New York State Research

My husband and I are both genealogists with New England ancestors. So it is not uncommon to hear one of us blurt out, “Thank God for the Puritans!” Because it was the Puritans, and other early religious groups who wanted to know what everyone was doing, and documented it! We are thankful for all that information. But as we follow our ancestors as they cross the border into New York, a mere 30 minutes away, our research immediately became more difficult. 

Fortunately there are many resources becoming available to assist genealogists.  Since our ancestors landed in Tompkins County, NY, we use the Tompkins County Rootsweb site.  The women who manage this site do a great job organizing data, adding new content and linking to surrounding counties. Their searchable and constantly updated cemetery listings have been invaluable to us. I love the Past, Present, & Future option where you can quickly see what new content has been added. My husband and I have even donated databases to this site – he recently submitted a searchable database for the 1865 Census for Newfield, NY.  Now, if I could only get him to do the same for Ulysses…

The Ithaca Journal Obituary Index has also been helpful to us. The years included are: 1860-1876; 1900-1989; 1990-1999.

New York State performed its own census every ten years from 1825-1875, then in 1892, 1905, 1915 and 1925. Because of the loss of the 1890 Federal Census, my husband has found the 1892 Census located in the newly updated Family Search.org website a valuable resource.  Not all counties were included – those that are: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Clinton, Cortland, Delaware, Dutchess, Erie, Genesee, Kings, Monroe, Montgomery, Niagara, Orleans, Otsego, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Washington, Wayne, and Yates. Consequently, the two counties in which my relatives lived during that time are not included!

Old Fulton New York Postcards website is a goldmine of information. This site has millions (the number goes up almost every day!) of name searchable New York (Upstate and New York City) newspaper articles of obits, marriages, travel, and social news. It gives researchers a window into the day-to-day lives of their ancestors.  And that is what we, as genealogists, strive for – as Marcia Iannizzi Melnyk terms “filling in the dash.” Our ancestors are more than “date of birth – date of death,” and these resources help us to fill in the dash.

Maude Agard's Dream

In October 2001, Carol Kammen of the Ithaca Journal highlighted in her column the family business oral history I had produced with my mother. The title of her column was, “Now is the time to record the history of our institutions.”  She encouraged local businesses and historical societies to document those operations before their participants were no longer around to ask.

Taughannock Farms Inn

Maude Agard's "tea room"

My grandmother, Maude Agard, loved to cook. Her dream was to have her own “tea room,” and on her 40^th birthday, May 16, 1946 she realized that dream with the purchase of a summer home, owned by a Philadelphian Robert Jones, that overlooked Taughannock Falls State Park. According to the oral history my mother recounted, “The first night they were open to the public…they served less than twenty people and ran out of food! Mother had no idea how many people to prepare for. But, word got around, so Taughannock Farms grew and grew.”

There were no printed menus; the extensive list of appetizers, main dishes, and desserts was recited by the waitresses. Dinners were served family style. The rolls were made on the premises each day, as were the salads, pies, and other desserts. Soon after my parents became partners in the business and so that is where I grew up.  Anyone growing up in a family business knows that everybody works. And we did. But we, including our employees, were all “family,” and that is a special attribute of a family run business. 

Taughannock Farms Inn - The Early Years is archived and can be accessed at the Ulysses Historical Society in Trumansburg, NY. I encourage everyone who is part of a family business to document its history; it is too precious to lose.