Canadian Ancestors

Happy Canada Day!  A few of my branches stopped in Canada on their way to Buffalo.  Below are the generation that came to Canada through the generation that left.
1-Nicholas Eichhorn b. Cal 16 Jan 1799, , , , Germany, d. 28 Jul 1878, Welland,
  Niagara, Ontario, Canada
+Dorothea Schneider b. , , , , Germany
|--1.1-Charles Herman Eichhorn b. 25 Dec 1848, , , Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt,
|    Germany, d. 25 Feb 1907, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
    +Katherine WEIß b. 19 Apr 1849, Hohenstaufen, Donaukreis, Wûrttemberg,
     Germany, d. 9 Aug 1936, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
   |--1.1.1-William Fred Eichhorn b. 22 Jun 1874, Chippewa, Welland, Ontario,
   |    Canada, d. 9 Mar 1931, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
   |--1.1.2-Frederick William Eichhorn b. 14 Jul 1875, , , Ontario, Canada, d.
   |    9 Apr 1932, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
   |--1.1.3-George Eichhorn b. 30 Aug 1878, Niagara, Niagara, New York, USA, d.
   |    1928, (Cheektowaga, Erie, New York, USA)
   |--1.1.4-Eichhorn b. After 1878, d. Bef 1884
   |--1.1.5-Eichhorn b. After 1878, d. Bef 1884
   |--1.1.6-Clara Eichhorn b. 9 Aug 1884, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA, d. Aug
   |    1967, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
   |--1.1.7-Charles Eichhorn b. Abt 1888, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA, d. Btw
   |    1892 - 1900, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
   |--1.1.8-Marie Eichhorn b. 21 Dec 1891, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
--------------------------------
1-Charles Whitehead Jr. b. 10 Oct 1840, Halstead, Sevenoaks, Kent, England, d.
  12 Oct 1902, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada
+Mary Ann Hayman b. 11 Mar 1845, Halstead, Sevenoaks, Kent, England, d. 16 May
  1877, Barton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada
|--1.1-Benjamin Thomas Whitehead b. 31 Oct 1866, Halstead, Sevenoaks, Kent,
|    England, d. 11 Apr 1906, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada
|--1.2-Joseph Whitehead b. 2 Nov 1869, Halstead, Sevenoaks, Kent, England, d. 4
|    Apr 1936, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada
|--1.3-Charles William Whitehead b. 12 Jun 1872, Burlington, , Ontario, Canada,
|    d. 27 Dec 1927, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
|--1.4-Rosanna Whitehead b. 5 Jan 1875, Barton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada, d.
|    2 Dec 1924, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada
------------------------------------
1-John William Sanderson b. Abt 1830, , , , England, d. 25 Feb 1905,
  Burlington, Halton, Ontario, Canada
+Mary Alwood b. Abt 1833, d. 30 Sep 1903, Galt, Halton, Ontario, Canada
|--1.1-Gertrude Sanderson
|--1.2-Mary Jane Sanderson b. Abt 1864, Trafalgar, , Ontario, Canada
|--1.3-William H. Sanderson b. 1869, , , , Canada, d. 1946, (Hamilton,
|    Wentworth, Ontario, Canada)
|--1.4-Anna May SANDERSON b. 17 Jun 1871, Burlington, , Ontario, Canada, d. 29
|    Apr 1928, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
-------------------------------------

Amanuensis Monday: Barbara Fleeman Probate (Part 1)

I have found many probate packets for my ancestors over the years, most all small, just a will and a few pages of information from the Surrogate’s Court.  One probate packet that surprised me was that of my 4th great-grandmother, Barbara (Griss) Fleeman, who died 1 October 1870.  At 37 pages long, this packet includes legal proceedings that occurred for 3 years after Barbara’s death.  Written mostly in not-always-easy-to-read longhand, I will be transcribing a couple pages a week over the next couple months.  Italics are used to differentiate handwritten items.  Items in brackets are asides written by me.

Erie County, SS. - To Jacob Sumers + Henry A. Swartz

By virtue of the power and authority given to me, I do hereby appoint you appraisers of the personal property of Barbara Fleeman late of the City of Buffalo deceased.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereto set my hand and seal of office, this 12th day of June 1872.  [Signature Unreadable] Surrogate.

Erie County, SS. – I Jacob Somers and I, Henry A Swartz do solemnly swear that I will truly, honestly and impartially appraise the personal property of Barbara Fleeman deceased, which shall be exhibited to me, according to the best of my knowledge and ability.

Sworn to this 1st day of July 1872, before me} H A Swartz [Signature] Jacob Somers [Signature] Edward Edge [Signature] Commissioner of Deeds for Buffalo

STATE OF NEW YORK, Erie County.}SS. I, Adam Fleeman Administrator of Barbara Fleeman deceased, do swear that the following Inventory is in all respects just and true; that it contains a true statement of all the personal property of the said deceased which has come to my knowledge, and particularly of money, bank bills, and other circulating medium, belonging to the said deceased, and of all just claims of the said deceased against me, according to the best of my knowledge.

Sworn before me, this 1st day of July 1872} Adam Fleeman [Signature] Edward Edge [Signature] Com of Deeds for Buffalo

A True and Perfect Inventory of goods, chattels, and credits of Barbara Fleeman deceased, made on the 1 day of July 1872, by Adam Fleeman Administrator &c., of deceased, with the aid of Jacob Somers and H.A. Swartz appraisers, duly appointed by the Surrogate' of the Count of Erie,

Articles for the Widow and Minor Children, set apart without appraisal, pursuant to the Revised Statutes: None

[Page 2]

In addition to above, we do inventory, appraise and set apart for the use of the Widow and Minor Children of said deceased, the following articles of property, ($150 in amount,) pursuant to the Statute of 1842, viz: None

We further certify that upon inquiry we could not find any personally property to appraise

Adam Fleeman [Signature]

H A Swartz [Signature]

Jacob Somers [Signature]

Source: Erie, New York, Probate Files, 7035, Barbara Fleeman; Erie County Probate Court, Buffalo.

1940 Census: Maternal Grandmother

My main goal for the 1940 census was to find all of my grandparents, as this is the first time any of them were listed on a census record.

Last, but not least, is Grandparent number 4 (according to my pedigree chart), Marlyn Whitehead.  She was also the last one I found, which is pretty ironic considering she was the one I most wanted to find.  My Gramma Casell has been with me every step of the way on my genealogy journey and I was very excited to find her on a census and show it to her. 

She took a while to find as the address I had for her parents in 1943 from a SS-5 form was not where they were living in 1940.  After asking her for other recommendations (after all, she should totally know where she lived at age 4), I learned that Ancestry.com’s personal subscriptions have city directories that library subscriptions do not.  One 2 week trial later, I had an address: 87 Ullman, Buffalo, Erie Co., NY.  She is listed with her parents, William and Vera (Gress), her five sisters and her grandmother, Elizabeth (Fink) Gress.

Source:

1940 U.S. census, Erie County, New York, population schedule, Buffalo, enumeration district (ED) 64-472, sheet 12B, dwelling 87, family 257, Wm. H. Whitehead household; digital images, National Archives and Records Administration, 1940 Census (http://1940census.archives.gov : accessed 3 Apr 2012); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T627, roll 02837.

Tombstone Tuesday - Gottlieb Fink

Gottlieb Fink, 1938-1910, Mason

Top 3 Reasons to View the Actual Vital Record

In genealogy, when we order vital records, we often get a typed, certified copy from the city or town we order it from.  Although this is a good start and can prove useful, one should always aim to see the original to compare and, if possible, make a copy/take a photograph of.

Why is this?

1. The Back of the Certificate

Just like today, people often wrote notes on the back of a piece of paper.  Although you may not find one, imagine if you found a little note that helped you further your search. 

In this example, the back of the certificate (the top part on the image) has the phrase “Baptism St James Epis.”.  This led to a lot of information from the Episcopal Diocese of Buffalo on my Whitehead family.

2. Missing Information in Fill-In-The-Blank Forms

Not all information on a vital record will not necessarily be told to you on a fill-in-the-blank form used by the town clerk to send you the information.  One example of this is a name change.  Here is an example of the birth certificate of my great-grandfather, Alfred Casell, that he had and that I was lucky enough to come into possession of.

I could have stopped with this, saying I had proof of when and where he was born and had a full certificate of his twin sister which proved who their parents were.  However, I knew I may be able to find more information, so I got his full certificate.

As you can see this is a great find. I learned that in addition to changing his last name, he also changed his given name.  I also learned that he changed his name legally, through the court, which gives me another record to search for.

3. Typos

People make mistakes.  I have typed information incorrectly into my family tree program and into bibliographies for class papers.  In the course of proofreading and checking my information (was grandma really 11 when she gave birth?  Especially when she didn't get married for another decade?), this items get found and corrected.

Town and city clerks are busy and, unfortunately, finding vital records for genealogists is not their most important task.  As such, they may not have time to check over their typing.  One example of this is my great-great grandfather Marco A. Casell's death certificate.  The date of death is typed as November 26, 1932, at the age of 69 (born 1968, speaking of typos... 1868) and it has a filed date as November 27, 1937.  The filing date being 5 years later would be one clue there was a problem, as is the fact that the age is wrong based on the dates given.

Luckily, the Town of Colden gives both a typed form and a copy of the original record.  As we can see he did die in 1937, not 1932.  Bonus points to those readers who also realized that this example proved point number 2, as well, in relation to items such as an AKA and a burial date.

As you can see from these examples, it is important to always see an original vital record in order to make sure the information is correct and complete.

Have you had experiences of this in your research?  Please comment below.

Amanuensis Monday - Carolina Casillo Will

Amanuensis Monday is a blog theme created by John Newmark at TransylvaniaDutch.  He defines amanuensis an 'a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

For my first Amanuensis Monday I have transcribed the will of my great-great grandmother, Carolina (Izzo) Casillo.

Will of Carolina Casillo

Erie County, New York

Will Book 123:559

Written 25 June 1934; proved 26 October 1934

 

“Last Will and Testament.

 

I, Carolina Casillo of the City of Buffalo, in the County of Erie and State of New York, being of sound mind and memory, do make, publish and declare this my last Will and Testament, in manner following, that is to say:

First.  I direct that all my just debts and funeral expenses be paid.

Second.  I give, devise and bequeath to my beloved children Amalia Berni and Alfred M. Casell the sum of One Hundred Dollars each.  To my children Angeline Frascelli, Lucy Murphy and Clara Catalano, I give devise and bequeath to each the sum of Fifty Dollars.

Third: I give, devise and bequeath all the remainder of my estate be the same personal or real to my beloved husband Marco A. Casillo.

Lastly, I hereby nominate, constitute and appoint my beloved husband, Marco A. Casillo, without bond, executor of this, my last Will and Testament: hereby revoking all former wills by me made.

 

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name the 25 day of June in the year One thousand nine hundred and thirty-four

 

Carolina Casillo

 

We, whose names are hereto subscribed Do Certify that on the 25 day of June 1934 Carolina Casillo the testatrix, subscribed her name to this instrument in our presence of each of us, and at the same time, in our presence and hearing, declared the same to be her last Will and Testament, and requested us and each of us, to sign our names thereto as witnesses to the execution thereof, which we hereby do in the presence of the testatrix and of each other, on the said date, and write opposite our names out respective places of residence.

 

Ernest L. Colucci residing at 370 Eagle St. BuffaloN.Y.

Ralph Colucci residing at 370 Eagle St BuffaloN.Y.

 

(88)

 

Surrogate’s Court, Erie County, New York.

 

In the Matter of Proving the Last Will and Testament} Certificate of Probate.

Of}

Carolina Casillo}

Deceased.}”

 

STATE OF NEW YORK,} ss.

COUNTY OF ERIE,}

 

I, GEORGE T. VANDERMEULEN, Clerk of the Surrogate’s Court, of said County of Erie, do hereby certify in pursuance of Section 151 of Surrogate’s Court Act, that on the day of the date hereof, the last Will and Testament of the above named deceased, being the annexed written instru-ment, was upon due proof daily admitted to probate by the Surrogate’s Court of the County of Erie and by the Surrogate of said County, as and for the last Will and Testament of said deceased, and as a Will valid to pass Real and Personal Property.

 

Said last Will and Testament is recorded in the office of said Surrogate, in Liber 123 of Wills, at page 559.

 

In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed the Seal of Office of the Surrogate of said County, this 26 day of Oct. in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred thirty-4.

 

G.T. Vandermeulen

Clerk of the Surrogate’s Court

 

By John F. Uhler[?]

Assistant Probate Clerk”

 

Buffalo Library Local History Subject Guide

The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library Database News Blog announced today the newest subject guide, that of Local History.  It offers databases, community and local links, and library materials.  They also have a genealogy guide that can be used in conjunction with this.

Surname Saturday: Casillo/Casell

Each Saturday this year I am posting one of my surnames, going in alphabetical order.  This weeks surname is Casillo, which was changed to Casell after immigration to the US to fit in better on the railroad where my gg grandfather worked.

According to Gens, Casillo is most common in the Campania region of Italy, which is where my family came from.

Looking at Italy in Full Detail, Casillo is most popular in the Napoli province today, although 17.15 people with the surname still live in Roccaromana, Caserta, Italy, where my ancestors came from.

I currently have 2 microfilms on order for Roccaromana, which should be arriving any day now.  I am hopeful these will expand upon this line.


Descendants of Guiseppe Casillo
-------------------------------
1-Guiseppe Casillo d. Bef 1868
 +Unknown
|--2-Pietro Casillo b. Abt 1835
    +Angela Rosa Palmiero b. Abt 1845
   |--3-Marcantonio Maria Casillo (Marco Antonio Casell) b. 11 Jan 1868, Roccaromana, Caserta,
   |    Campania, Italy, d. 26 Nov 1937, Colden, Erie, New York, USA
       +Caroline Izzo b. 3 May 1876, , , , Italy, d. 2 Oct 1934, Buffalo, Erie,
        New York, USA
      |--4-Amelia Angela Maria Casillo b. 14 Jun 1903, Buffalo, Erie, New York,
      |    USA
      |--4-Alfredo Marco Casillo (Alfred Marco Casell) b. 28 Jun 1906, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA,
      |    d. 25 Jan 1981, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
      |--4-Angela Casillo b. 28 Jun 1906, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
      |--4-Lucia Marian Casillo b. Dec 1910, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA, d.
      |    1993, , , California, USA
      |--4-Clara Casillo b. Abt 1914, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA

Buffalo, NY Local History File being Digitized

The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library is digitizing its Local history File and putting it on Flickr.  According to the website, "The Local History File is the Library’s most comprehensive resource for Buffalo research. It is an index to select Buffalo newspaper articles. References to books, vertical file materials, scrapbooks, and magazines are also included. 

The Local History File covers Buffalo and Erie County people, places, things, and history. It was started in 1936 as a WPA project and now includes about 300,000 entries on over 100,000 index cards. Most citations date from 1930-1982, but some go back as far as the 1890s and as recent as this year.

Repository: 
Grosvenor Room, Central Library, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, 1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203-1887. www.buffalolib.org"

They currently have 60 state hospital cards, which are fully searchable.  As they add files, this will be a boon to genealogists with family from Western New York who are unable to travel to the library.

Tombstone(less) Tuesday - Marie Strassheim Tross and Louise J. Tross

My great-great-great grandmother Marie Strassheim Tross (1841 - 1921) in Buffalo Cemetery, Buffalo, Erie, NY.  The tombstone belongs to to her granddaughter Louise J. Tross (1913 - 1937)

Tombstone Tuesday - Katherine Weiss Eichhorn Gorndt

Fleeman Obituaries

I found the following obituaries today on Old Fulton NY Postcards. The most interesting to me is finding out that my gggg grandfather, Adam Fleeman, remarried after his wife Barbara died. You have to feel bad that his second wife died 4 years after his first and then his son died a few months later. The last obituary is this Adam's grandson.

Buffalo Daily Courier, 2 Oct 1870

At North Buffalo, Mrs. BARBARA FLEEMAN, wife of Adam Fleeman, at 9 o'clock, Oct 1st, aged 46 years, 8 months and 8 days.

Funeral to be held Monday Oct 3., at 2 o'clock P.M., at St Johns Church, on Amherst street, North Buffalo. Friends and acquaintances are invited to attend.

Courier & Republic, Buffalo, NY, 18 May 1874

In this city, MAGDALENA FLEEMAN, wife of Adam Fleeman, aged 48 years and 10 days respectively.

Funeral on Tuesday, at 2 o'clock P. M., at residence No. 59 Tonawanda street. Friends and acquaintances are respectfully invited to attend.

Fremont, Ohio, papers please copy.

Courier & Republic, Buffalo, NY, 5 Aug 1874

In this city, Aug. 5, LOUIS C. FLEEMAN, son of Adam and Barbara Fleeman, aged 19 years, 2 months and 27 days.

Funeral to take place Friday, August 7th, at 2 1/2 o'clock P.M. Friends and acquaintances are most respectfully invited to attend.

Rochester, N. Y. and Fremont, Ohio, papers please copy.

Evening Republic, Buffalo, NY, 28 Jul 1884

FLEEMAN-In this city, on the 27th inst., ADAM LOUIS FLEEMAN, son of Adam and Henrietta S. Fleeman, aged 3 months and 24 days.

The funeral will take place from the family residence, 214 Dearborn street, this Monday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock.

Friends and acquaintances are respectfully invited to attend.

Erie, Pa., and Cairo, Ill., papers, please copy.

They arrived!

Yesterday my two other microfilms arrived at the FHC. I went through the Halstead marriage records, still none for my ancestors, but a few for their siblings. The roll also happened to have marriage banns from Knockholt, Kent, where I have relatives from! Again, none for direct ancestors, but some for siblings, including one of the siblings from Halstead, who married a man in Knockholt. That was a nice surprise:-) The records from Roccaromana, Caserta, Italy also came in and I can't read them. Now, obviously I realize I can not read the Italian, but it is so tiny (it's one of those small microfilms) that I cannot make out any of the words/letters. I am going to buy a magnifying glass, but I'm not sure that will help enough. Any recommendations are more than welcome!

Today my birth/death/marriage certificates came in from Buffalo. It took just a week and a day from ordering them, which is really decent time. Unfortunately, the marriage record couldn't be found, but the index was fuzzy, so I think I must have guessed the wrong year. Next time I'm there I'll check the library microfilm, which might have the record.

I received death certificates for:

• Charles Herman Eichhorn, which has his parents names, Nicholas Eichhorn and Dora Schneider, and shows I had the right family in Canada! Now I have to continue my search there and eventually back to Germany. He was buried at Buffalo Cemetery and hopefully his wife is next to him, as I have no idea when she died.
• Elizabeth Whitehead, my great aunt, who died at 9 days old. The death cause is different than the one listed in the church records; this one makes more sense (cerebral hemorrhage).
• Maria Tross, which has her maiden name as Strassheim (on a marriage record of her child it looked like Crossheim or Crosshein). It also says she was buried in Buffalo Cemetery, so hopefully I can find some info on her husband (Wenzel/Wesley Tross) there and in her obituary.
• Mrs. A. [Barbara] Fleeman. She died in 1870, so there is pretty much no information, other than she was born in France about 1824, but no maiden name. Also no cemetery, but based on her probate file, they might not have been able to afford burying her.
• Adam L. Fleeman. Not my ancestor as hoped, but rather his grandson, who died at 3 months, 24 days. He is buried in Forest Lawn, so I will go visit next time I am in Buffalo.

I received birth certificates for some of the siblings of my ancestors as follows:

• William Tross Eichhorn, son of William F. and Augusta (Tross) Eichhorn.
• Clara Evelyn Eichhorn, daughter of the same.
• Adeline Whitehead, daughter of Charles and Anna M. (Sanderson) Whitehead.
• Amelia Angela Maria Casilla [sic] daughter of Marcantonio and Carolina (Izzo) Casillo.

Time to go update the Legacy file:-)

The Story of Me

My parents were high school sweethearts. Apparently my father liked a dress my mother was wearing and then they took a class together and started dating. She was a freshman and he was a sophomore. It also didn't hurt that my mom's best friend was my dad's sister, so it was easy for them to meet.

After my mom got her associates degree my parents married. It was 5 September 1980, my mom was 20 and my dad 21. About five months later my mom was pregnant with me.

I was due on Thanksgiving and the story goes that my great aunt Marilyn wanted me named Tom Turkey if I was a boy (this is the same aunt that later convinced one of my cousins that my aunt was pregnant with a mouse, a la Stuart Little). I ended up not coming on Thanksgiving, or the week after, and the doctors had decided to come get me on 10 December. Even in the womb I didn't like being told what to do, so I decided to make my entrance on the 9th instead.

According to my father, while driving to the hospital he stopped at Ted's (a fantastic hot dog restaurant in Buffalo, NY) and grabbed a hot dog. My mother doesn't recall this, although she said it is possible...

I came out screaming (and haven't been quiet since) and received a 9+ out of 10 on my tests (always the high achiever:-)). As you can see from the picture, I was also completely adorable.

As the first grandchild on both sides, my parents wanted to honor my grandmothers with my name. Both grandmothers said no to their first names (Marlyn and Agnes) and one to her middle name as well (Loretta). Therefore, my middle name became Elizabeth, my paternal grandmothers middle name. It also happened to be my mothers middle name and one that has much family history. My first name I believe came from a soap opera, which is why there are so many Amandas my age.

Amanda's Excellent (Genealogical) Adventure (Day 2)

Last Thursday began in Buffalo, this time I was spending the day with my Grandmother. We headed out to Forest Lawn in between rain storms and hoped for the best. The man at the desk was tremendously helpful and found the location of Gottlieb Finck and Joseph and Sophia Gresz. We walked over to the Gresz stone first, as it was located right behind the office. It is a large, very nice stone. We then drove to the end of the cemetery and found Gottlieb's, which matches his wife Barbara's. We were trying to find Barbara's (we had found it on our last trip, it's in the same area). After a couple minutes of searching I returned to Gottlieb's, as in front of it I had seen a granite Mason symbol. Hoping it belonged to him (maybe there was an arrow...) I started pulling the grass and weeds away... and found another tombstone for him! This one was older and had the same dates, but had his last name as "Fink." Why does he have two stones? This is a mystery for another day...

After our adventure it was time for me to head back to Syracuse, as 3 of my FamilyHistory Center films had come in. I arrived before the volunteers and anxiously waited in my car. Upon the center opening I put in film one of Halstead, Kent, England parish records and hoped to find the baptismal record of Thomas Hayman. Much to my amazement, it was the first one! With that good omen, I kept reading the records, which are filled of my Hayman and Whitehead relatives! The man next to me was impressed by all the writing I was doing and I just said "He was the first one!!!" Small English CoE parish records are my new favorite genealogy records, as I have about 30 pages of written notes from the parish records and two bishop's transcripts for the area. I just finished the second microfilm as they closed. I can't wait to go back Wednesday to check out my Ontario land records and go over the parish films again.

Currently, I am trying to figure out how/if all of these people are related. The earlier records (early and mid 1700's) were really difficult to read, so I skipped over them to the early 1800's, and I have to feeling a lot of the answers I need lie in them. Following the lead of the man next to me on the microfilm reader I will be bringing a magnifying glass... I also have 2 more films that should be arriving soon, another of Halstead records and my Italy records, which will really be testing my skills.

Amanda's Excellent (Genealogical) Adventure (Day 1)

It began Wednesday at 6:40am. This is when I left my apartment and headed toward the inactive records center in Buffalo. I arrived shortly after their opening at 9am and was directed to the new CD version of the Buffalo death index, available for 1852 - 1944. Someone has recently scanned the book indexes and created pdf files that you can view on the computer. This makes it much easier for the workers, as they do not have to bring out the huge index books for every searcher who visits. I ordered death certificates for 4 of my ancestors, meaning I only could not find one I was searching for. I also ordered one for my great-aunt who died as a baby. These should arrive in my mailbox sometime next week.

I then moved on to birth indexes. It is here that I must thank Marvin, who happily lugged out 10 different index books for me to go through. He was the most happy and helpful government worker I have ever met. I ordered a couple of my ancestors sibling's records, as I am a big fan of cluster genealogy.

Lastly I looked at the marriage index which is located on microfilm and found the listing of one of my great-great grandparents and ordered this certificate as well. Unfortunately, the other listing I was hoping to find was not there:-(

At about 11:30 I left and went to the central Buffalo & Erie County library branch. My goal there was death notices and I did rather well, finding 8 of 13. The multitude of Buffalo newspapers in the late 18- and early 1900's make it a challenge, as you will find the death listing in a "vital records" section, but the death notice will be listed in another paper. I am hopeful that I will be able to find the rest, plus those of the people whose death certificates I just ordered, on my next trip.

This was the end of genealogy for day one, outside of showing my finds to my mother and grandmother. I will post on day 2 at a later time.

Obituary - Elmer J. Daniels

The obituary of my step-great grandfather. From an unidentified Buffalo, NY newspaper. Original in possession of my great-aunt Barbara.

Syracuse, NY City Directories

City directories are not a source I have used often, due to there not being many online and my not knowing that the Syracuse library has the Buffalo ones on microfilm (now that I know I may have to move into the library next week:-).

Yesterday I was looking up some people in the Syracuse city directories for a ROAGK person and found that not only do they list occupations and addresses, but marriage dates and to whom for women, death dates, who a women is a widow of and where a person moved to when they leave Syracuse. This is just amazing! Here's hoping other city directories are this fantastic!!!