Hello everyone, I just returned from a wonderful genealogy vacation in Oswego County and Jefferson County, New York. Here are a few comments that I hope might help others in their research. My first stop was the Oswego County Records Center where I had the opportunity to meet Barbara Dix. There is a wide range of records to be found there, and Barbara is extraordinarily helpful. I spent significant time going through the state census records for Oswego county. The 1855 and 1865 state censuses are indexed. 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915 and 1925 are not indexed, but all of the censuses are in large binders that are much faster and easier to read than microfilm. The federal censuses for Oswego county are there too, but I didn't bother with them as I can view them online from home via Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest. When I finished with those records Barbara wheeled out a big cart with marriage licenses dating from 1908-1935, I think. The index is in the front of each book and the actual license and marriage returns are in the back. This was a surprisingly valuable tool for finding siblings, children and their spouses of my ancestors. I never did get to many of the other records they have, such as city directories, family genealogies, etc., etc., etc. Barbara insisted that I contact the Town Historian for Sandy Creek, Charlene Cole. She said that Charlene has done an incredible job of collecting local historical and genealogical records, so I made arrangements to go see her. To say that Charlene is a ball of fire is an understatement! She has the energy of 10 normal people. She went out of her way to show me the archives and their plans for the future; then she sat me down at a table and brought me stacks upon stacks of relevant information - family files, cemetery indexes, biographies and more. The information wasn't limited to Sandy Creek either. She has lots of information for the surrounding towns as well. While I was there she introduced me to another person researching one of my surnames, a second person who does lots of cemetery fieldwork in the area, and finally, to a member of the Halfshire Historical Society. I'll get to him in a minute. I would strongly recommend contacting or visiting Charlene if you have ancestors in Sandy Creek or any of the nearby towns. You won't be disappointed. Next I made arrangements to see the New Haven Town Historian, Nancy Searles. New Haven has far less genealogical information, but Nancy is knowledgeable about the area, and familiar with its history. She was able to tell me where my grandmother went to school, where my great great grandfather had his grocery store, and the place he likely lived. I didn't get a lot of data on this visit, but there is something profound about standing on the same piece of land as your ancestors, and this was worth as much to me as names, dates and places. I appreciated her taking the time to share her knowledge with me. On the same trip I stopped off in the Town Clerk's office. Debbie Allen stopped what she was doing and made a copy of a death certificate for me in a matter of minutes. I mentioned the member of the Halfshire Historical Society that I met. His name is Shawn Doyle and he seems to know almost everyone in the area. He shared some data and photos with me on some of my collateral lines, he contacted Albion Town Historian Florence Gardener on my behalf, then introduced me to another Halfshire member, George Widrig, who is an expert on the history of the hamlet of Richland. George also knew my great grandparents and various cousins, aunts and uncles. What a wonderful opportunity that was to sit down and talk to him! Next I went to Williamstown and met with Town Historian Glenna Gorski. Prior to my arrival she pulled together a lot of information that she hoped would be of value to me. After looking at an 1800s map of the area we figured out that my 4th great grandmother lived almost straight across the road from her. When we exhausted the documents she provided, Glenna got on the phone and called some people in the area that she knew were descendants of my ancestors. She just went out of her way to be helpful. Oh I almost forgot, I also made a stop at the Surrogate Court to search through the probate packets there. A woman whose name I unfortunately didn't learn was very helpful, explaining how everything was indexed and filed. I didn't find anything new for my ancestors, but I was able to rule out a couple of potential relationships, so it was a worthwhile trip. The people in the Pulaski Library were very helpful too. They have microfilmed rolls of the Pulaski Democrat dating back to the 1830s, and I was able to find several obituaries there. I never did get a chance to meet with Florence Gardener, but Shawn had provided her with my name, phone number and address, as well as information on the family I was looking for in Albion. She called me and said that she had found some information that might be of value to me. Since I couldn't make it to see her she offered to mail it to me. My trip to Oswego County was so amazing that I almost didn't make it to Jefferson County, but I'm glad I did! I began with a trip to the Historical Association of South Jefferson. They just moved into their new facility - a beautiful old home that they are restoring. In between scraping wallpaper, Debbie Quick provided me with family files to search through. I was looking for one particular piece of information - an exact date of death for my 3rd great grandfather - but I was unsuccessful. Debbie called the Henderson Town Clerk's office and provided them with the information I was looking for, then gave me directions to get there. She also provided me with directions to the Adams Town Clerk's office because my 3rd great grandfather lived in Smithville, which crosses over both towns and she thought that if the death didn't occur in Henderson it might have occurred in Adams. I drove to the Henderson Town Clerk's office. She wasn't there but her assistant was searching for the record when I got there. She couldn't find the record but searched in every possible data source she could think of. She apologized for not finding the record, but I was amazed and appreciative of how much effort she put into the search. I then went to see the Adams Town Clerk, John Knapp. His office is in his hardware store in Adams Center. When I walked in he immediately stopped what he was doing and took me to the big fireproof safe where the old records are kept. He too tried everywhere he could think of to find the death record, but was also unsuccessful. I called Debbie Quick back, and she offered to meet me at South Jeff on Friday evening so I could search the 1905 Jefferson County Journal page by page to see if I could find his death notice. When I arrived she sat down with me and went through one set of newspapers while I went through another. I finally found the death on 5 May 1905 (5-5-05). I don't know why there isn't a death certificate filed (there isn't one in Albany either) but I sure appreciate everyone's effort in helping me to finally track down the date. My next trip was to the Jefferson County Clerk's office to do deed research. They wouldn't allow me to use my digital camera there, which was a shame, so I read through the deeds and picked out the ones that were most important to me and had the ladies there photocopy them for me at $1 each. The ladies were all very friendly and didn't seem to mind making the copies, but I always felt like I was imposing on them and taking them away from other work they were doing. I wish the County Clerk's office had a policy of allowing digital cameras even if they charged for the pictures I took. As it was, I had 22 copies made. If I was able to use my camera I probably would have taken close to 100, been there half as long, put less wear and tear on the deed books, and happily paid a per-copy charge so they could maintain a revenue stream. It would also reduce the workload of the personnel there. I realize that the current policy is probably dictated to them by the state, but it would be nice if the benefits of allowing digital cameras were recognized. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant research experience and I managed to find one of those wonderful deeds that lists every heir of a deceased individual. I was able to extend one family line by identifying the parents and all of the siblings of a 3rd great grandfather. From the County Clerk's office I walked over to the Genealogy Room at Flower Memorial Library. As always, the volunteers there were wonderfully helpful. I looked through surname notebooks and found some useful information. I also found some key information on the 1865 Jefferson County census, which they have on microfilm. While I was looking at the microfilm one of the volunteers was checking through their Rhode Island historical records volumes for mentions of my family from there. When the Genealogy Room closed at 4:00 I went downstairs to the main library and went through microfilm from the Watertown Daily Times until the library closed. My next trip was to the Henderson Historical Society whose facility is a wonderful old Unitarian Church in the village of Henderson. They have a surprising amount of great genealogical and historical data there, and are extremely friendly and helpful. I found a map with my 3rd great grandparents house on it - something I had been unable to find in the past even though I knew within a couple of miles where they lived. I also saw an original Civil War record that explained that my 3rd great grandfather was turned down for military service due to disability. I had always wondered why he hadn't participated in the war, and I would never have found this document had the Henderson Historical society not been so helpful. Another interesting tidbit I found out - after a brief discussion we figured out that my 2nd great grandfather's sister in law is the sister to one of the Society members' brother in law. He is still alive, as is the nephew of my 2nd great grandfather, who was a long time teacher and coach in the area. They provided me with his address so I could write to him. By then the week was over and it was time to drive back to the North Carolina mountains. There was so much more that I could have done that I felt like I could easily have stayed for another month. What surprised me the most about this trip was the value to be found in talking to the small historical and genealogical societies as well as the town historians. I usually tend to think in terms of extending my lines by studying vital records, deeds and probate records; yet the time spent with these other people and the connections I made were immensely pleasurable and easily the most valuable part of the trip. In total I took over 800 digital photographs of documents, local scenery, and gravestones in the 11 cemeteries I visited in between my other stops. It may take me a year to sift through all of the material I gathered. By then I'll be ready to go back again! Best regards, Mike Curtis

Actually, there were three copies made for the federal census: one for the Feds, one for the state, and one left in the county. The one in the county may be the original. Sometimes the three copies are not identical. Kay Allen AG Mike Curtis wrote: > Hello everyone, > > I just returned from a wonderful genealogy vacation in Oswego County and > Jefferson County, New York. Here are a few comments that I hope might help > others in their research. My first stop was the Oswego County Records > Center where I had the opportunity to meet Barbara Dix. There is a wide > range of records to be found there, and Barbara is extraordinarily helpful. > I spent significant time going through the state census records for Oswego > county. The 1855 and 1865 state censuses are indexed. 1875, 1892, 1905, > 1915 and 1925 are not indexed, but all of the censuses are in large binders > that are much faster and easier to read than microfilm. The federal > censuses for Oswego county are there too, but I didn't bother with them as > I can view them online from home via Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest. When > I finished with those records Barbara wheeled out a big cart with marriage > licenses dating from 1908-1935, I think. The index is in the front of each > book and the actual license and marriage returns are in the back. This was > a surprisingly valuable tool for finding siblings, children and their > spouses of my ancestors. I never did get to many of the other records they > have, such as city directories, family genealogies, etc., etc., etc. > > Barbara insisted that I contact the Town Historian for Sandy Creek, > Charlene Cole. She said that Charlene has done an incredible job of > collecting local historical and genealogical records, so I made > arrangements to go see her. To say that Charlene is a ball of fire is an > understatement! She has the energy of 10 normal people. She went out of her > way to show me the archives and their plans for the future; then she sat me > down at a table and brought me stacks upon stacks of relevant information - > family files, cemetery indexes, biographies and more. The information > wasn't limited to Sandy Creek either. She has lots of information for the > surrounding towns as well. While I was there she introduced me to another > person researching one of my surnames, a second person who does lots of > cemetery fieldwork in the area, and finally, to a member of the Halfshire > Historical Society. I'll get to him in a minute. I would strongly recommend > contacting or visiting Charlene if you have ancestors in Sandy Creek or any > of the nearby towns. You won't be disappointed. > > Next I made arrangements to see the New Haven Town Historian, Nancy > Searles. New Haven has far less genealogical information, but Nancy is > knowledgeable about the area, and familiar with its history. She was able > to tell me where my grandmother went to school, where my great great > grandfather had his grocery store, and the place he likely lived. I didn't > get a lot of data on this visit, but there is something profound about > standing on the same piece of land as your ancestors, and this was worth as > much to me as names, dates and places. I appreciated her taking the time to > share her knowledge with me. On the same trip I stopped off in the Town > Clerk's office. Debbie Allen stopped what she was doing and made a copy of > a death certificate for me in a matter of minutes. > > I mentioned the member of the Halfshire Historical Society that I met. His > name is Shawn Doyle and he seems to know almost everyone in the area. He > shared some data and photos with me on some of my collateral lines, he > contacted Albion Town Historian Florence Gardener on my behalf, then > introduced me to another Halfshire member, George Widrig, who is an expert > on the history of the hamlet of Richland. George also knew my great > grandparents and various cousins, aunts and uncles. What a wonderful > opportunity that was to sit down and talk to him! > > Next I went to Williamstown and met with Town Historian Glenna Gorski. > Prior to my arrival she pulled together a lot of information that she hoped > would be of value to me. After looking at an 1800s map of the area we > figured out that my 4th great grandmother lived almost straight across the > road from her. When we exhausted the documents she provided, Glenna got on > the phone and called some people in the area that she knew were descendants > of my ancestors. She just went out of her way to be helpful. > > Oh I almost forgot, I also made a stop at the Surrogate Court to search > through the probate packets there. A woman whose name I unfortunately > didn't learn was very helpful, explaining how everything was indexed and > filed. I didn't find anything new for my ancestors, but I was able to rule > out a couple of potential relationships, so it was a worthwhile trip. > > The people in the Pulaski Library were very helpful too. They have > microfilmed rolls of the Pulaski Democrat dating back to the 1830s, and I > was able to find several obituaries there. > > I never did get a chance to meet with Florence Gardener, but Shawn had > provided her with my name, phone number and address, as well as information > on the family I was looking for in Albion. She called me and said that she > had found some information that might be of value to me. Since I couldn't > make it to see her she offered to mail it to me. > > My trip to Oswego County was so amazing that I almost didn't make it to > Jefferson County, but I'm glad I did! I began with a trip to the Historical > Association of South Jefferson. They just moved into their new facility - a > beautiful old home that they are restoring. In between scraping wallpaper, > Debbie Quick provided me with family files to search through. I was looking > for one particular piece of information - an exact date of death for my 3rd > great grandfather - but I was unsuccessful. > > Debbie called the Henderson Town Clerk's office and provided them with the > information I was looking for, then gave me directions to get there. She > also provided me with directions to the Adams Town Clerk's office because > my 3rd great grandfather lived in Smithville, which crosses over both towns > and she thought that if the death didn't occur in Henderson it might have > occurred in Adams. I drove to the Henderson Town Clerk's office. She wasn't > there but her assistant was searching for the record when I got there. She > couldn't find the record but searched in every possible data source she > could think of. She apologized for not finding the record, but I was amazed > and appreciative of how much effort she put into the search. I then went to > see the Adams Town Clerk, John Knapp. His office is in his hardware store > in Adams Center. When I walked in he immediately stopped what he was doing > and took me to the big fireproof safe where the old records are kept. He > too tried everywhere he could think of to find the death record, but was > also unsuccessful. > > I called Debbie Quick back, and she offered to meet me at South Jeff on > Friday evening so I could search the 1905 Jefferson County Journal page by > page to see if I could find his death notice. When I arrived she sat down > with me and went through one set of newspapers while I went through > another. I finally found the death on 5 May 1905 (5-5-05). I don't know why > there isn't a death certificate filed (there isn't one in Albany either) > but I sure appreciate everyone's effort in helping me to finally track down > the date. > > My next trip was to the Jefferson County Clerk's office to do deed > research. They wouldn't allow me to use my digital camera there, which was > a shame, so I read through the deeds and picked out the ones that were most > important to me and had the ladies there photocopy them for me at $1 each. > The ladies were all very friendly and didn't seem to mind making the > copies, but I always felt like I was imposing on them and taking them away > from other work they were doing. I wish the County Clerk's office had a > policy of allowing digital cameras even if they charged for the pictures I > took. As it was, I had 22 copies made. If I was able to use my camera I > probably would have taken close to 100, been there half as long, put less > wear and tear on the deed books, and happily paid a per-copy charge so they > could maintain a revenue stream. It would also reduce the workload of the > personnel there. I realize that the current policy is probably dictated to > them by the state, but it would be nice if the benefits of allowing digital > cameras were recognized. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant research experience > and I managed to find one of those wonderful deeds that lists every heir of > a deceased individual. I was able to extend one family line by identifying > the parents and all of the siblings of a 3rd great grandfather. > > From the County Clerk's office I walked over to the Genealogy Room at > Flower Memorial Library. As always, the volunteers there were wonderfully > helpful. I looked through surname notebooks and found some useful > information. I also found some key information on the 1865 Jefferson County > census, which they have on microfilm. While I was looking at the microfilm > one of the volunteers was checking through their Rhode Island historical > records volumes for mentions of my family from there. When the Genealogy > Room closed at 4:00 I went downstairs to the main library and went through > microfilm from the Watertown Daily Times until the library closed. > > My next trip was to the Henderson Historical Society whose facility is a > wonderful old Unitarian Church in the village of Henderson. They have a > surprising amount of great genealogical and historical data there, and are > extremely friendly and helpful. I found a map with my 3rd great > grandparents house on it - something I had been unable to find in the past > even though I knew within a couple of miles where they lived. I also saw an > original Civil War record that explained that my 3rd great grandfather was > turned down for military service due to disability. I had always wondered > why he hadn't participated in the war, and I would never have found this > document had the Henderson Historical society not been so helpful. Another > interesting tidbit I found out - after a brief discussion we figured out > that my 2nd great grandfather's sister in law is the sister to one of the > Society members' brother in law. He is still alive, as is the nephew of my > 2nd great grandfather, who was a long time teacher and coach in the area. > They provided me with his address so I could write to him. > > By then the week was over and it was time to drive back to the North > Carolina mountains. There was so much more that I could have done that I > felt like I could easily have stayed for another month. What surprised me > the most about this trip was the value to be found in talking to the small > historical and genealogical societies as well as the town historians. I > usually tend to think in terms of extending my lines by studying vital > records, deeds and probate records; yet the time spent with these other > people and the connections I made were immensely pleasurable and easily the > most valuable part of the trip. In total I took over 800 digital > photographs of documents, local scenery, and gravestones in the 11 > cemeteries I visited in between my other stops. It may take me a year to > sift through all of the material I gathered. By then I'll be ready to go > back again! > > Best regards, > > Mike Curtis > > ==== NYOSWEGO Mailing List ==== > New York GenExchange > http://www.genexchange.com/state.cfm?state=ny > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

Michael, Thanks so much for sharing that great story of searching for information on your family lines in Oswego & Jefferson Counties! Your experiences will help others who seek to find their information as well. I hope too, that you will share your cemetery pictures. I have recently donated some that I had of the Volney Cemetery, and if we all have a few to share, it may help others with their searches, and sometimes fill in some missing names not found on a past cemetery list. I sent them to Laura Perkins ([email protected]) of the rootsweb and the USGennet sites for Oswego Co. Besides, the headstones are great to look at for the various eras! Thanks again for sharing! Dianne Thomas