Thursday, April 9, 2015

HIDDEN GEMS IN NEWSPAPERS - I HIT THE JACKPOT ON THIS WEBSITE

 

 OLD FULTON NY POSTCARDS  This is a website I heard about via a Facebook group I belong to called New York Genealogy.  The first thing I thought was “well, I don’t have any ancestors from Fulton County, so why would this site be helpful to me?”  But…I kept reading about people finding all sorts of records from other counties in New York.  This website contains thousands of newspapers from New York and other areas and many other records.
 
As most of us are well aware, New York is one of the black holes for genealogy.  At least in some counties.  We will take all the help we can get in finding records.

I’ve tried using this site on a couple of occasions, but had no luck in finding any records.  Today I decided to give it another try.  I can usually figure things out when it comes to websites and this one should be no different.  However frustrating my previous attempts may have been.

Here is what the home page looks like.

Fulton site screen shot of home page

Over on the left hand side you see the search screen.  It doesn’t seem complicated, so why didn’t I have any luck on my previous tries?
 
NOTE:  I think there are times when we are researching that we don’t necessarily have the time or patience to learn something new.  At least I have found this to be true with me.  Then I go back another time and everything works just fine.

So what is the secret to getting results here?  There are several option in the drop down menu below the search box.  They are: boolean, all of the words, any of the words and exact phrase.

Then there are the other choices: Fuzzy searching, Phonic searching etc.  You can see them in the screenshot above.

I decided to use “boolean” and “fuzzy.”

I entered my 3rd great grandfather’s name, Monson Thorp and was rewarded with 13 documents to look at.  WOW!  Monson lived in Skaneateles, New York.  (remember this site is called Old Fulton NY Post Cards)

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)
Fulton site screen shot Monson results

My hopes were high since I see Skaneateles mentioned in the first 3 hits.  And,  it’s not like Monson is a common name. The dates mentioned in most of the 13 hits was also within the correct time to be my Monson.

I was rewarded in spades.  Eleven of the thirteen articles were about my Monson.  Everything from him being listed as to an Overseer of Highways in 1841 to being a member of the Horse Thief Society in 1854 to the settlement of his accounts after his death.

THORP_Monson_mentioned as Overseer of Hwys_1841_SkanFreePress_16 Apr 1897_col 5_annotated
1841 - MONSON THORP - OVERSEER OF HIGHWAYS
THORP_Monson_listed as member of the HorseThief Society_Skaneateles Democrat_Apr 1854_col 2_annotated
1854 - MONSON THORP NAMED TO HORSE THIEF SOCIETY

I saved every article in PDF format and then converted them to JPG as that’s my preferred method for adding them to my Legacy database.  I made sure I labeled them all with my standard labeling practices so I could easily find each separate article.

I went on to search other members of my THORP family and was handsomely rewarded with marriage dates and death and burial dates in various articles.

IS THERE ANYTHING MORE THAT WE CAN ASK AS GENEALOGISTS?

The TWO BIGGEST FINDS in this group were ……

A small little piece in the paper about Monson Thorp visiting his son Stephen Thorp who was wounded at Gettysberg.  I previously knew that Stephen had served in the Civil War, but I did not know he was at Gettysberg. 

How many more records about Stephen will I be able to locate based on this tiny article?

THORP_Monson to visit injured son Stephen_SkaneatelesNY Democrat_13 Aug 1863_cropped
SKANEATELES NY DEMOCRAT, 13 AUG 1863

An article about the Golden Wedding Anniversary of Monson & Lany Thorp.  This article contained exact places & dates that I did not previously have and mentioned Lany’s maiden name.   I believed her maiden name was Cooper, based on other documents, but it was sure nice to see it in this article.
 
THORP_Mr&Mrs Monson celeb 50 yrs married_SkanFreePress_4 Apr 1885_col 3_cropped
MR. & MRS. MONSON THORP CELEBRATE 50 YEARS OF MARRIAGE - SKANEATELES FREE PRESS, 4 APR 1885

WHAT GENEALOGIST WOULDN’T BE DOING THE “HAPPY DANCE” AFTER FINDING ALL THESE GEMS?


I encourage you to keep exploring new sites as they become available AND, go back to the sites in which you previously had little or no luck.  You never know what you will find.

If you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog, please contact me!
ANOTHER POST THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST


Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

4 comments:

  1. Diane,

    I want to let you know that two of your blog posts are listed in today's Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2015/04/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-april-10.html

    Have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. Thanks so much Jana. Nice to have your Fab Friday's back after a couple weeks quiet. We appreciate you.

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  2. Wow Diane! You DID hit the jackpot. I agree, there is a learning curve with this treasure trove of a website and it is easy to get impatient and not take the time to understand it. While I don't have NY people, I know this site has other papers as well and I need to return and give it another try. (I have to say I don't understand why that clown guy is on the page, I think he is kinda creepy.)

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    1. Hey Michelle,
      That's for sure. I have seen quite a few Philadelphia articles during my searches. So, there are surprising gems on this website. Wish the site allowed us to enter the dates we would like to search. However, I'll take it as it is though. I have to totally agree about the creepy jester/clown guy. LOL!

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I look forward to reading your comments. If you have any connection to the people mentioned in this blog, please let me know. I write about mine and my husband's ancestors and would welcome new information or meeting a new cousin or two. Thanks for visiting and come back soon.