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
-------------------------------------

Sodus Bay Lighthouse Museum

Image from the Sodus Bay Lighthouse Museum site

Yesterday, my husband surprised me with a trip to the Sodus Bay Lighthouse Museum, which is located in Sodus Bay, on Lake Ontario. The lighthouse was originally built in 1824, but had to be rebuilt in 1871.  It became a museum in 1984.

The museum showed this history of the lighthouse, talked about Sodus Bay in the War of 1812 (every building except one was burnt down by the British), and showed beach fashion over the past 150 years.  Included with admission is a guided tour and this was one of the best tour guides I have ever had.  After the tour we walked to the top of the lighthouse which gives a great view of Sodus Bay.  In the gift shop, I purchased a Lighthouse Passport and got my first stamp.  I'm looking forward to visiting other lighthouses in the future.

After out tour ended, we wandered around the grounds a bit and looked at Lake Ontario.  Unfortunately, it started to rain, so we were not able to explore as much as we had wanted.  We then drove around the town a bit and headed home, stopping at a farm stand along the way.

If you are in the area, I definitely recommend checking out the museum.

New York Indexed in 1940 Census at Ancestry.com

New York is now indexed for the 1940 census at Ancestry.com! 

From Ancetsry’s webpage about this: “From upstate to downtown, New York was a busy place in 1940. The 11th state was number one in population with 13 million people. The eyes of the world were watching, too, as the World’s Fair landed here in 1939, and planes were landing at the new LaGuardia Field. What were your Empire State relatives up to in 1940?”

I know how I’ll be spending my Wednesday!

The Loomis Family of Sangerfield, NY

I attended a presentation at the DeWitt Community Library on the Loomis Gang of Sangerfield, NY.  It was presented by Sue Greenhagen and Darothy DeAngelo, who are sisters, genealogists and historians, and whom I have heard before at their Oakwood Cemetery walks.
Although I tend to think I haven’t been in the central NY area for long, it has actually been about a third of my life.  In all that time, I had never heard of the family gang that lived in nearby Sangerfield.
In 1638 John Loomis and Mary White left England and settled in Windsor, CT.  They had 8 children and all were pillars of the community for many years.  Their fifth son Deacon John had a son named Sargent Daniel, who had a son Daniel, who had a son Daniel, who had a son Lieutenant Daniel, who in 1779 had a son, George Washington Loomis.  George was not such a model citizen and eventually moved to Sangerfield to escape the police.  Here he met Rhoda Mallett and had a large family.
The family was known for crimes such as stealing (mainly horses), passing counterfeit money, murder, arson, and general corruption.  My favorite story told today was how they would steel horses, sell them to the Union army, then steal them from the army to re-sell them to back to army.
In 1866 the end of the Loomis family came, with the family spreading throughout central NY.
It was interesting to learn more about the history of the area and to see the stories that can be told from genealogy research.  The genealogy of the Loomis family is available at Archive.org.  Apparently there is also a documentary on The Loomis Gang and a book by George W. Walter.

Wishing for the 1890 Census in NY?

The destroyed 1890 census is a bane of many genealogist's research.  Those of us with New York state ancestors in 40 counties (not Chenango, Columbia, Franklin, Fulton, Jefferson, Livingston, New York (the Bronx and Manhattan), Oneida, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Richmond, Schuyler, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, Westchester, and Wyoming according to FamilySearch) are lucky - we have a state census that was taken in 1892.

Not only is this census available on microfilm, but it is now searchable with images for most counties at FamilySearch.  It may not have households differentiated or relationships listed, but it does have

• Name


• Gender


• Age


• Color


• Country of birth


• If citizen or alien


• Occupation

One example in my research was trying to figure out if Maria Tross' husband was living in Buffalo when she immigrated with her children in 1884 from Germany.  There was no 1890 census for me to check, but when I learned about the 1892 state option, I looked there.  There was "Mary" with her two youngest children, but no Wenzel Tross to be found.  This made me want to check further into German records for his death prior to 1884.

If you have not checked the 1892 NY census for your ancestors, go to FamilySearch and check today!

Vital Record Madness

In NY, vital record copies for genealogical research are $22 each.  This has made me, unfortunately, do a little at a time, when I had the money.  Recently I ordered two death certificates for $44.  Now, I grew up in the same county in NY, where my ancestors had stayed since immigrating to America.  My family still lives there and yesterday my grandmother went to the county clerk with a list of 10 death certificates I need (plus 3 I don't have exact dates for yet) and was told they would be $10 each!  She therefore is getting 4 and a half for the price I paid for two!  I understand that if they mail them to me I should have to pay for postage, but $12 for a stamp?  Really??

Even if I had driven a couple hours each way to get them it would have been cheaper... and faster - she should have them by Tuesday and NY state can take over 5 months.  

Has anyone else found a similar problem?  It seems rather peculiar to me.