This week for the Salt Lake Community College, Genealogy Course we studied Repositories and Vital Records. I really enjoyed this lesson. There was a lot of reading to do, but I took lots of notes because I don't want to run the risk of forgetting any of the great stuff I learned. There were also four videos we needed to watch. Once again I took lots of notes.
There was one video that I wanted to share with you. It was a virtual tour of a U.S. Court House. I didn't realize that FamilySearch even had those on their website. You can find it on their website at: U.S. Court House Records. It really was a fun and different way to learn about these records.
Below is the assignment I turned in.
Objective:
Searching for the marriage record for John Henry Weatherwax, Sr., born 3 Mar 1855 in Wilton, Saratoga, New York and Harriet D. Hewitt born 12 Dec 1858 in Saratoga County, New York. They married on abt 1881, place unknown. First child John Henry Weatherwax, Jr. was born 12 Dec 1882 in Greenwich, Washington, New York. The marriage record may be in either Saratoga or Washington County, New York. The focus of this search was for records in Saratoga County, New York from 1872-1882.
Searches & Findings:
1 - Search the FamilySearch Catalog found at FamilySearch.org for possible films that provide the marriage date.
Searched under New York State - unable to locate any films that would cover the correct time period.
Searched under Saratoga, New York - unable to locate any films that would cover the correct time period.
Searched under Wilton, Saratoga, New York found:
Marriage records, M. E. Church, town of Wilton, 1881-1900, Family History Library, United States & Canada, Film: 1316156 Item 1
Searched under County Seat of Ballston Spa, Saratoga, New York found:
Church records, 1863-1996 (Marriages 1872 - 1882) Family History Library, United States & Canada, Film # 2025950 Item 8
Searched under city near county seat - Saratoga, Saratoga, New York found:
Vital records, town of Saratoga, Saratoga County, New York, 1871-1926, Family History Library, United States & Canada, Film: 1316156 Item 9
2 - Locate information on how to order vital records from New York State. When year were vital records recorded on a state level. Include the address.
Order vital records from New York Department of Health
New York State Department of Health
Vital Records Section
Genealogy Unit
P.O. Box 2602
Albany, NY 12220-2602
http://www.health.ny.gov/vital_records/
Vital Records for New York State (other than New York City) start the following years:
Earliest: Birth-1847, Marriage-1847, Death-1847
Statewide Registration: Birth-1880, Marriage-1880, Death-1880
General Compliance: Birth-1890, Marriage-blank, Death-1890
Vital records of birth, marriage or death were first recorded at the local level in the village clerk, town clerk, or city clerk’s ledger book. If you know where a birth, marriage or death took place, a copy of the certificate or record may be obtained by writing to the town, village or city clerk.
The first town we need to look at is Wilton. This is because John Henry Weatherwax, Sr. was born there. We will need to branch out to surrounding towns if the marriage record is not located there.
Wilton, Saratoga, New York - http://www.townofwilton.com/departments/clerks-office/
Sue Baldwin - Town Clerk
(518) 587-1939 Ext: 210
sbaldwin@townofwilton.com
Town of Wilton
22 Traver Road
Wilton, New York 12831
Clerk's Office Phone: (518) 587-1939 Ext: 601 Fax: (518) 587-2837
Hours: Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm
Vital Records Search (Certified Copy) Birth, Death & Marriage - $10.00
Genealogy Searches (Copy) Birth, Death & Marriage - $11.00
3 - Search the FamilySearch Historical Records for vital records for your family.
Searched New York State for Weatherwax – alternate spellings do appear in the results
New York, Births and Christenings, 1640-1962
Search Weatherwax - 344 results unable to locate this family
New York, Marriages, 1686-1980 - https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1680847
Searched Weatherwax - 57 results unable to locate this family
New York Deaths and Burials, 1795-1952 - https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1680846
Search Weatherwax - 2 results unable to locate this family
New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971 - https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1920234 (browse images)
Wills from 1791-1921, Probate from 1857-1885. The only thing that could be helpful is finding John's father Anthony in the Wills or Probate records. I have no idea when Anthony may have died.
Found: Probate records 1869-1877 - Weatherwax, Edw L. 507 - not related
Did not search through the wills, will need to do this at a later time.
4 - Locate a Historical Society in your New York State. Review the resources available from that society. Include information in your research log about membership in this society and the benefits of being a member to the society.
Saratoga County Historical Society
6 Charlton Street
Ballston Spa, NY 12020
Phone: (518) 885-4000
Fax: (518) 885-4055
E-mail: info@brooksidemuseum.org
Website: http://www.brooksidemuseum.org/
Hours:
Tuesday – Friday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Sunday & Monday – Closed.
Membership - Individual $25 annually
Benefits.
1. Free admission for one to the museum
2. Columns, Brookside Museum’s newsletter
3. Invitation to member-only events
4. 15% discount in the gift shop (non-consignment)
5. Behind the scenes tour of the museum
6. Discount on rental of Brookside for events
7. Reduced fee for classes/programs
8. A pack of Brookside note cards
Brookside Museum holds the records of the Saratoga County Historical Society
SCHS cares for over 25,000 historic artifacts that tell Saratoga County’s story.
http://brookside.pastperfect-online.com/30001cgi/mweb.exe?request=ks – databases
The Irena Wooton Research Room contains thousands of materials on local history and genealogy, including the Heritage Hunters Book Collection. Members of the museum may utilize the resources for free;
If you are unable to conduct research at Brookside personally, research can be done for you.
Simple requests (those which rely on SCHS resources and can take under 30 minutes) can be done for free by museum researchers. Contact research@brooksidemuseum.org with your question.
Complex requests (that that may require using resources from other repositories and that may take more than 30 minutes) can be completed on your behalf by experienced researchers for a fee of $20 for the first hour; $15 for every hour thereafter plus photocopy and shipping fees.
Special Collections:
Cornelius Durkee Scrapbooks
Henry C. Ritchie, Saratoga County Families Collection
Hayden Collection
Ormsbee Family Collection
Mann Family Collection
John Sheehan Collection
Kayaderosseras Patent Field Books
Saratoga County Cemetery Collection
Voter Lists: 1912-1975
Tax Lists:1760's;1780's; 1900
Saratoga County Warrant Records
Portraits and Photography
Saratoga County Honors our Deceased Veterans
Other Collections:
Assessment Records
Early Town Records
Town Files; including Church, Cemetery, Historic Place and additional records
Surname Files
Subject Files
Military History
1856 Geils Map
1866 Beers Atlas
Topographical Maps
Survey Maps
Conclusion:
There are several small leads at this point for records that I can search from home. The most likely way to find the marriage record is to contact the local town clerks to determine if the record can be found there. The Saratoga County Historical Society may be able to provide me with resources I am not aware of in the area. It would be beneficial to call them directly and see if they have any good suggestions before I start spending money on record searches with the town clerk. Since more records will be needed in Saratoga County it would be a good investment to buy a membership with the Saratoga County Historical Society. Ideally, it would be great to visit this location in person.
See ya tomorrow, for tomorrow is always another genealogy day!
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