I uploaded two sets of records that have all the births and deaths from the Rochester newspapers in 1837:
Jan. 1837 – June 1837
July 1837 – Dec. 1837
A lot of newspapers published in that year did not get saved. There are no existing copies of the Monroe Democrat that was the weekly newspaper published by the Rochester Daily Democrat. Most issues of the Democrat are on microfilm up until Aug. 27th. After that there is a gap of just over a year of non-existing issues. The Rochester Daily Advertiser only has 3 weeks in April of 1837 on microfilm. It’s sister newspaper, the Rochester Republican is complete for 1837. It would have the same vitals except for a few which may have had funeral notices left out.
There is also the The Rochester Gem which was mostly a literary newspaper with short stories and poems but it also has some marriages that were not in the other newspapers.
There are no birth announcements in any of the 1837 newspapers. In fact, birth announcements were very rare in the 1800s.
The Aug. 2 issue of the Rochester Daily Democrat has a report of number of burials in Rochester cemeteries. In all there were 23 burials. Only 5 of those are reported in the newspapers. That is probably about average for newspaper vitals of that era. William Carter was the first burial in Mt. Hope cemetery on Aug. 18th 1837. His death was not noted in the newspapers.
Hi Dick,
Thank you for posting this! I found the marriage announcement for the brother of one of my ancestors. It’s interesting that it says they were married in Pittsford. Both his and his bride’s families lived in Rochester, and his brother lived in Brighton. This is another clue to follow!
There were other names and places listed that sounded familiar, and which may create other new clues. Thank you. It’s hard to find information about the early 1800’s.
Hi again, I noticed that a number of the men’s names have “esq” after them. I researched it, and found that “esq,” or “esquire,” refers to someone who was a lawyer. None of the information I found was for years as far back as 1837, though, and I wonder if it was also the case back then.
I found a reference to a Jemison surname with “Esq,” and I am searching for any connection to my extended family that included a Jemison in Rochester in 1830 – 1840. Interesting!!
The dictionary that I use online (dictionary.com) says it is “an unofficial title of respect, having no precise significance, sometimes placed, especially in its abbreviated form, after a man’s surname in formal written address.” So at that time it is someone who is respected. Mowadays it is mostly used for lawyers.
Hi Dick,
Thanks for this information. That’s interesting. There were quite a few names with esq. after them in these 1837 notices.