Arlene Eakle’s New York Blog

You may think I have skipped New York?  At least my New York Blog.  Never!  This episode is an edited version of an entry that appeared on my Genealogy Evidence Blog sometime ago.   It is a very important post, so I decided to edit it and share it with you here. 

New York births, marriges, and deaths–hard to find and essential to your genealogy.  Reason:  the state, early on, expected the churches to keep these important vital records.  As was the system in Massachusetts and Connecticut where many of the early New Yorkers originate.  The government structure in New York, however, was different.  Local churches, unless they recorded vital events as a matter of policy, omitted this task.  And since there was no legal provision for other jurisdictions to record vitals, they were often unrecorded–much to the dismay of genealogists seeking ancestors.

Let me quote:

This book contains copies of such of the old records of Baptism & Marriages of the Methodist Episcopal Church of N.Y. City as have been found. For many years there was but one set of books for all the Churches in the City. These were in the care of the Preacher in charge and the other preachers made their entries from time to time at their convenience. This will account for many of the irregularities in dates.

The numbering of the books is peculiar. This is due to two causes. 1. that they were originally numbered for another purpose. & 2. that some of them came into my hands after the first list had been made. The originals will probably be found at the Methodist Book Room, 150 Fifth Avenue or their whereabouts ascertained there. [See below for locations].

The copy is as close as possible–evident errors and all. The pages of the originals are marked in red ink at the top of the page out in the margin. In some cases, errors known to me to be such are corrected in red ink. All that is in black may be depended upon as in the original. 

The first book, marked 1.A. is indoubtedly the oldest record of the M.E. Church in N.Y. City. Up to the Christmas Conference in 1784, Methodist preachers were not ordained & could not baptize nor marry. This book began early in 1785.  S.S. Seaman

This is the introduction to the handwritten transcripts of the oldest M.E. Baptisms and Marriages. Rev. Samuel S. Seaman completed these transcripts in 1894–consolidating scattered entries from more than 34 Methodist Episcopal congregations in New York City and the records of two important pastors into one massive, meticulous record.

Methodism grew from humble beginnings of 178 white members and 25 blacks attending John Street Church until the 1865 New York State Census showed that this community-oriented denomination had more members than any other at the end of the War Between the States.

The more than 41,000 marriages (over 82,000 names) have been printed in New York City Methodist Marriages, 1795-1893, 2 vols. edited and compiled by William Scott Fisher. Camden ME: Picton Press, 1994. Copies available from the press, P.O. Box 1111, Camden ME 04843-1111. See also, Harry Macy, Jr., “Methodist Records of New York City in the NYG&BS Library,” NYG&BS Newsletter (Winter, 1993).

Creating the transcripts, Pastor Seaman did the hard work for us–

1. Went from church to church carefully copying the records. Since he was a local minister, he was familiar with the names of church members already and could give us a more accurate reading.
2. Read the local ministers’ returns, deciphering the handwriting of various clerks and pastors.
3. Preserved additional details recorded by each scribe, like place of birth or residence, age, officiating minister, birthdate as well as date of baptism.
4. Meticulously described what he found–irregularities in format, identifying handwritings where the name of the pastor was not included in the returns, and missing pages.

Many difficult New York City genealogy problems can be solved by a careful search in these important records. I read reel #0017782 entry by entry, baptisms and marriages and 1 page of burials–more than 600 pages–the records of John Street Church and Allen Street congregation. I then compared the marriages I copied with the entries in the printed volumes. And I gained a new appreciation for the gigantic task Rev. Seaman completed in our behalf, with some amazing new insights about the ancestral families I am researching.

There is a new guide to Manhattan’s houses of worship which describes each church and congregation with maps showing locations: David W. Dunlap, From Abyssinian to Zion (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005). Very useful reference. Churches tend to be territorial. Your ancestors were expected to attend the congregation where they resided, and most of the time they did. Special events might be celebrated in a special church, but regular worship services and sacraments were usually performed in the local church.

Note that Pastor Seaman points out to us that Methodist clergy were not able to perform baptisms and marriages until after the Christmas Conference in 1784. This is important information. Such events took place under Anglican auspices before 1784 and by itinerant ministers who had been ordained to that authority.

Registers of Call Numbers for Births, Deaths, Marriages

New York City is a morass of jurisdictions with frequent name changes and designations–a cataloger’s nightmare. Other researchers before me have tackled the problem of determining just which records are available on microfilm. Remember, in areas where the population is highly concentrated, one record book is insufficient. So dates overlap because multiple clerks keep more than one record. Be prepared to search each record that covers your dates and localities.

The Family History Library has now compiled three volumes listing the call numbers for each record category–births, marriages, deaths. Bringing an orderly access for the first time (Dec 2005). These Registers of Births, Marriages, and Deaths can be found in the public reference area on the second floor at the Library. Or you can request a microfiche copy for use at your local branch Family History Center. Names, addresses, and websites of city archives and record offices are also included for those records you want to order, when indexes have been filmed but the records themselves have not.

Your favorite New York genealogist, Arlene Eakle     http://arleneeakle.com

PS  I have a special New York handout, with details that I have not published elsewhere.  I promised to make copies for the Mesa AZ Family History EXPO attendees in Jan 2010.  If you sendme an email with your postal address, I will ship you a FREE copy of this handout!  It is not available by email and it contains some stuff that I did not write myself.  And maps.  So I will send it by postal mail.  Let me know if you want it.

http://SteveMorse.org
Known as One-Step, this genealogy portal gives you better, and more controlled, access to over 100 different websites and databases. And the site is one of the most user-friendly utilities I have used. Names that were impossible to find in the U.S. census records and among the immigrants who came through Ellis Island now magically appear–for me. So I know that the problem was in the site or its indexes, not in my limited computer skills.

(I always knew it was a mistake to take the advanced course before I enrolled for the basics. Yet, when I finally enrolled in the basics class, the instructor treated me like an advanced student, assuming I knew how to open a file and create a folder. Not so and still not so!)

Ancestry.com and Google.com also respond masterfully to One-Step. Indexing errors or 1 million+ entries needn’t stop you from finding your ancestor. And the map access is a time-saver. So I invite you to check out this portal site and use the utility programs these computer-tech genealogists–most of whom are volunteers–have designed to aid us.

Special research help with New York City censuses and broad coverage of East European and Jewish names is a utility that I really appreciate. Searching the concentration of names in a small area is a real challenge–especially when indexes have been poorly read.

And if you are developing a genealogy database, you might invite their in-put so your site works faster, and we can find the right ancestor.

Add to your March-April 2010 reading list:

Crume, Rick. “Stepping Up,” Family Tree Magazine (Feb 2007) 58-61. Describes and compares the different search formats for One-Step–how and when to use them. Very helpful.

Morse, Stephen. “Morse’s Code: A One-Step Portal for Online Genealogy,” Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly (September 2006 and December 2006), two-part article. Or, read the online version at stevemorse.org. Well illustrated with computer screens and special search tips from the master himself.

Your favorite New York genealogist, Arlene Eakle  http://arleneeakle.com

PS  I understand Spring in New York City is a special place.  And with all the rain they have had–it should be awesomely beautiful.  Many of the records accessed through Morse’s utility can be seen in their original form in the archives and libraries of the greater New York area.

Our “nation of immigrants” was launched into and from New York–over 82% of all immigrants entered America  through New York and its immediate environs.  Immigrants who entered through Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Rhode Island, New Haven, Connecticut, Canada  especially along the border with New York, Northern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and even Delaware flowed across New York from very early times.

And this blog will address this vital aspect of New York ancestry in the coming weeks.  If your ancestors were born in New York, the chances are very good that they were born to immigrant parents and descend from immigrant grandparents.  We’ll look at all the immigrant origins and their sources.

17 Mar 1762 is the official date for St Patrick’s Day celebrations in New York City, although there are evidences that 17 Mar was celebrated as early as 1737.  Speculations exist that Thomas Dongan, Governor of New York 1683-1688,  and a titled Irishman, might have celebrated the day with his cronies.

     “The anniversary Feast of St Patrick is to be celebrated on Wednesday the 17th instant, at the house of Mr. John Marshall, at Mount Pleasant, near the College; Gentlemen that please to attend will meet with the best Usage.”  New York Mercury, 15 Mar 1762.

From 1762 on, the newspapers announce or report on these annual celebrations of the Irish–first in New York City and later across the state.  See Hon. John D. Crimmins, Early Celebrations of St Patrick’s Day in New York and Other Places, 1737-1845.  New York:  1902.

New York City has been “heavily Irish” since at least 1798-99, following the arrival of Protestant exiles from the Revolt of 1798.  By 1816, more than 25,000 Irish were residents of the city boroughs–1/4 of the total population of the City.  After that date, thousands of Catholic Irish arrived every year until 1851, when almost one million Irish crowded through the Port of New York and spread across the state spilling over into the United States at large.  Seeking jobs.  Looking for a place to establish themselves.

These waves of immigrants from Ireland can be identified:

1. Merchant Irish.  Grocers who peddled their wares on corners and from the backs of peddler wagons.  They moved into store-fronts in Irish neighborhoods.  They were married and brought their families with them.  These grocers were also bailbondsmen. By 1810, 1/3 of the sureties for Irishmen were grocers.
2. Canal Irish.  The original overseer of the Erie Canal and its canal networks was an Irishman who imported his Irish diggers from England where they had been employed building canals in the northern British Isles.  Paid in cash and 1 quart of whiskey per day, these Irish were largely single men who later went home to marry.  Or brought their prospective brides here. Immigrant agents and shipping companies offered tickets to Ireland at reduced prices for round trips or the purchase of multiple tickets for other family members.
3. Garment Irish.  Employed in the burgeoning garment and clothing industry, including ready-made clothes of fine silks and treated cottons–an industry New York City and its immediate environs is still noted for.
4. Famine Irish.  Hoards of families fled from Ireland–the English and Irish governments even sponsored immigration to relieve the strain on their depleted resources.  From 1844 through 1853, more than 1.8 million people came from Ireland to America through the port of New York City alone!
5. Railroad Irish.  Railroads were built across New York state (and many other states as well) drawing their workforce from unemployed Irish.  Railroad owners bragged that they could build ”transportation routes to hell and back” given enough Irish and whiskey.
6. Settlement Irish.  Families who sought to better their lives with lands and opportunities offered in New York.  Families came on their own or with groups sponsored by Irish immigrant associations.  Settlements in or near cities ensured job opportunities for laborers not yet used to farming.

Study Bibliography

Bayor, Ronald H., and Timothy J. Meagher, eds.  The New York Irish.  Baltimore MD:  Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.  Massive and thorough examination of the Irish impact.  includes maps of each borough of New York City and the location of the Irish churches.

Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery.  Online index to more than 500,000 persons buried there.  http://www.green_wood.com  You can search first name, surname.  Index gives name, date of interment, lot and section #s.  See also article in New York Researcher by Leslie Corn (Fall 2002/Winter 2003):  61-69 for very detailed instructions on how to find someone.

Goodrich, Victor B.  “Sending Money Home:  The Accounts of an Immigrant Financial Agent in Deposit, New York, 1851-1860,”  Tree Talks 32 (Dec 1992): 1-55.  Separate issue, #4.  Original ledger in the Deposit Historical Society archives.

Haberstroh, Diane Fitzpatrick, and Laura Murphy DeGrazia.  Voices of the Irish Immigrant:  Information Wanted Ads in Truth Teller, New York City, 1825-1844.  New York:  New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 2005.  See also their article in the New York Researcher (formerly the New York Genealogical and Biographical Newsletter) (Summer 2005): 59 ff.

Kincaid, Roberta.  “Payments to People Involved in Building the Erie Canal, 1820-1821,”  Tree Talks 35 (Dec 2008).  Separate issue #4.  includes map showing completion dates of each section of the canal.  As each section was finished, it was opened to traffic.

Rich, Kevin J.  Irish Immigrants of the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank, 1850-1853, Volume I.  1-2500 Accounts.  Volume II.  2501-7500 Accounts.  For the author: PO Box 158, Massapequa NY 11758-9998.  Entries transcribed from the original registers at the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society in spreadsheets.  These accounts are also available on microfilm through the Family History Library.

Silinonte, Joseph M.  Street Index to the 1892 New York State Census:  City of Brooklyn.  For the author:  7901-4 Avenue, #D, Brooklyn NY 11209.  Includes the 6th Ward, which was mostly Irish.

Stay tuned for a checklist of sources and how to use them in tracing an Irish pedigree in New York coming in the next episode of this blog.  Your favorite New York genealogist, Arlene Eakle   http://arleneeakle.com

PS  If you have registered for any Family History Expos during 2010–I will be speaking at all of them so check my speaking schedule–send an email to Holly@fhexpos.com.  The original website, and its backup, crashed and has not been restored by the server company–yet.  Holly needs your registration information to ensure that you get in.  Very important to do this!

Get ready for the launch of my new, carefully researched, dynamite NEW YORK BLOG–

“Skip New York?  NO!”

I attended a genealogy conference where the foremost New York genealogist was to speak.  I had my paper and pencil at the ready. Whatever she said, I planned to record.

At her first words I almost fell off my chair: ” If you have a New York lineage, I advise you to choose another line.  Skip New York altogether and save yourself a real headache.”

I waited for a chuckle.

None came.  She was serious.

And I decided then and there, that I would become an expert on New York genealogy sources.

So I have prepared myself with an arsenal of genealogy research sources and records for New York. And I am ready to share this knowledge with you.

Your favorite New York genealogist, Arlene Eakle   http://arleneeakle.com