Smithtown, New York, situated about 50 miles east of New York City in Suffolk County, was founded by Richard Smith and his family in 1665. The famous 1698 census enumerations for Smithtown have not survived; however, Kory Meyerink, author of New York in 1698: A Comprehensive List of Residents Based on Census, Tax, and Other[…]Read more
In recent years Americans have come to understand the plight of 19th– and early 20th-century “orphan train riders.” If you’ve read Christina Baker Kline’s best-selling novel, among others, you know that these children were transported by rail from the Eastern United States (especially New York) for adoption/apprenticeship by families in the Midwest. Kline’s novel captures[…]Read more
Any researcher who works with he records of turn-of-the-18th-century New York should be delighted to learn about the following new research aid: New York in 1698: A Comprehensive List of Residents, Based on Census, Tax, and Other Lists, by Kory L. Meyerink. Genealogist Meyerink spent over two decades piecing together a comprehensive census of the[…]Read more
Although the term Ashkenaz originally referred to a place now in Germany, it is broadly used these days to refer to all European Jews. This guide is intended as an aid to researchers who are searching for Ashkenazic Jewish ancestors from Eastern Europe who immigrated to the United States primarily between 1880 and 1924. In[…]Read more
Not until 1847 did New York state require local jurisdictions to record the birth, marriage, or death events of its inhabitants. This glaring omission in the official genealogical record makes consulting unofficial sources–such as church records, family Bibles, and, in particular, newspaper archives–of great importance in New York state research. Genealogist Fred Q. Bowman was[…]Read more
