Many years ago I ordered the death certificate for my great grandfather, Melvin Halsey, who died in 1920 in a town about one mile south of the New York – Pennsylvania border. It had hardly any information except that he was buried in the Rosstown Cemetery about ¼ mile north of the border in Southport, …
Did you miss the first episode of the PBS series Faces of America? Or do you want to see it again? Then you can see the whole episode by going to this link. You can also just watch parts if you don’t want to watch the whole episode at once.
This is your last notice! This Wednesday is the first of a four part series, Faces of America hosted by Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates. He uses genealogy and DNA to explore the ancestors of 12 celebrities. Those profiled are: Professor and poet Elizabeth Alexander Chef Mario Batali Comedian Stephen Colbert Novelist Louise Erdrich Journalist …
While doing a recent research project I ended up at the Rush Rhees Library at the University of Rochester. I tried to find the book in the stacks but it wasn’t there. I went for assistance to the reference librarian. She figured out that the book wasn’t in the library but was in their new …
As I mentioned in the previous post, the first law in New York State that dealt with adoptions was passed until 1873. The entire law is over here on Bastard Nation an adoptee rights website. Important parts of the law are that both adopting spouses must agree to adopt a child. If a birth parent …
Continue reading ‘Orphans, Adoptions and Indentures, part 2’ »
I have been working on extracting Rochester, NY area adoption records from the 19th century since last August. In the process, I have learned a lot about adoptions in New York State and how orphans were treated. Plus, I have found that there were more organizations out placing orphans in the Rochester area than thought. …
Continue reading ‘Orphans, Adoptions and Indentures, part 1’ »
A lot of other blogs are carrying news of an official website for the NBC series “Who Do You Think You Are?” I can also add that I saw a promo for the series this morning during the Today Show. That means that NBC has some confidence in the series.
Rochester Historical Society re-opens their museum in the Rundel building in downtown Rochester on Feb. 16th. Formerly the Society had been located in “Woodside,” their home on East Avenue. Woodside was sold in 2008 and the Society has been setting up space for their vast museum collection in the Rochester Public Library’s Rundel building. There …
Continue reading ‘Rochester Historical Society opening mid Feb.’ »