From roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com Sat Jan 14 14:26:52 2006 Received: from mail.rootsweb.com (mail.rootsweb.com [192.168.16.34]) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id k0ELQqSK030639; Sat, 14 Jan 2006 14:26:52 -0700 Received: from roots-l.rootsweb.com (roots-l.rootsweb.com [66.43.16.22]) by mail.rootsweb.com (8.13.4/8.13.4) with ESMTP id k0ELQnvP029635 for ; Sat, 14 Jan 2006 14:26:49 -0700 Received: from roots-l.rootsweb.com (roots-l [127.0.0.1]) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id k0EIxmFI032621 for ; Sat, 14 Jan 2006 13:59:48 -0500 Received: (from roots-in@localhost) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.8/Submit) id k0EIxmiL032620 for roots-approved@rootsweb.com; Sat, 14 Jan 2006 13:59:48 -0500 Received: from lists5.rootsweb.com (lists5.rootsweb.com [66.43.18.41]) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id k0EBfvFI031385 for ; Sat, 14 Jan 2006 06:41:57 -0500 Received: (from slist@localhost) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) id k0EE8lF6008755 for roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com; Sat, 14 Jan 2006 07:08:47 -0700 X-Envelope-From: Posnsrch@aol.com Sat Jan 14 07:08:47 2006 Received: from mail.rootsweb.com (mail.rootsweb.com [192.168.16.34]) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id k0EE8lSK008744 for ; Sat, 14 Jan 2006 07:08:47 -0700 Received: from imo-m24.mx.aol.com (imo-m24.mx.aol.com [64.12.137.5]) by mail.rootsweb.com (8.13.4/8.13.4) with ESMTP id k0EE8j0D010484 for ; Sat, 14 Jan 2006 07:08:46 -0700 Received: from Posnsrch@aol.com by imo-m24.mx.aol.com (mail_out_v38_r6.3.) id e.233.52a5651 (3948) for ; Sat, 14 Jan 2006 09:08:37 -0500 (EST) From: Posnsrch@aol.com Message-ID: <233.52a5651.30fa5fe5@aol.com> Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 09:08:37 EST To: ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" X-Mailer: 9.0 Security Edition for Windows sub 5301 X-Spam-Flag: YES X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.52 on 192.168.16.34 X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.52 on 192.168.16.34 Sender: roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com Subject: [ROOTS-L] NYS record hints good for all In a message dated 1/14/2006 5:17:36 A.M. Central Standard Time, ROOTS-L-request@rootsweb.com writes: From: To: ; As a NYS researcher I would like to step in with some added info. A 1847 NYS law required school districts in New York state to collect and keep vital records so one may find a few vital records for the 1848 - 1849 period (perhaps even to 1851 in some counties), however, these are fragments of the actual vitals. The law was shortly dropped and of course we did not have another one until 1880. These earlier records will be at your County Court House. That means in many cases that the researcher must seek other alternate sources to collect vital info from records such as Bible Records, Cemetery Records and church records if they exist. Remember in Jefferson County you will find Agricultural Census (this was a prime occupation), Military Records (some even for women since the Spanish Am. War). One place people tend to over look is the Court Records available. Let me tell you do not overlook Court Records such as Oyer and Terminer, Court of Common Plea's, Probate, Supreme or any local or town court not mentioned. Guardianship Records are another overlooked source of information. Many of these will have information in them such as birth, parents, location and even a description of the person giving height, color of hair, eyes and other info. I have used many of these Records in seeking information in Northern NY. Not to mention how interesting they can be. Poorhouses or County homes were not just for the Poor, they included Widows, mentally ill and orphans. Old Newspapers such as the NY Reformer or even family books (secondary source) can be helpful. Baptist Church records for defunct churches and old church records (even for existing churches) can be found at the New York State Library (this is a very extensive record) in Albany NY and I found several St Lawrence County Records there that were not available at any other location. So perhaps a Jefferson County Records can be found also. I also have also written to the American Baptist Historical Society in Rochester, NY for information and been fortunate. Guess I better stop I keep thinking I'm giving one of my lectures. But I hope I have given some insight to that seeker of information. I would also like to mention that it might be helpful to list the name of the people, their location and someone might have Bible or family information (from a sibling) at hand. Regards Pat R Thank you Pat, for this post on places to search for records. I cut and pasted it into my personal helps. Many of your hints can be used for any state! Nellie.