Recent searches have turned up two different estate notices that listed all of the next of kin of the deceased. One of the men I was searching for died in Jefferson County, New York in 1855 and the other in Niagara County, New York in 1864. Both of the notices were found in Albany, New York newspapers. I assume that because Albany is the State Capitol that Surrogates around the state were required to publish these legal notices there as well as locally. The page from 1855 is filled with tiny print and notices from around the state. There are fewer notices on the 1864 page, but again they seem to be state wide. I've also found that many papers around the state picked and repeated stories published in other papers so you may find something about your ancestor published in a paper far from where they lived.
I use Old Fulton Postcards to access old papers from around the state. To use the site effectively be sure to read the FAQ's. Also keep in mind that the site uses OCR technology for searches and while it works very well, some of the older papers were in rough shape when filmed and an OCR search may not work. If you don't find what you are looking for and you have a date you can try searching the old fashioned way, by browsing page by page.
6 comments:
I might have to try this, thanks for the tip.
Thanks for posting this Apple. And I am another lover of Old Fulton Postcards.
Old Fulton Postcards is so great. You directed me there for another search, but this is a new idea for me. My husband's family is from NY and my daughter is beginning to work on his genealogy. I'll send the link to your post to her. I know she'll find it helpful. (And, in general, it will be helpful to lots of us if we think more broadly about searches and include the state capital's newspapers.) Thanks.
I love the Fulton site too but have found the name of it kind of misleading (postcards, etc), so haven't used it a lot. I am going to use it more now though, thanks to your post :)
Lidian - The site is full of great stuff besides the newspapers but most people either overlook the rest or aren't looking for information specific to Fulton. If you click on "View Fulton Historical Photos" on the bottom right a new window will open with links to all the other goodies. Not all of the stuff in this section is specific to Fulton. There are the records from Syracuse's Oakwood Cemetery, US Ratified Indian Treaties, Oswego County probate records, and a few other records from around the state. Since I do live in Fulton I love looking at the old scrapbooks and pictures.
Thanks for this. I too wasn't getting full use of the site. I will be on there tonight
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