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Recently, while browsing through my files on my computer, I found these three photos taken back in 2002 when I visited Clyde, New York, in search of information about a great-grandfather, who I knew nothing about. Check out the Free Genealogy Resources page for historical data and records for Wayne County, New York, and more. #clyde #waynecounty #newyork #signs #genealogy #familyhistory #albertjayleonard

Benjamin Stanton was my 6th Great-Grandfather on the Harvey branch of my family tree. He was a soldier of the American Revolution and father of at least a dozen children. Benjamin's will is indexed as follows: At the time of his death, which occurred on May 10, 1838, he was living at Moravia, New York. We know he was born about 1754 and his will was written in 1837, when he was about 83 years old. He died the following year, in 1838, at the age of approximately 84. Only eight of his known children are mention in his will. They were: daughters, Hannah, Sarah, Frances Stanton and Mary Parks, sons, Joseph, Rufus, and Benjamin (Jr) Stanton, and another married daughter, Betsey Sherley, is also mentioned separately. My family descends from Benjamin's daughter Parthenia Stanton, who married Bradford Shirley. Her connection to the Stantons was made when she was named in other Stanton wills of which she was an heir. Later, when her mother filed for Benjamin's pension, she listed Parthenia as a daughter, validating my suspicions. This leaves one question - why is she not named in Benjamin's will? Perhaps her middle name was Elizabeth and thus the nickname Betsey was given? Or was this referring to his daughter, Elizabeth, who was born in 1791? Anyone with information or insight, please comment below. Also, if you are able to obtain a copy of the will, please share on the Harvey message board! Click here to learn more about Benjamin Stanton. Click here to learn more about the Harvey family. Click here fore thousands of free genealogy resources! #benjaminstanton #harvey #stanton #wills #partheniastanton #shirley

If your ancestors were early settlers of Cayuga County in Central ("Upstate") New York, it is important to understand the who, what, where, when, why and how the towns were established. This is an essential part of finding records about our ancestors and is likely to be the cause of some brick walls. Are you looking in a town that was called by another name at the time your ancestor lived there? For example, ALL of central and western New York was considered Albany County until 1772, so if you're researching central New York ancestors who lived before 1772, look in Albany County's records. In 1772, most of western New York became Tryon County, so if you're looking for records between 1772 and the 1780s, try looking in Tryon County's records. From there, more divisions took place. In 1784 the name of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County. Montgomery County was divided in 1788 to form Ontario County, and again in 1791 to form Herkimer County. In 1794, Onondaga County was formed from Herkimer County. The above map shows how the towns were laid out at the time. Cayuga County was formed from Onondaga County in 1799. In 1804 Seneca County was formed from part of Cayuga County, and on April 8, 1808, Cortland County was formed from part of Onondaga County. In 1817 Tompkins County was created from southern portions of Cayuga and Seneca Counties. When Cortland County was established in 1808, it consisted of the townships of Virgil, Cincinnatus, Homer, Solon, and the southern half of Tully and Fabius. Homer was formed in 1794. Solon, Little York, East Homer, and Virgil were all formed from Homer. Harford was formed from the southwest quarter of Virgil and Lapeer was formed from the southeast quarter, both in 1845. Hunts Corners was a part of Lapeer. Then, in 1829 Cortlandville was formed from the southern half of the original township of Homer and the northeast corner of Virgil. Cortland Village, McGrawville (McGraw), South Cortland, and Blodgett Mills were all part of Cortlandville. Solon was formed from Homer in 1798. Cincinnatus (Military Tract #25) was formed from Solon in 1804. In 1818, Cincinnatus was divided to form Freetown, Willett, and Marathon. A portion of Solon was annexed to Truxton in 1811. Taylor was formed from Solon in 1849 and included Taylorville and Union Valley within its boundaries. When Cortland County was formed in 1808, Preble was formed from the southern half of Tully. Preble Corners and Baltimore were parts of Preble. Scott was formed from Preble in 1815. Also upon the formation of Cortland County, Truxton was formed from the southern half of Fabius. Cuyler was formed from Truxton in 1858. For more information, this 1860 book "The Historical and Statistical Gazetteer of New York State", by John Homer French, gives a summary of each town's history. Following is the chapter on Cortland County for quick reference: You can find and read the entire book online for free at Archive.org. #resources #cortlandcounty #centralnewyork #upstatenewyork #newyork #history #leonard #reese #cortlandnewyork

If your ancestors, like several of mine, were early settlers of Cayuga County in Central ("Upstate") New York, it is important to understand the who, what, where, when, why and how the towns were established. This is an essential part of finding records about our ancestors and is likely to be the cause of some brick walls. Are you looking in a town that was called by another name at the time your ancestor lived there? For example, ALL of central and western New York was considered Albany County until 1772, so if you're researching central New York ancestors who lived before 1772, look in Albany County's records. In 1772, most of western New York became Tryon County, so if you're looking for records between 1772 and the 1780s, try looking in Tryon County's records. From there, more divisions took place. In 1784 the name of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County. Montgomery County was divided in 1788 to form Ontario County, and again in 1791 to form Herkimer County. In 1794, Onondaga County was formed from Herkimer County and in 1799 Cayuga County was formed from Onondaga County. In 1804 Seneca County was formed from part of Cayuga County, and in 1817 Tompkins County was created from southern portions of Cayuga and Seneca Counties. Furthermore, the townships within each county were divided. Aurelius, once a township in Onondaga County, encompassing almost all of what today is the northern half of Cayuga County, now a much smaller township, covering less than 32 square miles. Originally the land was occupied by the Iroquois until in the Sullivan Expedition came through in 1779, destroying the region. It was first settled by European-Americans in 1789. Aurelius was later divided to form Auburn (1793), Brutus (1802), Weedsport (1802), Cayuga Village in modern-day Aurelius (1857), Sennett (1827), Fleming (1823), Owasco (1802), Mentz (incorporated as Jefferson in 1802 and name changed to Mentz in 1806), Montezuma (part of Mentz until 1859), Throop (part of Mentz, Aurelius and Sennett until 1859) and Ira (part of Mentz until 1821). Part of Mentz now called Port Byron, was called Bucksville until 1832. Port Byron was incorporated as a village in Mentz in 1837. Montezuma was part of the Cayuga Indian Reservation. Cato was incorporated in 1802. Sterling, settled in 1805, was formed from part of Cato in 1812. (Fairhaven is a village in Sterling). Cato was further divided in 1821 when Conquest and Victory were formed. Meridian was incorporated as a village in Cato in 1854. Genoa was settled in 1791 and was originally called Milton while it was still a part of Onondaga County. In 1802, Locke was formed from part of Genoa while it was still called Milton. In 1817, it was divided again, to form Lansing and Groton in Tompkins County. Summerhill was formed from Locke in 1831. Scipio was settled in 1790 and incorporated in 1798. Scipio was divided in 1823 to form Venice and Ledyard. In 1823, parts of Aurelius and Scipio were taken, for the formation of Springport. Union Springs was set apart as a village in Springport in 1848 and Aurora was set apart as a village in Ledyard in 1837. Sempronius was settled in 1793 and was incorporated about 1799. A portion of Sempronius was taken for Marcellus in Onondaga County. The region of Moravia was settled in 1789 and Niles in 1792. Both Moravia and Niles were officially incorporated in 1833. This 1860 book "The Historical and Statistical Gazetteer of New York State", by John Homer French, gives a summary of each town's history. Following is the chapter on Cayuga County for quick reference: You can find and read the entire book online for free at Archive.org. #resources #cayugacounty #centralnewyork #upstatenewyork #newyork #history #leonard #reese

The Bond Photography Collection is just one of several available online, where you can view hundreds of photos of interesting scenes and people during World War II. This one was taken in 1945 on Akyab Island in Burma (now called Myanmar). Visit the Frank Bond Photography Library here: http://dsal.uchicago.edu/images/bond/ (Tip: to browse all photos, enter the letter "a" in the search box) Click here for more free genealogy resources. Click here for more military resources and records. #worldwarii #worldwar2 #ww2 #photographs #photography

Sometimes the stories of our ancestors are passed down from generation to generation and give us a personal glimpse into their lives. Unfortunately, after a few generations, the stories are often forgotten, like this one about my 3rd great-grandfather, John "Clark" Harvey's home catching fire. It was printed in the Harford Mills section of Cortland Democrat on March 8, 1894. Clark was about 70 years old at the time and died about four years later, around 1898. His wife, Betsey, lived until 1906. The fire started in the pipe of their wood stove, which assuredly was the home's primary source of heat at the time. With the average temperature in Cortland County in March being between 24 and 42 degrees (Fahrenheit), a wood stove was absolutely essential. In fact, a wood stove was necessary year round, as it was used for cooking and for heating water for baths and laundry. Click here to see more nostalgic Norman Rockwell art. "Clark Harvey's house caugh[t] fire on Tuesday last from the stove-pipe. They succeeded in putting out the fire without much damage being done." Click here to learn more about John Clark Harvey. #clarkharvey #johncharvey #johnclarkharvey #harvey #news #fire #housefire

My great-grandfather, Percy H. Daniels, was born in Olympia, Thurston County, Washington, on December 5, 1885. His mother died there two months later. This illustration drawn by E. S. Glover of Portland, Oregon, depicts Olympia as it was in 1879. Click here to learn more about the Daniels family. #percydaniels #olympia #washington #drawing #illustration

Two of my ancestors bear the name Newman Harvey. My 2nd great-grandfather, Newman A. Harvey, lived 1876 to 1963 and was a son of John "Clark" Harvey and Betsey Stowell. John named his son after his father, Newman Harvey, who lived from about 1777 to 1860. Newman Harvey, the elder was said to have been born in Rhode Island. There was a man by the name of Newman Harvey counted on the 1800 census as head of a household in Prince George's, Maryland, with seven others in the home and in 1810 and 1820 there was a household headed by Newman Harvey in Stockbridge, Berkshire, Massachusetts. It seems likely that the Stockbridge records pertain to our ancestor, not only because two of his children were reportedly born in Massachusetts, but because there were no other men named Newman Harvey found in America at that time. Furthermore, we know they were in Massachusetts in 1812. Between 1820 and 1821, they moved to Virgil, New York. Anyone with information about Newman Harvey or his family, please comment below! Click here to learn more about my branch of the Harvey family. Click here for free genealogy tips and resources to help with your family history search! #newmanharvey #virgil #newyork #brickwall #harvey

Joseph Gale, my paternal 4th great-grandfather, filed land claims in Pike County, Illinois, in the 1830s before moving to Iowa and then to Lane County, Oregon in 1853. A land claim was filed in Oregon as follows: (found at FamilySearch) The record provides us with the following information about Joseph: Joseph Gale, resident of Lane County, Oregon. He was born in 1798 in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. He was married to Elizabeth on July 21, 1831, in Pike County, Illinois. They arrived in Oregon on Oct. 22, 1853. He submitted the land claim on October 28, 1853, at the Roseburg Land Office. Click here to learn more about Joseph Everett Gale. #josephgale #josepheverettgale #donationland #property #landrecords

This excerpt was found on Cayuga County Wills (Film 007815161 p 548 of 678) on FamilySearch. It refers to the death of William Brown of Genoa, Cayuga County, New York. Could it be a relation of Mary Polly (Brown) Leonard? Mary was born just two months after William died, in November of 1833, in the same place - Genoa. Transcription: William Brown of Genoa; died Sept. 24, 1833. Mentions: Dated August 26, 1833 Probated Dec. 21, 1833 Mentions: daus: Mary Ann, Rebeckah Lydia, Sara, Joanna, Catherine, Elizabeth, Jane son William Executors: Daniel Thorp of Genoa and John Brown of Lansing, Tompkins County, NY No witnesses. Click here to learn more about Mary Polly Brown. Any information about her family would be greatly appreciated! Note: This Brown family may also be related to my maternal 5th great-grandfather, John Brown of Lisle, Broome County, New York.

You may have noticed there have been no blog updates for the past several weeks on MyGenealogyAddiction.com. This is because I have been working on the "Free Genealogy Resources" side of the site. Over 25,000 new resources have been added and indexed to help with your genealogy searches! You can now select the State, County, and city or town your ancestors lived in and easily find resources relating to that place. For those in my family, you will see my blogs (if any) related to the place as well. Just choose from the drop-down menus at the top of the site's pages. For example, one of my great-grandfathers, Percy Daniels, was born in Olympia, Thurston County, Washington. His detailed profile can be found from the Index of Ancestors page, including memorabilia, photos and documents pertaining to his life. Now we can also visit the State, County, and/or town's pages to potentially find additional resources or to learn more about the place and view maps. Following is the page for Thurston County: The search feature is still available and includes all the valuable new resources. Check it out and see what you can find! Your feedback is appreciated!

Feel free to download or save this six-generation pedigree chart for your own personal use. Right-click and save the format of your choice. Choose a format: JPG Microsoft Word PDF Click here for more free genealogy resources! #genealogy #chart #pedigree #resources #tools

Job Shirley was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. He was born in Massachusetts and moved his family to New York in or before 1810. He was counted on the census in Sempronius, Cayuga County, New York, in 1810, 1820, and 1830. In 1840, at the age of 83, he was counted on the census in Niles, Cayuga, New York. He may not have moved, however. It seems more likely that his land was in the portion of Sempronius that became Niles in 1833. (See the Formation of Cayuga County). Click here to learn more about Job Shirley and his descendants. Click here to learn more about this branch of my family tree. #jobshirley #sempronius #cayugacounty #niles #shirley #census

Job Shirley was my maternal 6th great-grandfather, a soldier of the American Revolution, and early settler of Sempronius, Cayuga County, New York. More information about him can be found here. This map shows where he and his family lived in Central New York. Click here to learn more about this branch of my family tree. #jobshirley #bradfordshirley #royalshirley #shirley #moravia #cayugacounty #sempronius #richford #cortlandcounty #newyork #map

Olive Bugbee was born in 1771 in Mansfield, Tolland County, Connecticut. She was a daughter of Timothy Bugbee and Hannah Wood. She married Archelaus Stowell and died on March 15, 1838 in Blodgett Mills, Cortland County, New York. She is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Blodgett Mills. Her headstone is shown here, courtesy of Larry Wales. Click here for more on Olive (Bugbee) Stowell. Click her for more Stowell family memorabilia. #olivebugbee #olivestowell #stowell #archelausstowell #cemetery #burial #death #grave

Ira S. Brooks was the father of Mary J. Brooks, wife of Royal John Shirley. Ira was a soldier of the Civil War, in Company F 76th New York Infantry. He filed for a pension as an invalid in 1863 and his widow, Amy, filed a claim for his pension in 1878. Click here to learn more about this branch of my family tree. #irabrooks #irasbrooks #brooks #shirley #civilwar #veteran #military

Betsey Stowell was born in December 1832 in Lisle, Broome County, New York. She married first to Squires S. Barrows, a soldier and casualty of the Civil War. She married second to Newman A. Harvey. After Newman's death, she married Lorenzo Short. She died on September 24, 1906. Two obituaries are shown here. Note misspelled names: Barnum = Barrows, Olize = Olive, Bouch = Couch. Click here to learn more about Betsey Stowell. Click here to for more Stowell and Harvey family memorabilia. Click here to see my complete list of ancestors. #betseystowell #harvey #stowell #death #obituary #betseyharvey #betseybarrows #betseyshort

Archelaus Stowell was the 2nd great-grandfather of Mary (Harvey) Reese., via her paternal grandmother, Betsy A. (Stowell) Harvey. He was born on April 4, 1764, in Ashford, Windham County, Connecticut. Archelaus married Olive Bugbee, daughter of Timothy Bugbee and Hannah Wood, on November 4, 1791, in Ashford, Connecticut, and their union was blessed with six known children: Alpheus, Amasa, Alladuran, Mary, John and Nathan. Archelaus died at the age of 87, on July 22, 1851, in Virgil, Cortland County, New York. He rests at Forest Hill Cemetery in Blodgett Mills, Cortland County. See the Harvey page for more. See also "Reese Family Record 2014". #stowell #harvey #reese #Reese #archelausstowell

After her husband Squires Barrows died in the Civil War, Betsey reportedly purchased a quarter acre of land in Lapeer from John Clark. The Cortland Standard, January 18, 1870. Click here to learn more about Betsey Stowell. Click here to for more Stowell and Harvey family memorabilia. Click here to see my complete list of ancestors. #betseystowell #harvey #stowell #land #lapeer #betseyharvey #betseybarrows #betseyshort

Betsy A. Stowell was the daughter of Alpheus S. Stowell and Julia Brown. She was born in December of 1832 in Lisle, Broome County, New York. Betsy married first to Squires S. Barrows, son of Isaac Barrows and Cynthia Squires. The couple was living in Lisle in 1855 with one son, also named Squires. Four more children[1] would follow before 1862 when Squires joined to fight in the Civil War in Company A, 137th New York Infantry[2]. The regiment left from Binghamton on the 27th of September, 1862, and Squires died less than three months later, on the 8th of December, 1862, from Typhoid Fever. Mr. Barrow’s death, and ultimately the Civil War itself, hereby altered the course of history for our family. Betsy afterwards married to John Clark Harvey[3] between 1870 and 1875, and together they had five children, for a total of ten for Betsy, as stated on the 1900 census. John died in 1898 and in 1900 Betsy was listed on the census as widowed, living alone in Harford near Royal Shirley, whose daughter would marry her son, Newman Harvey, four years later. Betsy must have married 3rd to Lorenzo Short (1840-1914) sometime between 1900 and the time of her death, which occurred on the 24th of September, 1906. She was 73. She was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Berkshire (Section D, Plot 48) under the name “Betsy Short”. References: [1] Betsy and Squires Barrows children were Alpheus (b. 1853), James (b. 1856), Alida (b. 1858), Lavina (died young), and Olive. Betsy’s obituaries mention two sons, “Altheus Barnum of Killawog (Lisle)” and “James Barnum of Whitney Point”. Since there is no record of Betsy marrying a Barnum, it seems probably that James Barnum is James Barrows and Altheus Barnum is Altheus Barrows. Whether or not the name was Barrows or Barnum has yet to be determined. [2] United States Civil War Soldiers Index, FamilySearch.org [3] Ancestors of Florence Julia Brown, and some of their descendants, by Walter LeRoy Brown, 1940, page 24. Click here to learn more about Betsy Stowell and the Harvey family. Click here for free genealogy resources. #betsystowell #squiresbarrows #civilwar #casualties #pensioner

John Clark Harvey, better known as "Clark Harvey", was living in Lapeer, Cortland County, New York, in 1860 when the census was taken. When the call of duty rang out in 1863, the quota for his district was 96 men. Names were drawn from 362 of the qualified men in Virgil, Harford and Lapeer. The article describes the selected conscripts as fortunate but certainly many dreaded the draft and the announcement published in the Cortland Gazette and Banner on August 27, 1863. With a 26% chance of his name being drawn, Clark's name was selected. No further information has been found regarding his service in the Civil War, however. Perhaps he filed an exemption? In 1870, he was living with Betsy (Stowell) Barrows, widow of Squires Barrows, who he married soon after. Click here to learn more about John Clark Harvey. Click here for more Harvey family memorabilia. Click here to see the Wall of Honor. Click here for free genealogy resources. #clarkharvey #johnclarkharvey #harvey #civilwar #draft

The following newspaper publication details the requirements and processes by which a man who was selected for the draft could file for an exemption from service. Form 25 - Certificate for exemption for the son of a widow, or of aged and infirm parent or parents. Form 26 - Certificate of a parent that he or she desires one of his or her sons exempted. Form 27 - Certificate that the person liable to a draft is the only brother of a child or children dependent on his labor for support Form 28 - Certificate that two members of the same family of the person liable to draft are already in the military service of the United States. Form 29 - Certificate that the person liable to a draft is the father of motherless children under 12 years of age, dependent on his labor for support. Form 30 - Certificate or exemption on account of unsuitableness of age. (Under age 20, over 35 and married, or over 45). Cortland Gazette and Banner, August 27, 1863. Click here for Civil War resources. Click here for more free genealogy resources. #civilwar #draft #military

John Clark Harvey, better known as "Clark Harvey" was a son of Newman Harvey (1777-1824). He also had a son named Newman Archelaus Harvey, born in 1876. Clark was born in Lapeer, Cortland County, New York, about 1824 and died about 1898. According to the census records shown below, in 1850, he was living in Lapeer in the home of his sister, Diana, and her husband, Almeron Talbot (or "Talbert". His brother, Dennis Harvey, lived nearby. (See 1855 map). Notice, Clark also had a nephew named Newman Harvey, born abt. 1840, son of Dennis. In 1860, Clark was still living in Lapeer. In 1870 and 1875 he was in Richford, Tioga County, New York. In 1880, he was in Harford and in 1892 he was counted in Lapeer again. His widowed wife was counted on the census in Harford in 1900. Click here to learn more about John Clark Harvey. Click here for more Harvey family memorabilia. #johnharvey #johnclarkharvey #clarkharvey #cortlandcounty #newyork #census

Three years after his wife Gertrude died, Newman was living at 137 Locke Road in Groton, Tompkins County, New York, according to the 1940 census. The address is shown here on this Google satellite image. Click here to learn more about Newman A. Harvey. Click here for more Harvey family memorabilia. #newmanharvey #newmanaharvey #harvey #groton

Mary Esther Harvey was born March 16, 1910, in Newark Valley, Tioga County, New York. She was a daughter of Newman Harvey and Gertrude (Shirley) Harvey. Her birth certificate, shown here, was provided by her daughter, Mary Ruth. Click here to learn more about Mary Esther Harvey. Click here for more Harvey family memorabilia. #maryestherharvey #harvey #maryreese #marygaul #birthcertificate

Newman Harvey was my 4th great-grandfather. He was born in Rhode Island and went to New York between 1820 and 1821, settling in Lapeer, Cortland County, New York. It appears his son, Dennis Harvey lived nearby. Today the road is called "Harvey Hill Road". The old 1855 map shown here shows the location of his home: Source: Map Of Cortland County, New York : from Actual Surveys [Link] Use Google maps to browse the location of this property, which is currently on the market! Click here to learn more about this family. Source [Link] #newmanharvey #marathon #lapeer #cortlandcounty #newyork #harvey #property #land

John Brown was the 2nd great-grandfather of Mary Esther (Harvey) Reese. He may have been the son of Elisha and Betsy Brown. John was reportedly born in Connecticut, but possibly Rhode Island. He married Nancy Wood abt. 1801, and raised a large family in Lisle, Broome County, New York. Anyone with information about John, please comment below! The following are images contributed by "Paul R" at findagrave.com showing John Brown and Nancy Wood's headstones at Bemis Cemetery in Lisle, Broome County, New York. There was also a soldier of the American Revolution named John Brown who lived in Dryden, New York. He was the son of Benjamin Brown and began his service when he enlisted as a private in the Connecticut troops. At the time he was living in Canterbury, Connecticut, a place he moved from after the war. He lived in Preston, New London County, Connecticut for abt. 13 years. From there he moved to Norwich, Chenango County, New York, where he remained abt. 17 years. He resided at Dryden in 1832 when his pension request was filed. He doesn't appear to be John Brown the ancestor of Mary. The distance from Norwich to Lisle is illustrated here, courtesy of GoogleMaps. The distance is 20-22 miles. The following "Unpublished Records of Broome County" found at ancestry.com shows two Brown families in Broome County: Another John Brown is mentioned in "History of Tioga , Chemung, Tompkins, and Schuyler Counties", 1879. He lived in Southport, which is about 60 miles southwest of Lisle. #Brown #Lisle #cemetery #americanrevolution #harvey #reese #wood #military #johnbrown

John Jacobs was born in July of 1823 in New York. He lived in Candor all his life, on Tubbs Hill Road, near it's junction with Bell Road. Click here to see a timeline of his family on the census. He died at the age of 86 on July 16, 1909. This interactive Google Map allows you to see the area where John Jacobs and his family lived: Click here to learn more about John Jacobs. Click here to learn more about this branch of my family. Click here to see my Index of Ancestors. Click here for loads of free genealogy resources! #JohnJacobs #Candor #NewYork #maps #historicmaps #TiogaCounty

John Jacobs, born in July of 1823, lived in Candor all his life. (Click here to see a timeline of his family on the census). John died at the age of 86 on July 16, 1909. Notice that his will was probated was published in the Waverly Free Press, Oct 1 1909, as follows: "Surrogate's Court. September 27, 1909. Will of John W. Jacobs, late of Candor, N.Y., admitted to probate and letters testamentary granted to Laura D. Jacobs of Candor, N.Y. Estate, $800." Note: $800 in 1909 is equivalent in purchasing power to $22,074.40 in 2018. [Source] A copy of John's will may yield more clues about his life. Click here to learn more about John Jacobs. Click here to learn more about this branch of my family. Click here to see my Index of Ancestors. Click here for loads of free genealogy resources! #JohnJacobs #Candor #NewYork #maps #historicmaps #TiogaCounty

It's been eighteen years since I began researching my family's history and filling in the blanks concerning the facts about their lives. Finding the names, birth dates, marriage dates, death dates, places, etc., piece by piece has been challenging and intriguing. Sometimes the information is easy to find, but in some cases the facts evade me. As a genealogy addict, those blank spaces taunt and challenge me regularly. One of these elusive facts was the death of my 2nd great-grandmother, Lydia (Mayo) Decker. Previously, in one of my blogs, I requested information and stated the facts that were known. Much information about her has been recovered from the past, but no one I was in contact with could tell me when she had died or where she was buried. I searched death indexes and obituaries to no avail. Well, I'm pleased to announce, the answer has finally been found! Thanks to Margaret Jones for letting us know that Lydia's memorial has been added to Findagave.com! Many, many thanks to VickiO for not only creating the memorial and adding a photo of her grave, but also for allowing me to share the photo here on my blog. The exact date is not given, but from the gravestone we learn that she died in 1951. I'm not convinced her birth date is accurate on the stone, however, because her age was given as 8 on the census of 1880, but the 1900 census does give her birth date and month as June 1873. She lived around 78 years. May she rest in peace. With this information, I was able to locate Lydia's death in the New Jersey Death Indices, File #25074. See more about Lydia's family on the Decker page. #lydiamayo #decker #Decker #graves #mayo #cemetery #todo (Order copy of death certificate!)