Where is Upstate New York?

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Many people ask "Where is Upstate New York, and why is it called that?"

The answer is pretty simple. It is generally considered to be all of New York State other than the major metropolitan New York City areas.

For the purposes of this Blog and our main website of Upstate New York Genealogy at www.unyg.com we emphasize Genealogy and Family History Research throughout the whole state starting with Westchester County, north and west.

Our neighbors to the east are; Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. On the north we enjoy an International border with some of the nicest people in the world, our Canadian friends of Ottawa and Ontario. So as you head up the Hudson River Valley at a little north of Albany it becomes known as the Champlain Valley Region on up to the St. Lawrence River. West of Albany and running to about mid-way in the state the region is called the Mohawk Valley Region. Our north western border and several counties border on the south shore of Lake Ontario.

In the southern part of the state is the historical Catskill Mountain Region and in the north are the majestic Adirondack Mountains. Starting in the central part of the state and running further westward is called the Finger Lakes Region. Our southern border is shared first with New Jersey and then for the greater width of the state we share a border with our friends in Pennsylvania. We end up out on the western edge of the state at the Niagara Falls Region and Lake Erie.

We do not have anything against the southern metro areas not covered, it is just that the research methods and record centers are quite different than for the rest of the state. We recommend an excellent book compiled by: Estelle M. Guzik, "Genealogical Resources in New York". If you need to hire a professional for the New York City areas, we suggest you check with the Association of Professional Genealogists at www.apgen.org.




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We are here to help you find your roots in Upstate New York. Ask any question and post any comment that is relevant, and someone will give you a helping hand or a willing ear. Use the "comments" tab just below this Blog.

Visit our main website at www.unyg.com

Upstate New York Genealogy Blog Wins Award of "Best of the Internet"

DearMyrtle.com is one of the most loved and respected genealogy websites around.

Upstate New York Genealogy Blog has the great honor of receiving one of Dear Myrtle's coveted "Best of the Internet Awards."

This award was in response to a Blog that we put out and that created quite a buzz, about the genetics testing company 23andme. Myrt's award for "Best of the Internet" reads in part:

"MOST INTERESTING THREAD: Always up on the news Dick Hillenbrand's "Wife of Google co-founder wants to test DNA of 98 per cent of the World!", 2008. While this was reported elsewhere, I appreciate the comment from a lineage society member who worries about disqualifying members based on DNA."

You may read the full content of Myrt's Blog at: http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/2008/01/best-of-internet-for-genealogists-27.html

We are very proud to share this information with our readers.

See what I tell you people about commenting? Your comments absolutely do get noticed and you all make this whole Blogging process much more interesting and very enjoyable.

Thanks to all of our unyg readers.

Visit our main website at www.unyg.com

DNA Evidence Proves that Having Children is Hereditary

Happy Valentine's Day !

Rochester Library has new Digital Collections website.

The Monroe County Library System is a leading digital content producer.

A description in part from their new website is as follows:

Digital Collections consist of photographs, books, manuscripts, maps, directories, postcards, and other items that have been digitized for easy access and for the preservation of original print material held within selected local collections in Monroe County.

The thousands of items found here represent the rich history of the Rochester region. They are of interest to anyone researching local history and genealogy. Digitizing materials allows researchers to have access to items that are rare and fragile. Also, collections throughout the county can now be searched at one online location, thanks to the cooperation of many partner institutions.

You may read some of our previous coverage of this growing collection here:

The Rochester Library website may be found here:

http://ny-genes.blogspot.com/2007/07/rochester-library-update-on-city.html

Visit our main website at www.unyg.com

Free Data at Footnote

OK, Upstate New York Genealogy, tell me why I should subscribe to footnote?

Well that’s a pretty easy question to answer.

First off, you do not have to subscribe to take advantage of many of the features and some of the more important and popular data. For instance, you can just go to footnote and have a look see for free.

They are in the process of bringing much of the microfilm collection of the National Archives (NARA) on-line, as well as other scores of collections from all over. Some of the important National Documents that are available all the time, for free, for everyone are; American Milestone Documents, you will find images of the actual original documents of such as; The Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, The Gettysburg Address, and other famous documents in American History right up to The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Then you will find several other collections that are totally free, such as; 135 volumes of The Pennsylvania Archives, American Colonization Society Papers, the Amistad Federal Court Records, Constitutional Convention Records, Continental Congress Papers, Custer’s Court Martial, Lincoln’s Assassination Papers, and that’s not all. There are many more totally free collections. I just noticed that some of the New Hampshire Town Records are now coming on and they also are free.

Our recommendation is to go there, take a look. See if it something that you will use, we think you will, and then make the decision later as to subscribing or not. Footnote does offer unyg readers a seven day free trial for all of the collections of data and features that they provide, with no limitations on the amount that you can look at.

We have written about footnote in previous Blogs such as here.

We believe it is one of the better bargains on the Internet for Historians and Genealogists.

Start your Seven Day Free Trial to Footnote here.

Note: update August 1, 2008. Footnote is approaching 60 million online digitized documents. Here is a link to see what types of things would be available for genealogists and historians. Footnote Index . Without a doubt, Footnote is the Best Genealogy Bargain on the Internet. (Dick Hillenbrand)

(unyg)

ps: Please tell us of your successes by using the "comments" tab below.

Visit our main website at www.unyg.com