This week I've been updating some data on my Leonard family in Cortland, New York, specifically zooming in on Charles L. Leonard, the son of Charles Russell Leonard. He was living in Cortland on Hamlin Street with his family when the census was taken in 1892 and 1900. In 1905, however, when the New York State Census was taken, his wife and son, Floyd, lived alone in Cortland. I went to the census to check what Luella's marital status was in 1905, but that question was not ask

For those who are following my research on the Leonard families of Cayuga County, New York, and surrounding towns, I have discovered the name of the wife of Joshua Leonard, Jr., who is believed to have been a brother of Russel Leonard . We learn from Cayuga County Deeds that Joshua Leonard, Jr's wife, Eunice, was named in the will of Josiah Beard and on October 22, 1823, Joshua and Eunice Leonard, of Venice, Cayuga County, New York, sold to Aaron Beard all of their right, tit

Leonard Family Reunions in Central New York Old newspaper clippings about family reunions can reveal connections we may have never made otherwise. Following are some Leonard family reunions I found in old New York Newspapers, with the help of one of my favorite sites, fultonhistory.com . In summary, most of these reunions are for descendants of Jacob Leonard  and were held in or around Steuben County, New York. His descendants held reunions from 1889 through 1940, and possibl

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

From Genealogical abstracts of Revolutionary War pension files , by Virgil D. White, 1990, p. 2056-2060: For the list of abbreviations, see here . LEONARD, Adam, BLW #9814-100-29 Jun 1789 assignee M. McConnell, srv as a Pvt in the PA Line LEONARD, Amos, Marcy, W20462, MA Line, sol m Mercy or Marcy Green of Granby MA on 17 Oct 1788 & sol was of Brookfield MA, sol appl 1 Apr 1818 Oneida Co NY aged 69, in 1820 sol had a wife Mercy aged 60 & a daughter Mercy aged 21 at home, wid'

For those who follow my research on the Leonard family, you might know that we had my father's DNA tested a few years ago with...