A young Irish immigrant at the harbor in NY c. 1850 William McGinnis arrived in New York from Ireland between 1847 and 1849. He was counted on the census in Lisle, Broome County, New York, in 1850 and in 1855. He was a servant, living in the home of two different families. On the 1855 New York State Census, he indicated he had been in Lisle, New York, for five years. In a previous blog I shared my research on his arrival. You can read it here. An immigrant arriving during thi

Recently I've been working on the Hollenbeck branch of my family tree, prompted by a cousin's inquiry. Presently, the earliest ancestor we have identified is John Hollenbeck, born about 1776 in Stone Arabia, Montgomery County, New York. With little to go on, I decided to take a look back at Stone Arabia, New York during the American Revolution, to see if we can find the Hollenbeck/Hallenbeck family woven into the local history and understand who they were and what life looked

My connection to the Chevalier family is through my 3rd great-grandmother, Lucy Ann Shevalier. She married Nicholas Hollenbeck, and their granddaughter, Rose Hollenbeck, was my great-grandmother. She married Albert Leonard, my great-grandfather. Grandma Lucy's lineage is as follows: Lucy Ann Shevalier (1828-1905), born in Marathon, New York, died in Willet, daughter of Peter Shevalier/Chevalier (1794-1850), born in New York, died in Marathon, New York, son of Jeremiah Sheval

In an effort to learn more about my Shevalier/Chevalier ancestors from the Isle of Jersey, I found a 1902 article written in French, published on the Société Jersiaise website here . Believing it may provide some information about the family, I used Google Translate to translate it to English as best as I could. The transcription can be read below, or grab a drink and sit back and listen on YouTube: CHEVALIER, de St Hélier. This ancient Jersey family, whose name was written C

Dutch baptismal names are a genealogist’s hall of mirrors: the same person can appear under three spellings, two languages, and one very patient minister. What follows is a practical, historically grounded list of common Dutch baptismal (given) names used in New Netherland, the Mohawk Valley, and early New York, paired with their English equivalents or customary Anglicized forms. These are not strict translations so much as socially accepted swaps used in church records, will

We all seek birth, marriage, and death dates and places for every ancestor in our tree, but if you're not getting excited when you find a baptismal record, you might be missing out on some valuable clues. Prior to the mandate for reporting births to the State in the late 1800s, vital records were limited mostly to church records or entries in the family Bible, provided that names and dates were recorded there. Baptismal registers can provide more information than you might th