In a message dated 11/11/2003 12:46:45 PM Hawaiian Standard Time, [email protected] writes: > If someone can help me re how to find graves or obituaries -- or find birth > records in Onondaga County around 1812 -- or how to look for wills, I would > greatly appreciate it. My searches of internet cemetery and other sites have > been fruitless except for the info I have provided. Margaret, Finding information from that era in NY can be difficult, if not impossible. Some of the most useful information I've obtained on my 4x great-grandparents came from the death certificate of one of their children who was not my direct line. My 3x great-grandfather died in 1849 and there was no documentation on his death, but his younger brother lived to a ripe old age (died in 1909). His death certificate, which I obtained from the town clerk, contained the birth places of both of his parents. This was done the old-fashioned way, by snail mail. Another way to find the birth location for persons born in NY state is to check the NY state census. Starting in 1855, every household member is named with their age, their birth place (if NY, the county) and the number of years they resided in the town or city in which they are enumerated. So if Philo Goodrich was alive in 1855 and living in NY state, you have a good chance of finding out the county in which he was born. It has been my experience that the state census is not always indexed; check with the local historical society and/or genealogy society in the town or county of your interest to see if it has been done. A good source for NY wills is SAMPUBCO (http://sampubco.com/). Good luck. Kathy McConnell DeFoster Kailua, Hawaii Former Syracusan