, Ann 51, Arthur J 22, Edwin J 18, John W 15, Charles R 13, Mary 8, Josephine 3. Census images available here: <http://www.execulink.com/%7Efbax/FamTree/James/>http://www.execulink.com/~fbax/FamTree/James/ Three children are married in St.Marys, ON, Canada in 1870's; birthplaces are noted as either NY state or Oneida, NY. It looks like the family was in Syracuse before they crossed the border because Josephine's membership in Baptist church in Ontario was transferred "by letter" from Syracuse. I did not find this family in either 1870 US or 1871 Canada census; but expect they should still be in USA. 1) Is it possible to determine a precise place of residence from the census? How? Is family in the same place in 1850 and 1860? I'd like to check nearby cemeteries, but I don't yet know what "nearby" means. 2) Are there any records for births (1838-1860) or marriage (before 1838) in Oneida? 3) What records might be available (Internet, LDS, etc) for further research in NY on this family? 4) Does anyone here happen to know anything about membership rolls of Baptist churches in Syracuse about 1870, or do I also need to join the Onondaga list for this question? Thanks, Frank

Thanks to all who provided suggestions for further research! It will take some time to followup all the leads. A couple of updates.... At 09:55 AM 6/20/07, Frank Bax wrote: >1850 US Census - town of Florence >William 42, Ann 39, Arthur 12, William E 9, John W 5, Charles R 2 > >1860 US Census - town of Camden; Florence Post Office >William 53, Ann 51, Arthur J 22, Edwin J 18, John W 15, Charles R 13, Mary >8, Josephine 3, Elizabeth 84 (boarder). I found cemetery transcription of son Arthur (parents named on stone) in 1886 (age 28) near St. Mary's. I found something interesting in a LOOMIS household in 1870 Florence: Ancil 35, Ann 30, Lizzie 9, Minnie 6, Jennie 3, Annie 2; John James 55, Elizabeth James 95. If Elizabeth is the same lady staying with William in 1950, then I wonder if Elizabeth might be mother of John and William? If so, then maiden name of Ann Loomis might be JAMES? This webpage seems to think so: http://www.jenforum.net/loomis/messages/2228.html Any Loomis/James researchers in this group? Where might we find evidence of the Mar1859 Loomis-James marriage? The entire posting seems to be extracted from another source, anyone know what it is? Frank