My website is one year old today. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who contributed records and articles for me to post, and all of you who have made use of the site. I have been amazed at the response. When I originally set up the hit counter, I thought it would take 2-3 years, maybe longer, to reach 1000 visits, so I set it to read a maximum of 999. It didn't take long to realize that I had underestimated how many people would be using the website, and I had to change the counter to be able to record a higher number. As I write this, the site has been visited 22,700 times in its first year, even though the site covers only a small geographic area. You can see how wrong I was. I have spent a seemingly endless amount of time improving the website during the past year, but I have also learned more than I thought possible about local history, genealogy, websites and the internet. And I have met a lot of great people along the way. Cliff

Father Dennis Hughes, a Roman Catholic priest, recently wrote a long response to an email sent to him by Patti Smith. Realizing its value, she sought and received permission to post his response to the Rensselaer Co., NY mailing list. I also realized its value and asked what she would think of my making it into a webpage for other people to view. She thought it was a fine idea and contacted Father Dennis who, by the way, is quite interested in genealogy. He revised what he had written and sent it to me. It is now on my website. Father Dennis describes what information you can expect to find in the following kinds of records: Baptisms, Confirmations, First Communions, Marriages and Deaths. In his own clear style, he also gives a great deal of additional valuable information. If you are searching for any Catholic relatives, you should read the whole webpage. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~clifflamere/Ch/CH-CathParishRec.htm Cliff

Where could the Naturalization records of an immigrant living in Troy,Rensselaer Co. New York be found? AUGUST HILLEBRANDT came to America in 1872. The 1900 census says he was Naturalized. On the 1880 Census Index his name is spelled HILABROUNT, AUGUST. Would the Naturalization records tell where he was from and anything about his immigration to the USA? Thank you for your help Martha Stilson Walrath Surnames: BRONSON, DICKEY, ETUE, HILLEBRANDT, LAVIOLETTE, SHUTE, STILSON, STILWELL, WEIDEMEYER

Do not open attachments from me. I have virus! ----- Original Message ----- From: <NYRENSSE-D-request@rootsweb.com> To: <NYRENSSE-D@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2001 7:36 PM Subject: NYRENSSE-D Digest V01 #180

Hi Listers, Does anyone know where Viewland Cemetery is located and where I can write for records? Thanks for any help. Ann

Hi all, Many thanks to Barbara Jeffries who broke thru a brickwall for us! We have finally determined the parents of my ancestor, Theodore H. Gibbs b.7/3/1806 Renns. NY father: Samuel E Gibbs, mother: Lydia Bush published in the Albany Argus for 6 weeks commencing 4/23/1846... State of New York, City and County of Albany "The people of the state of New York, by the grace of God free and independent, to Mary Bush, widow, of the town of Nassau in its county of Rennsalaer and state of New York, Fanny wife of Jared Root, of Nassau aforesaid, Philo C Bush, of the city and county of New York, Mary wife of Egbert Reed, of the town of Stuyvesant, county of Columbia, state of New York,, Desmond B Gibbs, of the town of Becket, county of Berkshire, state of Massachusetts, Theodore H Gibbs, whose place of rsidence after diligent enquiry cannot be ascertained, Lucius K Gibbs, of the town of Plainfield, state of New Jersey, Mary L Gibbs, Delia F Gibbs, Lydia A Gibbs and Sarah wife of Jeremiah Marks, all of the city of Troy in the county of Rennsalaer and state of New York, and the children of Susan Burr deceased, whose names, ages and places of residence, and whether any or all are living,after diligent enquiry cannot be ascertained, heirs at law and next of kin to Abijah Bush, late of the town of Nassau in the county of Renssalaer, deceased, greetng: You and each of you are hereby cited and required personally to be and appear before our surrogate's office in the city of Troy in said county, on Monday the eighth day of June, 1846, at ten o'clock in the forenoon of that day, to attend to the probate of the last will and testament of the said Abijah Bush deceased, which will then and there be offered for tha purpose by Orry Bush, executor named in said will, who has applied to said surrogate for the proof of said will, and which relates to real and personal estate.. In testimony whereof, we have caused the seal of office of our said surrogate to be hereunto affixed. Witness, Stephen Reynolds, jr., esq., surrogate of yhe said county, at the city of Troy, the 21st day of April, 1846." Happy Birthday, Dad! Cyndi in Baltimore

I found some interesting Simpson info on Wednesday. I have been trying to track my Hoosick, NY Simpsons (John Simpson) but could not find them in 1800 and 1810. I know they were in Hoosick during 1820-1860 and a John Simpson is in Hoosick in 1790. A John Simpson and Thomas Simpson appear in the Schenectady census for 1800 and 1810. Does anyone have any info on these two people? It appears that in 1800 and 1810, Thomas Simpson had a child that would match the age range of my ggggrandfather, John Simpson of Hoosick. This may finally be the break I have been looking for to learn who John's parents were. Rensselaer County census info states that my ggggrandfatherm John (b: abt 1785) had been in that area since he was a very young child (about age 2). I have not been able to find my ancestors from 1800-1815 but I have been looking at Rensselaer County cenesus info only so I was shocked to see these Simpsons in the Schenectady census. Tim Simpson

Seeking info on the Reverend William O'Mahoney of Troy NY. He was born in NYC 3-25-1852; d. 2-12-1909, and is buried in St. Peter's area 2 along with parents Michael and Mary O'Mahoney. He was ordained at St. Joseph's in Troy in 1879, and became the first pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Troy in 1890. I would like family info and biographical info in order to determine if he is a family member. There was also a second William Mahoney who was a student at St. Joseph's seminary in the1890's. Thanks so much Susan Toomy Daytona Beach

Hello fellow listers, I wanted to pass along this very informative email that I received. I am sure there are others that will find this information about obtaining Catholic church records extremely helpful Thanks Father Hughes! Patti, I am not sure if anyone else has given you this info yet. I just picked up my email after about 5 days away. I am a Catholic priest who enjoys genealogy. My father's family came from Troy. Catholic churches keep five kinds of records: Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage and Death. All of these are usually only roughly indexed. Some parishes have parish census records going back many years, but these are usually not indexed. There might be donation records, particularly for the building of a church or school, but again, these would not be indexed There might be records of sick calls and the administration of the Sacraments to the sick, but again, these would not be indexed. Baptism records in a Catholic church typically, but not always, include the names of the parents and godparents, the date of birth and the date of baptism. Newer records normally contain the information about where and when the person was married and to whom, if that marriage took place in a Catholic church. Older records include this info only occasionally. Children were normally baptized soon after birth. Confirmation records typically include the church of baptism, the parents' names, the sponsor's name and the date of confirmation. In those years, Confirmation was normally received by children of 10-14 years of age. First Communion records typically include the church of baptism, the parents' names and the date of First Communion. In those years, First Communion was usually received after the age of 14. Marriage records typically include the date of marriage, the parents' names and the witnesses' names. Death records often include the date of death, date of funeral, place of interment and living next of kin. I have found old records consisting of a single line of information, and others which consisted of little stories that went on for a paragraph or more. The quality of the records depended upon the priest and/or the person who made the entries, if that was a different person. Complicating this is the fact that for a period of time in the late 19th century, the records were made in Latin. This meant that the names had to be translated (often poorly) into Latin. Translating them back is sometimes puzzling. For instance, is the "Anna" in the book really Anna or was it Ann--is the "Maria" really Maria or was it Mary, etc. Something else to be alert to: sometimes the Baptism records give a saint's name as the first name when it was a middle name or not even part of the legal name. Also, I have seen the same name of a parent spelled a variety of ways when I compared the Baptism records of all of their children. Some churches have very few genealogical queries and are happy to look up information. Other churches (particularly those which have been there for more than a century) are inundated with requests and are less pleased to look up info. Some churches ask for or expect a donation to cover the cost of their staff doing such research. Some churches simply refuse to give out information. In most cases, an inside person or parishioner of that church can be very helpful in negotiating with a church. In any case, I would suggest not inundating the church with requests. Try to ask for a specific record or records rather than ask that they look through all of their records for a certain name. I don't think it matters whether you call or write. If you are in the area and can drop in, that might be more productive. Unfortunately, I am not in the Troy area, so I would not be able to help. I live in Florida. Good luck. Rev. Dennis Hughes

Hi List members, My husband and I are making our first trip to N Y state in October. One of the things we would like to do while there is to locate the graves of two of my ancestors. I would appreciate any thing you can do to help me find the grave of Jabin Bennet, b 1730 in Hartford Conn, and d 1799 in Schaghticoke, Rennelaer Co. NY. His wife was Cynthia Unknown. Hi son,,,,,Richard. The other ancestor is Jonas Ketcham, b abt 1760,NY and d 1812, Sullivan TWP, Madison, NY. It is not known who his wife was. Thanks! Nancy Morris Brown Santa Ana, Ca

Hello. I'm looking for any info on my gr-gr-grandfather, William Gallagher, b 1822 and died after 1870 in NY State. There is a Wm Gallagher in Schaghticoke that has the same birthdate,1822, and died 1896, buried Elmwood Cem, Morning Sun Twp. Does anyone know if there are and where I could find death records that would have info on his family? Newspapers with obits? This William served in the civil war Co A 125 Reg. NYV. Thank you, Ethel

Many thanks to Janet and others who gave me the census page for Henry Frazee! Lin At 19:37 05/08/2001 -0400, "Janet Derbyshire" <gderbys1@nycap.rr.com> wrote: >CENSUS:1850 Greenbush Rens Co NY 944-1275, Frasee [Fraze], Henry 64 Justice >$1600 b NJ, Mary 53 b NY.

1850 Census Henry Frazee Greenbush, Rensselaer Co., NY p 302 Patricia

Hi, All If any of you has access to an 1850 US Census printed index book for the state of NY, I wonder if you might do me a BIG favour and tell me what page of that census Henry FRAZEE is found on? He should be in Rensselaer Co NY. Occasionally he is indexed as FRAZIER or FRAISER etc. I have a microfilm of some of the 1850 US Census here and would be glad to do a lookup in that in return! Thank you in advance. Lin Van Buren Saint Leonard's on Sea, England

Hi Brad, I have not been able to locate anyone in a Troy census. In 1870 when my gggrandfather mustered out of the civil war he decided to live in Illinois where he had been stationed. I have both of the "boys" civil war records and this is how I learned they were born in Troy. In his enlistment papers for joining the NAVY, he wrote that "at this time his PO address is in New York City". The next question asked where did he live prior to this address and he wrote, "Troy, NY." Steamboating as occupation. This is a real quandry for me. If I could just find them in a census...... -----Original Message----- From: Brad Miter [mailto:miter@compuserve.com] Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 2:11 PM To: 'Patti Smith' Subject: RE: [Rensselaer] Church records Patti, I can't help you with the Catholic Church but wondered if you have checked the 1860 census which should have the names of your ggg grandparents and where they were born. In addition, have you checked to see if he was in the 2nd NY State Volunteer Regiment which was formed in Troy in the Spring of 1862. Both my Gr Uncle and GrGrandfather were in it. I found a great deal of information about the Regiment. If your GrGrandfather survived much past 1870, he and/or your GrGrandmother may have received a Civil War Pension. Let me know his name and I can look up some of the Civil War information for you. Regards, Brad Miter -----Original Message----- From: NYRENSSE-L-request@rootsweb.com [mailto:NYRENSSE-L-request@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Patti Smith Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 1:34 PM To: NYRENSSE-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [Rensselaer] Church records Hello everyone, Is there anyone that has requested info from catholic churches? Here is my situation. My gggrandfather was a member of a catholic church (as were his children) for over 50 years. In about 1870ish he and wife and 1 child moved to a small town in Illinois and became a member of a catholic church. I would like to contact this church and see what records/information they might have. 1.) Would there by any records(at the Illinois church) that would have the name of the church he belonged to in Troy, NY or what church in Troy he (and maybe his brother) were baptized in? He was in Troy from June of 1842(birth month and year) to approximately June of 1862. (when he joined the civil war) 2.) Are there any records (specific?) that I can ask for that might have his parents information. Their birthplace, their full names, etc...? Should I just call them of is it better to send out a letter pleading my case? Thanks, Patti Smith ==== NYRENSSE Mailing List ==== Some Rensselaer Births, Marriages & Deaths: http://www.angelfire.com/fl/Sumter/Troy.html Rensselaer County Genweb page: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyrensse/ GenConnect Board: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/NY/Rensselaer 1880 Fed Census: http://www.connorsgenealogy.com To join the L form http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/NY/rensselaer.html

Hello everyone, Is there anyone that has requested info from catholic churches? Here is my situation. My gggrandfather was a member of a catholic church (as were his children) for over 50 years. In about 1870ish he and wife and 1 child moved to a small town in Illinois and became a member of a catholic church. I would like to contact this church and see what records/information they might have. 1.) Would there by any records(at the Illinois church) that would have the name of the church he belonged to in Troy, NY or what church in Troy he (and maybe his brother) were baptized in? He was in Troy from June of 1842(birth month and year) to approximately June of 1862. (when he joined the civil war) 2.) Are there any records (specific?) that I can ask for that might have his parents information. Their birthplace, their full names, etc...? Should I just call them of is it better to send out a letter pleading my case? Thanks, Patti Smith

Hi All, This is my first venture into NY research. I just got a Bible record that shows James Ryan married Mary Devereux on 13 Oct 1860 at St. Mary's Church in Troy. I'd like to order the marriage record... should I write to the county, the town, the church, all of the above? Any help is appreciated. Thanks! Jeanne Arguelles ejarguelles@msn.com

A big thank you to all who so promptly and kindly responded to my plea for help in obtaining details on burials there. The Rensselaer Cem. website proved to be just what I needed..............David Carr in Scarborough ON

Both Mountain View and Horizon View are enumerated in Lauretta Harris' book: VITAL RECORDS OF THE TOWN OF SCHODACK. I have a copy and could do a couple lookups for you. The book is known to have some errors, but like any compilation, it is a great start. I believe all the cemetery information from this book is also available on the Web at rootsweb's GENWEB page for Rensselaer County. Ned Schimminger, just outside Niagara Falls

Hello out there, Would anyone know of any similar lists in the Boston Mass. area? I am trying to locate the church where my gggrandfather was married in 1854. It was only listed as the "Central Church, Boston" in some papers we obtained from the Nat. Archives Pension File. Hopefully a similar group in Boston may know of some sources that I have not as yet found. Thanks for any tips. Happy Hunting! Ed