Anne Baldwin wrote: > "Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia > > Salem, New York [snip] > > The village was once called "White Creek" and "New Perth" by two > competing groups of settlers, until the village was given its > current name by the state legislature, who called for the > National Guard to "dispose" of the rivalling factions, so as to > avoid any future conflicts. [edit] GeographyAnne B. > Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:41:08 -0500 > From: darrellm@sprynet.com > > Greetings: > > Can anyone provide me with information on the history of the name > > of Salem, Washington Co., N.Y.? As I understand it, there was a > > dispute about the name. At one point at least part of the town > > (maybe all of it) was called "White Creek". This is all secondary > > information, and either it, or my understanding of it, may be > > confused. > > I have some early census records that may be more important if I > > can nail down the details and chronology of the town's name. > > Thanks, > > Darrell Anne: Thanks for the response. However, that Wikipedia article is where I got my information in the first place. As I said, I am trying to "nail down the details and chronology". Emphasis on chronology. Without the timing, the Wikipedia information is not very useful as far as my present question is concerned (although I *am* quite curious about how the N.G. was supposed to "dispose" of the rival factions). Darrell

My life long project is in collecting data on the "Families of the Old Cambridge District," which comprises mostly the now towns of Cambridge, Jackson and White Creek. Many years ago I was at the NYS Archives and was very excited to find an item in their catalog titled "Proprietor's Book, 1762-1783, White Creek District." I see that it is still cataloged that way in their online catalog. However, it is not related to the present town of White Creek, it is for what is now Salem, NY. Strange the Archives has not re-labeled it after all these years. So if a person was looking for the earliest area official records for Salem, they would never find this in the index. It is available on inter-library loan on microfilm, or even may be purchased if you so choose. The Archives catalog number is 74-8-1. In the days that this book was created the now town of White Creek was in the Cambridge District, later the Town of Cambridge, and much later in the early 19th century it became White Creek. I have seen pre and post revolutionary war era mentions of "Little White Creek" which I suspect refers to what we now call White "Crick." Dick Hillenbrand Upstate New York Genealogy www.unyg.com On Mon, Jul 14, 2008 at 6:11 PM, Darrell A. Martin <darrellm@sprynet.com> wrote: > Anne Baldwin wrote: > > "Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia > > > > Salem, New York > [snip] > > > > The village was once called "White Creek" and "New Perth" by two > > competing groups of settlers, until the village was given its > > current name by the state legislature, who called for the > > National Guard to "dispose" of the rivalling factions, so as to > > avoid any future conflicts. > > [edit] GeographyAnne B. > > > Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:41:08 -0500 > > From: darrellm@sprynet.com > > > Greetings: > > > Can anyone provide me with information on the history of the name > > > of Salem, Washington Co., N.Y.? As I understand it, there was a > > > dispute about the name. At one point at least part of the town > > > (maybe all of it) was called "White Creek". This is all secondary > > > information, and either it, or my understanding of it, may be > > > confused. > > > I have some early census records that may be more important if I > > > can nail down the details and chronology of the town's name. > > > Thanks, > > > Darrell > > Anne: > > Thanks for the response. However, that Wikipedia article is where > I got my information in the first place. > > As I said, I am trying to "nail down the details and chronology". > Emphasis on chronology. Without the timing, the Wikipedia > information is not very useful as far as my present question is > concerned (although I *am* quite curious about how the N.G. was > supposed to "dispose" of the rival factions). > > Darrell > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NYWASHIN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Dick Hillenbrand wrote: [snip] > Many years ago I was at the NYS Archives and was very excited to find an > item in their catalog titled "Proprietor's Book, 1762-1783, White Creek > District." I see that it is still cataloged that way in their online > catalog. > > However, it is not related to the present town of White Creek, it is for > what is now Salem, NY. [snip] > > In the days that this book was created the now town of White Creek was in > the Cambridge District, later the Town of Cambridge, and much later in the > early 19th century it became White Creek. I have seen pre and post > revolutionary war era mentions of "Little White Creek" which I suspect > refers to what we now call White "Crick." Rick Paddock wrote: [snip] > In 1792 there were three rivals for the honor of being named > the shiretown (A town or city that is the administrative center > of its county as in a county seat)--Salem, Fort Edward and Fort > Miller. The Legislature empowered the supervisors to determine > the place and they chose Salem. [snip] > > Salem, formed by patent August 7, 1764, was recognized as a > town March 23, 1786. The largest village of the area is Salem, > incorporated April 4, 1803. > > White Creek, formed from Cambridge April 17, 1815, is the > southeast corner town. [snip] Many thanks to both of you. What I gather from all this is: -- From 1762 to 1783, at least, what is now Salem was known as "White Creek District". -- The town was formed by patent in 1764. -- It was recognized as a town in 1786. (By what name?) -- By 1792, when it was vying for shiretown honors, the town was already known as Salem. -- The Village of Salem was incorporated in 1803. -- The town of White Creek was formed in 1815. From these I conclude that an 1820 census record for "White Creek" would *NOT* be for someone living in what would later become Salem, because by that date the current names had already been adopted. If correct, that answers my immediate question. However, it doesn't solve my problem [grin]. I still want to know how the National Guard (meaning, I assume, the militia) solved the name dispute.... Darrell