I keep seeing postings from people who want to know the parents of Rensselaer County people who have died in the 1890s and early 1900s. It's not too likely that any of us would know since it is too recent. I wonder why they don't consider the possibility of getting the person's death certificate which will not only list the names of both parents but also the place of birth of those parents (if the person giving the information knew). That source alone got me back into the late 1700s in one case. My ancestor's youngest sib lived into the 1880s and his death certificate gave the maiden name of their mother. I then found her baptism record from 1793 and the calculated birthdate on her gravestone differed from the birthdate in her baptismal record by exactly one year. When she died, apparently her family thought she was one year younger than she actually was but the month and day were perfect. Sometimes these things take much digging and detective work, but the civil records are the easiest to access and the first places I always look (land, wills, vital records, burials and other court records) BTW, does anyone know if the Diver Funeral Home in Schaghticoke is still around or whether their records have been preserved? Barb Baxter http://www.pinehurst.net/genealogy/