This
week I went to my local County Clerk’s Office with a good friend to search for
I
was happily surprised to discover that our county had conducted its own census!
I have searched federal and state census reports of New York State but had no
idea Rensselaer County had these records tucked away in the basement of the
county clerk’s office.
The
books are massive cloth covered volumes that we could barely lift off the
shelves. They are not indexed in any way. Each of the census years are in two
volumes: the City of Troy and the Towns of the county.
I
have searched census records on microfilm, on line and in books with
transcribed records. I had never held the actual census books before; the books
where the census takers listed the names of the families they visited. I was
glad that helping my friend had led me to that unique opportunity.
Those
census reports included: names, sex, race, ages, place of birth; marital
status, number of years in the area, type of house [brick, frame, etc.] &
value of house.
We
found my friend’s family in 1855 & 1875. Because we already knew the Ward Number where they lived [from US census records] it was not too difficult to go
page by page and locate them. The records gave my friend new information for
her family tree.
From
now on I plan to look for similar records in areas where my ancestors lived.
Who knows? Maybe I will uncover something as exciting as my local county clerk’s
office.
The original documents are great for identifying neighbors that may related or moved with your ancestor.
ReplyDeleteYes, my friend is learning a lot about her family & its neighbors.
DeleteYour county records sound interesting, especially learning whether your ancestor's home was built of bricks or frame.
ReplyDeleteYes, Wendy, that was an interesting detail.
Delete