this is a story about finding certain answers in a cemetery that became the burial place for the 1st generation immigrants to physical place. Buried by those who used a certain cemetery, usually associated with a Church. The burial/headstones I found were part of St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in East Arcade Wyoming County NY. To honor those of Irish descent in this cemetery, each stone paid homage to the home parish in Ireland, by having this information a researcher doing a family line will have location in Ireland by tracing the home parish location. One can presume that the names listed are the correct one, or the names used in the old country. Not sure how one would find the information online since my discovery was made through the information found at the Church, that the cemetery was used by the communicants of the Church
1st generation cemetery
July 10th, 2023Florence Gertrude ? Allford
May 14th, 2025B 1892 october
Adopted and counted in 1910 federal census
Florence Gertrude Allford Born NY-Parents English as were both boarders birthyear 1889 age 11 years at time of enumeration (1910)
First Enumerated as the adopted daughter of
Albert and Martha
Living in a house with her adopted parents along with
2 boarders
Charles A Rollinson
Edward A Machin
House located Nelson Street no number given
Source 12th US Census Syracuse 10th Ward SD 12 ED 118 Sheet 2 (B)
Enumerated 06/05/1900
Are her parents and Florence’s mother listed as a neighbor to her Nelson Street house? was there a related family to the Allford’s living on the same street? Or was this a family that took in a non-biological related baby from someone who due to circumstances unable to raise her…?
Pg 15 1892 NY census only had Albert and Martha
No children of there own Florence not adopted by the date of census and no boarders on fate enumerated by state 02/16/1892
NYS Census 3rd ED 9th ward Syracuse
Reclaim the records internet archives October 1889 (assumed birth month and year) no birth parents or where birth was recorded- NYS Birth index 1889 reclaim the records- there is 56 individuals named Florence the list below are those who near listed as sharing presumed birth month:
Evans Florence G Oct 3 place troy
Frazier Florence A Oct 10 place Watertown
Gillet Florence Oct 23 place Stuyvesant
Johnson Florence Oct 31 place Aurora
No first name Assumed Florence since location is town of, Oct 28
Clifford Grant (possibly Florence’s son by marriage)
Washington State census Snohomish County dist. 3
1940 census SD 2 ED 31-158
Florence Stack 26 sept 1900-appears to be Onondaga township for place of birth
Link: New York, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHK-ZQSP-MSS2?view=index : Dec 22, 2024), image 791 of 940;-reclaim the records is this her adopted name- doubtful
Obituary Syracuse Herald Fulton History
Martha Allford wife of Albert Allford
November 7th 1907
Funeral at old house 133 Nelson Street 10th Ward
Church St Marks for Service
Burial Oakwood Cemetery
Lists her among survivors
From 1900 (12th) federal census familysearch collection SD 12 ED 118 sheet 2 160/33/39 Nelson Street
Alfred b oct 181859 age 40 England as were parents 1881 naturalization
Martha b aug 1862 age 37 ditto 1882 naturalization
Florence G (Gertrude) adopted b oct 1889 10 b NY and parents were English
Albert Allford member of Lord Frederick Cavendish Lodge
Apparently referred to as Son’s of St. George
Fulton history from
Tuesday the Syracuse journal April 25 1905 column 1 page 5
Post Standard Friday am feb 6 1909
Alfred Allford succeeds Crucible Steel leader to the post after 3 men resign
Francis J Heaney Willard State Hospital
May 13th, 2025Mr Heaney was admitted to the Willard State Hospital in Ovid Seneca County NY in 1903
He died in 1942
There isn’t much to go on, except he may have lived in Sennett Township Seneca County. And from various legal notices, we know his father was John and nother Mary. From deeds in 1912, the mother’s property, which had been disposed of by partitioning of the properties, was sold during 1912. Some was sold to John and others to private buyers. It is not known if friends or as yet unknown family members purchased the parcel. What is known the while Francis J was the grantor, a court appointed refereee may have assisted him, the year was 1912, some 9 years after being admitted to Willard. We know that he was committed to Willard by Julia and maybe his father John, Fear for family safety appears to be the reason…
Probate and Death announcements:
April 3rd, 2025this if for future reference only and it pertains to NYS only.
Apparently there was a time when death announcements got published and were the precursor to doing the obit..the announcement let those in the deceased’s social circle and family members that they had passed, it’s stuff you wont probably find in a published obit.There will be a tentative out line of where services may be held (Home,Church and Now I find that the state had provisions for publishing in newspaper the fact that an instrument in writing (will) was going to be proved in surrogate court before the judge to handle the matter. all known next of kin were required to attend, any one younger than 21 were asked to bring their guardian. Not having one or brining one meant you got a court appointed one. Date was established and the notice was printed over a period of weeks.
I have seen other files where creditors/debtors were listed and inventory of real and personal property were generated and values were established….. during the probate process monetary values will accepted, debt may be resolved and outstanding credits will also be finalized…
Where are they 1790-1849
July 18th, 2023In the time frame listed above, one must first take into account that this was before record keeping was just starting. In the case of NY, counting people wasn’t there first goal, extabliching at the town and county level who owned various parcels of real property so that taxes levied on the land could be collected from the proper owners-living on the land with a proper deed to show proof of ownership or were absentee owners or lots were unclaimed or no owner could be identified. In NY a state law requiring town clerks (of those towns that had been created) were required from 1799-1804. Having deeds recorded where the original owner lived or at the county clerk’s office was required to be filed. Until recording things became law, if the owner and buyer had a copy of the title to property, and the seller agreed in writing to warrant and defend the buyers ownership of the land in perpetuity.
When the federal census was started 1790 and up through 1840, only the head of household was named. Those with the personso named was M or F and free or slave. It wasn’t until 1850 that that census became to count and name everyone in a given household. Babies young than 1 year old were usually listed as infant.
So between 1790 and 1840 the federal census has the surname of the one who was the head of household. Some censuses were taken by the state on the half decade. For those counties created at the time of the state census. Some have survived and some have not. People moved a lot, I have noticed this movement was basically to “earn there salt” or went to wherever prosperity seemed to have set up shop or where opportunity has beconded
Holland Land Company western ny land development
July 12th, 2023Holland land company records were digitized and now held by the library at SUNY Fredonia NY. They searchable online. It is quite a collection including maps, Deeds can be searched thru Genesee County deeds at family search.org-will be quite a search but may point you in the right direction..hope this helps
NY State censuses for
March 3rd, 2023Census-what you might learn
For NY interested genealogists only
1850 and ’55 census readouts for the town of elbridge, Onondaga County NY
Look up services for either of the two censuses
Small fee for the research
questions direct to-research@fingerlakeshousehistories.com
Church records when found can
January 18th, 2023Note year admitted
Can note be listed as either examined or admitted by letter
If admitted by letter the previous Church will establish good membership based on an examinatination ie. Baptised or from another previous Church. If admitted by letter, the Church will note that and the new member of the Church will most likely retain the letter
It can also include “dismissed” and to where if known
It can note- “dropped” or “suspended” this maybe because of a violation of Church rules
Date and place of death maybe noted
Maiden name followed by married name may show surname connections
If they are found at a main Church in there records, the content may note previous Church copies of the Member and Pastor list, it can also note book losses due to fires etc..
All in all an excellent source of non census information and maybe due the time frame involved my be the only surviving record of genealogical information
Land the history of NYS thru patents,grants and deeds
June 20th, 2022The 1st installment
The history of NY’s land exclusive NYC can be found in tracing and exploring the land.
Two very accurate and very useful maps are the 1829 Burr atlas of the state of NY and the 1895 Joseph Bien map of the state of NY.
The Burr Atlas has a collection of county maps based on those that had been erected by that date. While no names of any direct genealogical nature it does have lot numbers which delineated and showed those parcels that were surveyed for land development.
The Bein map, done in 1895 is the state as it was laid out at the time, with the added feature of laying out the grants, patents and the large tracts of land as they were created and sold. The location of each can help to find places where people settled as the land was populated.
There are other types of maps that can help to expand the research done using the two types mentioned above
These will be in the next post
Why we look- part one
June 2nd, 2021The answer to that question sees self explanatory
A better way to phrase it might be where do we look, and when we look, do we do it without preconceived outcomes (no they wont have exactly want what I need. Does paying for a site guarantee a successful outcome, some times yes and sometimes no. Is the subscription all inclusive? Has their reach gone far enough or do they miss things. Are there other subjects, that on the face of it reveal additional information that is not part of their search.
Stay tuned as we get into the meat of Where and not why
inquiry@fingerlakeshousehistories.com