Sherry, I would suggest going to the town involved for a death certificate for the 1880's. If there is a town clerk in the town you are interested in, try contacting the town clerk. Sharyn

If you order a death certificate from a local office, be sure of the type of certificate you're going to get. It's going to cost $22, the new NYS fee, so you might as well get the most complete you can get. Local offices are permitted to give vital records information typed on a modern form. There are a few problems with this. 1. a simple typographical error, which can occur in any step of transcription 2. the use of a modern form, which does not have as many spaces for information as the original. If you order from the state, you will have a photocopy of the original. Please let me know if you'd like some help in searching the indexes and ordering a form. Don't write to the state health dept asking for the form. You'll have a six-month or more wait. Nancy Johnsen Curran http://pages.prodigy.net/nancycurran Genealogy research and photography in the capital region of New York State