Tracing Your Roots in Greene County
Successes, Comments and Feedback
We'd love to hear from you too!
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Coordinator
I just joined the Greene County list... just wanted to let you know that your archives site has been an invaluable resource for me in finding out what little I know about my ancestors who lived there. Thanks so much--I know that maintaining a site like this is a tremendous amount of work. Rolando de Aguiar
March 1, 2009
February 2, 2009
First let me say a huge THANK YOU for all the work you have done in making my genealogy searching so much easier. I have been researching my ancestors in Greene County (Holcomb, Smith, Phelps, Cotton, Rose, Hand, Cole, Tyler, Butts, Benjamin, Benham, Strong, & others) for several years, and all the work you have done to record cemeteries, as well as the website, have been invaluable to me. The website is one of the best county websites I have encountered (I wish some of the other local counties were as well organized). Mike Gossoo
January 19, 2009
Sylvia, I stumbled across your fine website on rootsweb today. I visited the Vedder in October, but this is certainly much more convenient as I live 3 hours away. Thank you for all your fine efforts (and those of your volunteers)!! I am currently researching the Halenbeck/Hallenbeck/Hollenbeck clan, and plan to provide the results to you in a couple of years when the information is in more usable form. Scott Schaffer
March 24, 2006
Last year when my son Michael was surfing the internet he found Article Number 20: The Prout Family because he was doing web search looking for information about H.H. Prout. The Rev. Mr. H.H. Prout was my great-great-grandfather. My great-grandfather was the Rev Mr. E.G. Prout. My grandfather was Dr. William S. Prout and his daughter Elizabeth Sinclair Prout Lanning was my mother.
October 15, 2005
Absolutely fabulous! Many thanks to all that have contributed. Keep up the good work.
July 6, 2005
April 26, 2005
April 8, 2005
April 21, 2005
I have so appreciated this site. My great grandmother was Emma Cochran, of
Roundtop. I check often in anticipation of more postings, enjoying the
history pages, as well as the records that hold specific family information.
I don't think I've visited another county site that's as actively maintained
and full of useful information--if there is an award somewhere, you and your
colleagues should certainly receive it. I'm in California, and so not
available for any practical participation, but I hope you'll know that I'm
active, though invisible! again, many thanks and best regards, Victoria
Cochran
February 19, 2005
August 5, 2004
June 17, 2004
June 13, 2004
p.s. thanks for all the work at the site .......... I can't express
how much I have enjoyed the site.
Stephanie
June 2, 2004
Dear List: I would like to Thank Sylvia for all the wonderful transcribing she
has done on our behalf. She did a lookup for me awhile ago, and gave me all the
information on my family. Now, today, while browsing thru the site, I came
across the marriage records for Windham. What a terrific surprise it was to see
my family member listed on it, with all the information in print, that I have
been waiting so patiently for on the document. Seeing that name made me feel
like I finally got my connection. Thank you Sylvia, for being the wonderful
person that you are, and careing so much for all concerned on your site. I truly
appreciate all that you have done for me and so many others. Keep up the good
work, as I am sure that there are many others that feel the way I do. Best
Regards Always, Doreen from the Poconos.
April 29, 2004
Sylvia, You have done Greene County a huge
favor with all the research you have done! You are one of the best for
seeing that data is available to those who wish it. Congratulations, and
many thanks. Janice Hesselink, Athens
March 24, 2004
Sylvia, I came across your Green County, NY web site this evening and
thought it was great. I found it very informative and it help me learn
more about the history of Durham my home town.
Thanks
Zachary Spalding
February 2, 2004
Sylvia, Your Greene County, NY web site is outstanding!! I find it the best
on the web. I have found the best data and have saved myself countless hours
of searching by using your web site. Please say THANK YOU to all the
researchers!!! Rollin
February 1, 2004
You have done a wonderful job on these
pages. Even though I did not find the man I am
looking for. Paul Livingston, went to church was
baptised and was married and died in Athens, Greene Co., NY and I have
been searching for him for 25 years with no luck. Cannot find out
where he is buried or who his parents were. He was married to
Margaret Day. These are my great great grandparents. Thanks again.
Kathy Clifton chatykat@infionline.net
November 30, 2003
I really hope that you get
this message. I am a descendant of Eliakim Stannard. I
am always looking for new things, I 'm sure as you know - one time
you can't find anything and another you can hit "pay
dirt". Well, I found your website tonight, and I just
wanted to say "Thank you"! You gave me a lot of info that
I did not have. Have a great holiday and thanks again!!!!
Heidi Henderson
November 28, 2003
It was quite delightful to find your Greene county web site!
I had passed it by some years ago after copying the photo of the monument
in St. Mary's cemetery relating to John Gara and his family. Little did I
realize that John was the brother of my great-grandfather. The Gara
brothers included John, Michael, Patrick and Neal. They emigrated to
Pennsylvania in 1848 bring their wives and children. Michael and
Patrick (my great-grandfather) became coal miners and followed that trade
through life. Neal worked on a railroad until he was killed in an
accident. they all had children and some descendents who still live in
Penn-sylvania. John moved to Hunter in 1855 and resided there until his
deathe four years later. Some of his family remained in Hunter until the
1920's. His son, Hugh, was the owner of the West End Hotel around 1900.
This latter information is contained on your web site and is a great
gift to my family. Thank you! Thank you! Thank You!
November 26, 2003
Thank you for this amazing site.. the information and photos are
priceless. Wayne Lopes
November 24, 2003
Excellent site!!!
This kind of content is what the Internet was designed to offer, and what
we should have on all county websites (as opposed to several pages of just
links to other sites.) I've found more on your site in just one afternoon than would have taken
me days to find by myself. I'm working up a descendant tree for
William White of Rensselaerville, Albany County, and he had a lot of
descendants down in Greene County.
Keep up the good work, and thanks a million! Lynn Calvin, Site coordinator, Saratoga County NYGenWeb site
September 14, 2003
I recently retired from a thirty-two year career as a teacher and have
begun writing a family history. I was able to travel to Greene County in
June after attending a wedding in Rhode Island and was able to
locate the tombstone of my great, great grandfather, Dominick McDevitt
because of the research you had done and because you made it
available on the internet. While visiting the O'Hara Cemetery, I met John
O'Hara who provided me with some valuable information about the O'Hara-McDevitt
connection. In addition, he put me in contact with his brother, Peter
O'Hara, who has also given me extremely valuable information. Despite
living near Green Bay, Wisconsin, I am off to a very good start in my
project because of your research activity, and I wanted you to
know how much I appreciate your wonderful work.. Thank you for all you do.
Sincerely, Bob McDevitt
August 7, 2003
THANK YOU, Thank You, thank you!
I am a novice at tracing family history. My relatives were not
inclined to verbalize about the family background but I did manage to
pick up a few tidbits. Mainly that my paternal great grandmother was
widowed with five children and opened a tea store and sold lace in New
York. This was confirmed tonight by visiting your site. I am so
excited! To have verification is magnificent. It motivates me to
pursue the endeavor. Thanks to Durham Center Museum, Annette Campbell
and yourself...and to all of those who have made my day! Diane Wiweke
Adams eagcom@magiclink.com
June 18, 2003
I have been using the Greene County web site for about a month now. I have
found many many items I could not have found by searching books, records,
ledgers with no indexes, etc. I may finally be able to finish a family I
started on 20 years ago, and gave up on because of the lack of records. Keep
up the good work. Dave DeWald
June 12, 2003
First I want to thank you for all the hard work you have done on the Greene
County Genealogy and History website. Your transcribing of the
Freehold Cemetery gravestones lead to the solution of a genealogy search I
have have been working on for a distant relative in Oregon for two years.
She was thrilled when I could tell her where her great grandfather, Leonard
B. Howard was buried. She had been told he was buried in the family
plot in Freehold and I checked every known Howard plot without success.
Turns out he was buried in his wife's Wilbur family plot. We think his
wife, Clara Amanda Wilbur was buried there too but that name didn't show up
in your list. Perhaps she never had a gravestone but is buried there. Don
Howard
May 7, 2003
I cannot begin to tell you how much
information I have gotten from your Greene County, New York website about my
Mother-in-law's family. Her names are Stewart, Rowe, Holdridge, and Salter.
The dedication of your volunteers and transcribers is
incredible. I go back over and over and have gotten hundreds of names from
her families long history in the Catskill. Awesome! Kelly Byron,
Great Falls, Montana
March 24, 2003
We are descendents of William A. Bullock, inventor, born in Greene in
1813. I found only one possible clue to his parent whose name was Isaac.
However, I think this is a terrific site. I loved looking through all those
church records, and did find many linked to other lines. I have to come back
on that search. Thanks again. Alan Tompkins
February 18, 2003
January 29, 2003
Wow. Someone just told me about this web page and I am
so impressed I wanted to be sure I let you know and thank you for your hard
work and for making this information accessible. I may want to visit this
cemetery myself someday, since I'm researching Rundles myself. The ones I'm
most concerned with are the Joseph Rundle line, and they lived in Greene
County as well as Reuben, though they are cousins. It's a beautifully set up
page that's easy to read, and the fact that there are directions to the
place is such a plus. I have the entire Rev War pension file for Reuben, by
the way, but have not transcribed it yet, as it is very long and not my
direct line. Jim Johnson New York City
December 3, 2002
My great grandparents were, if you will remember from our various
correspondence, George Brush Doty and Nellie Brockett. His father was the
Rev. George W. Doty and his grandfather was Benjamin B. Doty. Well, Benjamin
was the son of Zebulon Doty, Jr., the grandson of Zebulon Doty, Sr. the
great grandson of James Doty, the gg grandson of Isaac Doty and the ggg
grandson of Edward Doty of the Mayflower. My Doty line is also related to
the other Windham line of Capt. William Doty. Their line is descended from
another son of Edward Doty. All this I learned earlier in the year, and was
able to firmly prove it. So, once again all the notes and information
contained on the Greene County site has been a huge help in filling out my
family tree. A big Thank You for starting this site, and to all the
wonderful folks who contribute, because each tiny bit fits into someone's
tree. Claudia (Doty) Bellas, NJ
November 23, 2002
Greeting, I have spent hours
today researching my roots on this site, God bless the hard work that you
have done in putting this all together. Loads of interesting stuff here, I
sure I'll be spending many, many more hours researching here, excellent
job, thanks so much, Steve Dodge, Linden, New Jersey.
October 25, 2002
Hi Sylvia, I've been re-visiting the
Greene pages, and just have to tell you again what a fantastic job you are
doing! The pages are so well organized, and so frequently updated. I'm awed
by all the work you put in. Gratefully, Peggy Dolan
July 23, 2002
Probably the most well organized site, chock full of data, and easy to use.
Thanks for all the hard work to designer, and all the contributors. Regards,
Conny Green
July 13, 2002
Just thought I'd pass along a few things. Tell anyone who doubts the
usefulness of your webpage to contact me. I'd never find the little things
that I'm able to put together without using the site. And you can use
this statement anywhere you'd like.
After reading some of the Prout reprints, I think I found where my g g
grandmother was born. Prout 14 states that "Andrews built the house
where Mrs. Matthew's now lives with her son Levi." This was Constant
Abraham Andrews, father of my Loretta Susan, and whose wife was Sarah
Brackett.
I then pulled up the map of the Village of Ashland, and sure enough, there
is the house where Mrs. Matthew's lived on the road leading north, not sure
of which road it is.
Then, while looking at Greenville Presbyterian Church marriages, there was
Constant and Sarah's marriage, Feb. 28, 1796.
Lastly, I pulled up "Pensioners 1835" and found, or found again,
" John Rice, Private in CT. Continental Army, received an annual
allowance of 50.00 effective March 4, 1831. Was granted the pension on April
25, 1833, at the age of 75." Of course, he didn't live long enough to
enjoy his new found wealth.
So, once again, I thank all of you for doing so much to help people like me,
who don't have the time to travel to all the different places where family
history hides. Peter Rice
May 23, 2002
Sylvia, I want to thank you for the Luke Gardiner Family Bible page you
added to the site. I finally have a lead on that part of my family
I've been desperately seeking. Thank you for ALL of your hard work and
effort. Lisa
April 25, 2002
I'll second the motion for recognition for Sylvia and her volunteers!
They've already done, and are continuing to do, a fantastic job! Many, many
thanks!! Barbara Cofer
April 25, 2002
Hats off to Sylvia, a fellow Canadian, who has apparently coordinated one of
the best county sites available in North America!!! Leslie
April 22, 2002
Good Day I had found your site due to quest looking for info on George Weber
that died 1882 at the "Overlook Mountain House" I was seeking info
about Great Great Uncle George Weber, Frank A. Shultz, father George Shultz
, Derrenbachers and families from Rondout/Kingston. And I happened
upon you Catskill Cats!!! LOL I had so much fun looking at them I lost my
time to seek the info I was seeking!
Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt Site I
have saved it to come back to, to see all the neat stuff!! My hats off to
you!! And I will throw in a Meowie from our cat. Thanks, Amher
April 22, 2002
Thank you for everything you do for the Greene Co. mailing list. I
have been subscribing for a while. The information on your
Rootsweb site is amazing. You have helped me so much! Laurie Ray
April 20, 2002
Your website is excellent, far and away the best Rootsweb site I've used. My
grandmother is a Strong, she was born in Durham, her families have been
there since just after the Revolution, and your website has tons of great
stuff for us. I'm especially excited about the tombstone data you've
collected and put online- you've included about 25 of our direct ancestors,
and swarms of collateral relatives. Sometime I hope to visit Durham, and
this will be a big help when I sightsee the cemeteries. Collecting the
transcriptions (and running the website!) must have taken an enormous amount
of work, and I very much appreciate what you've done. Thanks, R. Bruce
Diebold
April 5, 2002
Thanks so much for the new transcriptions of the Mt. Hope Cemetery.
I had looked for my relatives on the old listings and could not find them.
There is a typo on the old listings --- George N. Stephens is listed as
Waggoner along with his wife Fannie. Your listings had them
correctly, I found them when I re-ran a search a week ago on the entire
site, and travelled to Athens last week to visit and take pictures.
The Vedder library staff were helpful in locating some additional bits of
information, and I now have some other roots to investigate.
March 24, 2002
Thank you so much for a wonderful web site.
With the Borthwick papers that are on your website, as well as the
cemetary records (Cornwallville) you have provided an important piece in a
puzzle that I have been working on for about 10 years or more on the Coopers
that were in Greene county early on, but left early as well. Thank you so
much. It really is amazing how much new information you are adding to your
website all the time. Jared Hansen
March 22, 2002
First I want to say that your Greene County
web site looks great and you have done a great deal of work and spent a
lot of time on it. It shows. I was wondering if there are any written
records from the Old Freehold Cemetery? I think I have found my
great great grandfather, Squire Haight buried there d. August 15, 1854 age
48. Can you tell from the placement of the graves which one was
his spouse? Is there somewhere I could write to inquire about that
if you are not the correct party to write to? Pamela Bretall Pamela,
there are no records for the Old Freehold Cemetery, to my knowledge. The
cemetery is in very poor condition. Sylvia Hasenkopf
February 23, 2002
Hello, Sylvia, I have been browsing the WONDERFUL web of Greene Co.
and have extracted a good deal of info. that I am incorporating into
my McCabe family tree and history. I note however, that the bio heading of
Robert Elliot has only one "t" in the bio transcribed by Celeste
MacCormack. The correct spelling is Elliott as shown in the text, not Elliot
as in the title. So corrected - thank you!
Sylvia It's a small point considering the FANTASTIC site you
all have put up for us to read. I'm planning to be in the Greenville and
Greene Co. area this summer (AUGUST) sometime and want to spend some time in
the various museums and libraries to get more McCabe history. The work of
all the Greene Co. historical staff is truly laudible....THANK YOU!!! Philip
McCabe (g.grandson of B. S. McCabe)
January 20, 2002
Sylvia, I just had to email you telling how much I appreciate all the work
that you and others do in keeping the Greene Co. site so informative, and
accessible. Our family came from Catskill....... I contacted one of the
Volunteer Look ups, you have listed Doug Leary for some research re; family.
I cannot sing enough praises for the information he was able to provide us,
and detailed!. I so appreciate all his efforts...thought you would like to
know this.
And for once it was Not the Brandow ( that elusive Peter W.) side but James
Person.
Thank you, Catherine
December 10, 2001
Dear Sylvia, What a nice site! I particularly enjoyed the postcards. Shaye.
October 27, 2001
Dear Sylvia. First, I wanted to congratulate and THANK YOU for the
wonderful job you are doing with the Greene Co. genealogical site. I
wish more of them would make such a fine effort in getting data online!!
Second, in your transcription of the Hollister family cemetery, you note
that OSMER HOLLISTER d. 1 OCT 1883 and state this conflicts with Parks'
data which said 1885. Parks is correct, as I have a copy of OSMER's
death certificate which clearly says 1885. Patti Metsch So
corrected. Thanks for the feedback! - SH
October 27, 2001
Sylvia, I enjoyed the page on the Almshouse and David W. Duncan who became
the
Superintendent in 1854 or 1855 as he was my ggrandfather. He was born
in Ireland in 1820 and m. Jane Stewart also from Ireland in 1848 in the
Kiskatom Reformed Church in Kiskatom, N.Y.. David died in 1891 and is buried
in the Cairo Cemetery. There were many Duncans in the Greene County area
some related and some shirttail cousins. Thank You for the
memories. Lois Eastgate
September 14, 2001
Dear Sylvia, I just discovered the Greene County GEN-WEB site. My
Grandfather Lorenzo J Timmerman was the 9th generation of Timmerman's born
in Greene County. His father was Moses Saxe Timmerman. Your web site has
helped me to understand alot of our family history. I also found Angelo
Timmerman in the Jefferson County, my grandfather's favorite uncle. Thank
you for keeping up the site. Tom Smith, Brooklyn. (
A small correction. We are not part of the GEN-WEB project. This site is
completely independent, although it is hosted by rootsweb.)
September 11, 2001
Hi Sylvia, I want to thank
you again for doing such a GREAT job with this list. I remember the days
when the Greene Co. list was less than great and now I think you have
created the very best list out there. I belong to several in LA, VA, WV, KY
and yours is the absolute Best.
Thank you, thank you. Pam
August 28, 2001
Dear Sylvia, thanks for the great web page! It is quite useful for us long lost
decedents of Green County-ers. John Cameron (researching the Perry family
from Athens, Greene County)
May 8, 2001
Sylvia, I thought I would let you know that I have been searching for my
gggrandfather's family for 3 years now and just found him on this web site.
I am so excited I can't tell you.....Professor John Y. Smith, a biography
that was provided by Joyce Riedinger, of Delaware County. John Y.
Smith was my gggrandfather Isaac's brother according to this bio.
Isaac V. Smith was born in 1842 and married Cynthia Coppernoll, who was born
and raised in Cato, Cayuga Co., NY. All of Cynthia's family was in Cayuga
Co. and I couldn't figure out why after they were married in 1865 in Cato,
they went to Greene Co. which I knew from census of my ggrandfather, Arthur
as he stated he was born in Greene county as was his brother.
Isaac died in 1873 and the family bible says he died in Potters Hollow,
Meridien....Meridien is a small town outside of Cato, NY where Cynthia was
from, but no Potters Hollow. Potters Hollow, I had found on a map and
knew it was close to Durham where my ggrandfather and his brother were
baptized. The only reason I could think of that Isaac would go to Greene
county is if he was from there and had family there as most people were
migrating West,
not east as you well know. Anyway I thought I would write and tell you
Thank you for all your hard work and let you know that it helped me
immensely. Thank you, Jodell
May 2, 2001
Happy birthday Greene county web site. It does not
seem like a year. Ii have got so much from this site. Thanks to everyone
for all the hard work it took to make this site what it is today, Silvia
(a true angel), Annett and Barbara, two wonderful ladies that work so hard
and all the people I do not know that work on the site. I hope there will
be many more birthdays. Mark Van Hoesen
May 2, 2001
Hi Sylvia. I had no idea that your
site has been only on the internet 1 year!!! You have accomplished
QUITE alot in such a short time, thank you. HAPPY
BIRTHDAY
Arlene
May 2, 2001
Like to add my Happy Birthday. You have been doing a great job for
those of us with ancestors from Greene Co. Know has been big help to
me. Congrats. Ann Hollenbeck Benham
April 25, 2001
The link to "Tracing Your Roots in Greene Co" has been a bonanza
to me! Annette Campbell deserves recognition for the huge amount of
retyping of records she has done (provided by the Durham Center Museum). The
Borthwick Series of biographies on that website are an invaluable source of
information for Greene County researchers (particularly Durham / Freehold).
With this information, it will be possible for me to actually visit the
locations where my ancestors lived when I travel to Greene County. And, most
of all, thanks to Sylvia Hasenkopf, the Greene County Coordinator. Not only
does she provide us with the links and suggestions, but she has also
transcribed tons of data that is now available to us on the internet. Many
thanks to both of you. After several years of frustrating attempts to find
my ancestors, things are beginning to come together at last! One question:
Will it be possible to view deed or land records eventually on the web, or
is there an index to them? Still Looking for an index
to post to the site. Failing that, a volunteer to begin the transcription
process - SH Judy in Ohio
March 15, 2001
Annette, thanks for the hard work you put into this project. I really enjoy
it. I check the site daily. Keep up the good work. Mark Van Hoesen.
February 16, 2001
Hi, Sylvia, I only discovered the Greene Co. website fairly recently, and I
have to tell you that I love it! I think it's one of the very best around.
Although I've been stuck on some comparitively recent ancestors (two gg
grandfathers), I've finally (after20 years!) begun to find some of their
descendants on this list. Still stuck on my Henry ARMSTRONG, but he was
Dutchess & Tioga Co. Found some of his son's wife's family (wife was
Mary Eliza BAKER), and I'm really gung ho about this site! Please consider
this a HUGE pat on the back!! Barbara Armstrong Cleveland Cofer
P.S. I even found some CLEAVELANDs here!
February 13, 2001
Annette: Just wanted to write and say thanks so much for all your hard
work posting the will extracts on the NYGREENE site. It is a lot
of work. Thanks again Steve von Hitritz
January 23, 2001
Dear Sylvia: This is a success story. I had been looking for William/Wilhem
Miller/Mueller, for many years. Only knew he married Roxana Blakeslee.
Patricia Morrow, the Windham Town Historian answered my query one day saying
she knew who Roxana's parents were because she had done research on one of
Roxana's sisters. So I was able to place Roxana in Windham in 1802. So where
did William Miller come from. I knew from his grave in Oregon, that he had
been born on Sep 5, 1793. Well, last week I was reviewing the will abstracts
you just posted. I came across the extract from Robert Miller's will dated
1842. Several of the names looked familiar. Ira Miller was my William
Miller's son. William Miller is mentioned. Witnesses were Sylvester
Hitchcock, William Miller's brother in law, and Washington Bishop, Roxana's
cousin. I jotted down the family members. I then went to the North
Settlement Cemetery page. Most of the Millers are buried in Row 6. then I
went back to the IGI with what I knew and was able to determine that this
family originally came from Claverack in Colombia Co., IGI filled more
blanks in deaths and births. Then the big moment, I put in Wilhelm Miller's
name in the IGI. To my amazement his exact date of birth was there
only off by one exact year, Sep 5 1792 not 3. That is why I had not seem him
all these years. then just on a whim I put the sames in Rootsweb World
Connect. More good luck, There they were, William Miller's parents, Andreas
Mueller and Regina Baumhauer. I have since been in touch with Ms. Francine
Hart and have filled in even more blanks in the family. My many thanks for a
wonderful web site. Keep posting those will extracts, I am still searching
for Andrew Miller's will between 1842 and 1852. Sincerely, Dr. Stephen von
Hitritz, Richmond, VA
November 20, 2000
To our coordinator (spouse included), to the many assistants and or volunteers that make the Greene County Rootsweb
such a good resource of information. It has been amazing to see how the website has grown. Also to all those who have contributed in one
way or another in the past year to help piece family information back
together. It takes lots of good minds to make the records straight. I look
forward each day to reading the information that flows through this
wonderful means of communication. Phil Delamarter (Mr. "D")
November 19, 2000
I need to commend and thank you for the
extraordinary amount of careful and diligent work you have poured into the
Website and for the generous spirit of cooperation it has seemed to
engender in people. I haven't been at genealogy more than a few
months, but I have posted queries in four countries and in dozens of
places, and I've formed impressions. It's striking that
although I have posted many more messages elsewhere, it is TYRiGC that has
produced the bulk of my responses. It cannot be just
coincidence. Thanks again and all best to you
and your gang, Alec
Sutherland
November 14., 2000
Sylvia, yet another success story has come out of your hard work.
Remember the Van Valkenburgs buried with Van Hoesens at Casper's land (Van
Hoesen Family Cemetery)? Well it turns out that my ggg grandmothers mother
was Christina Van Valkenburg married to William Henry Vandenburg. I was
looking through your site and found a Connelley Van Valkenburg. Sent an
e-mail, got back a response to see the Van Valkenburg web site and found the
new news. You are the best. Thank you, Mark Van Hoesen.
November 13, 2000
I want to thank you for the fantastic job you are doing in developing and
coordinating the Greene Co. web site. You have a great team! I have been
researching my Schermerhorn and Matthews families from Greene Co. for a
number of years without too much success. The site has provided some new
pieces of information and given me some new contacts. July Coy
November 10, 2000
You and your helpers are doing a great job!! Everything about it is
interesting to me but I'm most grateful for the 1787 Coxsackie Tax List. I'm
a direct descendant of Caleb Foster who lived there at that time and am
trying to trace his ancestry. Many Thanks, Shirley Foster Lowe
November 3, 2000
I am originally from Catskill. My visits to your website help me
maintain my personal context. There is always something new and
meaningful that I can relate to. Thank you. John McMenamy in
Maryland.
October 30, 2000
This was my first visit and you and your volunteers have done a terrific
job. I research ASHLEY'S in Greene County and found so many things
that do help. I must add to the other comments that the navigation
on this site is the best I have seen. "April" helped me
last year and I am still plugging along. Many thanks for a super job. Dorothy Humphries
October 21, 2000
Thanks, I just found this site. Grandmother Jane Christian was born in
Prattsville in 1866. I am still looking for more of the Christian Family. Also the Tompkins and Van Deuces of Prattsville. They were not
more than farmers etc. This has given me some dates and info. Good site
thanks. Ann Ashworth
October 20, 2000
I had the opportunity to do a quick genealogical trip through Greene County last October and it was beautiful! Can't wait to go back.
Your site has been so helpful for those of us who live far away. Keep
up the good work. Jane
October 7, 2000
LOVE THIS WEBSITE!! You are doing a very fine job. Eve Grogan.
October 6, 2000
Dear Sylvia, thank you for the information on the East Durham Cemetery. We
are from Las Vegas NV and was doing genealogy family research in Greene
County last week. With your great directions we visited the East Durham
Cemetery and located our relative David Doty there on Stone 4. There is a
Samuel Doty on the back of Stone 4 with the Born date on the stone shown
as September 3,1844. On your web site index for Samuel Doty you show
September 3,1834. You may want to check this out. Thank
you Carole. Made a typo, and it is now corrected. The cemetery
sits in such a wonderful site on the knoll in a most pleasant
surrounding.! We do appreciate your efforts and your web site is a great
help. Keep up the good work. Rex and Carole McKee
September 30, 2000
Hi, Sylvia, Have been doing research for the past 35 years in and about
Greene County. So glad to see that Greene County finally has a great
site up. Thanks. Keep up the good work!!! Barbara Bartley
September 26, 2000
Dear Sylvia, I am from Greene County and am now living in California and
love to refer to your Greene County website. All of you are doing a great
job. As I go from page to page I see people's names that I have known or
their families, or somewhere that I have been . Many of my Duncans
gravesites are mentioned under the listing for the Catskill Cemetery. I am
so anxious for the Greenville Cemetery to be listed and that is where my
parents are buried. The Cairo Cemetery has my family there, too. Keep up the
good work and I will look forward to referring to it each week. Lois
Eastgate.
September 21, 2000
Your web-site is great! I spent a lot of time on it, and plan to go back
often to use it. Good job!! Ruth Ogden
September 19, 2000
Dear Sylvia,
I would like to thank all of the hard work you and your volunteers are doing
in Greene County. I live in a very small town at the foot of the Sierra's on
the east side and with out your info it is very hard for me to obtain
information. I would love to visit your area some day, but that is a big IF. Thank you again, Carmen Marzano
August 7, 2000
You have done a fantastic job on the site and the info is great. Gary Fowks
in Florida.
July 18, 2000
Dear Sylvia, I just visited Greene County webpage. How
wonderful. I would like for you to tell all of the people that have
worked so hard in setting up and giving info and typing like crazy etc. that
I said, "a great big Thank You to all of them". I am really
impressed with what has happened to the Greene County Site! Thank you,
Sharon in WI
July 16, 2000
Thank you for the Van der Zee and Skinner Family Bible, from the Durham Center Museum on the website. You can't imagine how important
this Bible record is. I am a descendant of Albert Bradt, as was the
Vanderzees (the surname adopted by Storm Vanderzee because he was born at
sea on their way to America). The rest of the family adopted the name Bradt.
Cynthia Biasca wrote DESCENDANTS OF ALBERT AND ARENT ANDRIESSEN BRADT in
1990, and the SUPPLEMENT to this book in 1993. The only information
she had was what appears (from this Bible record) to be the wrong year for
Andrew Vanderzee (she has 1776 and the Bible has his complete date, May 22,
1766). So this Bible corrects the year of his birth and adds the day
and month.
The Bible also gives the name of his wife, Jane Ten Eyck, which the Bradt
Books do not have, and the dates of birth for their 8 children. The
Bradt Books give only five children, and just the year of their births and
deaths.
But the most important piece of data, for descendants of the seventh child, Barent, is the fact that he is a documented (by this Bible) son of
Andrew. This is what the Bradt SUPPLEMENT says about Barent:
"Barent is a putative son of Andrew Vanderzee and his wife; his name
and the names of his children suggest this line, but no proof has yet been
obtained. The censuses of 1850 and 1855 give conflicting ages for
Barent and Laura but the 1819 date of birth for Laura is supported by the
1860 census." (SUPPLEMENT TO BRADT BOOK, p.43.)
With your publication of this BIBLE, Barent is no longer just the
putative son of Andrew Vanderzee and an unknown wife, but the documented son
of Andrew and Jane. The "proof has ... been obtained."
The Bible also gives Barent's birth and death dates -- rather than
"b. Betw. 1810 and 1820, d. betw. 1855 and 1860." The dates
(from the Bible) are: b. Dec. 22, 1818, d. Dec. 19, 1857.
Sylvia, I have a double cousin (we share Bradt and Rowe ancestry) who has
done extensive genealogical research, and I'm sure she does not know of the
existence of this Bible. She descends from Barent, who will no longer
just be the PUTATIVE son of Andrew. I'm sure she will be thrilled to
know that she is a "legitimate Bradt/Vanderzee".
By the way, a total of 66 Bradt cousins retraced our ancestors trip to America, in reverse, by going to Holland and Norway a couple of summers ago.
We will have our 4th Bradt reunion in Albany next summer.
This was a real success story for us Bradt/Vanderzees. And I thank you
for us all. Robert A. Rowe
July 14, 2000
I've just been to the Greene Co. website for the first time, and am thrilled
by it. I haven't yet found my people there, but have a feeling that I may
soon! Barbara Armstrong Cleveland Cofer
July 12, 2000
I keep finding more missing pieces as the Greene County Website continues to
grow. Mr. "D"
July 2, 2000
Dear Sylvia, What an impressive web site! I have hope now of finding an
elusive ancestor's family. Please place the following in your Roll Call
section. Thank you very much. Louise Ward
June 22, 2000
Hi Annette, Just wanted to tell you I enjoyed the Brandow Gallery you posted
to Greene County site. The only one I had in my files for Jacob &
Maria Bogardus was their daughter Annaetje (Hannah) Bogardus who married
Petrus (Peter) Brandow. This was a nice addition, especially with the
pictures. Nice Job! Also, the same day the West Kill Cemetery was
listed and #7 is Triphena Ford, my 3rd great grandmother. Her maiden
name isn't noted, but as soon as I saw the name, I knew it was her, w/o William Davis. He's buried in
Windham, so now I know where she is. Plus, I found 6 other relatives
buried there and a possible 2 others who might also be related. It was
an exciting day for the family tree.
June 21, 2000
I saw the page you made on the Pierce cemetery, and it was the first time I
found where my ancestors are buried. (Patience Pierce and family.) I want to
thank you for putting the information out there, and especially the picture.
That really adds interest. Ann Merritt
June 19, 2000
Thanks again. This Greene County list is something special. Pat in
Oregon
June 19, 2000
And a really big thank you for starting this web page. What a delight to
finally have some info to work with. I'm out in California and its been
really hard to get to any records on Greene County. I've been working on my
roots for over 20 years now and have always been disappointed with what was
available. There is hope now that I will finally be able to extend my roots a little deeper. Keep up the good work. I really
envy you the ability to walk thru those cemeteries, flies and all. Marion Douglas
June 15, 2000
Let me commend you and the other volunteers on the great job you have been
doing with the Greene County site. It is incredible, the amount of
information you already have on line. Doug Boyer, Coordinator Schoharie Co
GenWeb
June 8, 2000
I am amazed at the amount of materials that Annette and Sylvia and her team have put onto the Greene County Website "Tracing Your Roots in
Greene County" since its start on May 1, 2000! I personally appreciate
it since I have some searching to do in Greene County - also since I have
coordinated the Delaware County website since September of 1996, I KNOW how
much work goes into it. Thank you Annette and Sylvia - AND keep up the great
work! Joyce Riedinger Delaware County Listowner and Greene County
Listowner
June 8, 2000
Hi Sylvia, The website is terrific.....you all are doing such a great job! Thank you, Jane Quirk
May 24, 2000
For the last few years, I have been working with Ruthe
White, Bea
McManis, and others to place William Drake -- who md. Eunice
Helme and was father of (among others) three pioneers of Genesee Co., NY --
among the many William Drakes who lived in New York State ca.1750-1850. After much frustration and many dead ends, I'm pleased to report that this
William is William4 Drake (in the line of John3 and Christina Kermer, John2
and Martha Oldfield, Jesayas1 and Aeltje Adams Brouwer Drake), b. May 04,
1758, bapt. August 31, 1760, Dutch Ref. Ch., Smithfield, Northampton, PA, d.
June 18, 1828, aged 70y 1m 14d, bd. First Gayhead Cemetery, Ira Vail Road,
Cairo, Greene, NY. This places him in the family of Drakes that
resided at various times during the 17th-18th Centuries in Brooklyn, Queens,
Orange, Dutchess, Albany, Ulster, and Genesee Counties (NY) and in
Smithfield (now Stroudsberg), Northampton (now Monroe), PA. And links
him to the English, Dutch, and French Drake wives' families in this line
(e.g., Grassett, Oldfield, Kermer, Verdon, Brouwer).
While I have not yet posted (nor do I have) info on all of the siblings in
this line, I have now posted the following:
-- a description
of the line and the original analysis of the many Wm Drakes in
NYS ca1750-1850, -- a GED2HTML web
tree of this Drake line,
-- a photo
of William's son John Drake (my 4th gt grandfather), and
-- key
sources on this line of Drakes.
This "Drake-through," was based on a tombstone transcription for
William and his wife, Eunice Helme Drake in the First Gayhead Cemetery,
Greene Co., NY. Many thanks to
Sylvia Hasenkopf for this transcription and her excellent Greene
County site!
Unlike the Drakes of CT, the Drakes of NY, PA, and NJ still have no
authoritative history/genealogy and much misinformation about them remains
in circulation (e.g., the erroneous identification of John2 Drake's wife as
Magdalena Brouwer, instead of his actual wife, Martha Oldfield). This
"Drake-thru" places the William who was left unplaced by Bennett
& White, in their excellent 1971 NYGBR article on the Helmes family, and
by Frank Doherty
in his hallmark work on the settlers of the Beekman Patent, Dutchess County,
NY.
I invite you to check out the pages above and welcome corrections,
additions, questions, etc. from any and all interested folks interested in
these Drakes. I also welcome hearing from anyone with info on this
line, and especially any info that:
-- contradicts or supports this identification of William;
-- pertains to William and Eunice's children (i.e., John who md. Clarissa
Worth, Samuel who md. Sylvia Thorn, Jessamine who md. Mary ?, James who md.
Hannah Blackmore, Mary "Polly" who md. Silas Bullock, Claudius who
md. Lydia Brewster, Ransom who md. Loretta Jump, Susan who md. Moses Cooke,
Catherine who md. Horace Jump, and Joseph -- about whom I have no marriage
info but whom I assume died s.p., since he alone was buried with his
parents) and their descendants;
-- documents the ancestry of Christina Kermer, wife of John3 (John2,
Jesayas1) Drake;
-- documents the death of John3 Drake -- bef. Feb 06, 1779 and probably in
PA;
-- fleshes out the migrations of John3 from Queens Co., NY (where he was
born in 1722) to Smithfield, PA (where he md in 1749) to Long Island (where
his son Samuel was supposedly born in 1753) back to Smithfield (where his
sons Wm4 and Jesse were bapt. in 1760) to Damascus, Wayne, PA (where his
kids Benjamin and Elizabeth were born in 1766 and 1767) to ___, where he
died;
-- fleshes out the migrations of William4, from ___ (where he was b. 1758),
to Smithfield, PA (where he was baptized in 1760), to Dutchess County (where
son John was b. 1781), to Greene Co (where some books list his sons Samuel
and James as being born in 1783 and 1786), to Catskill Town, Albany, NY
(where he is prob the Wm Drake listed in the 1790 Census), to ____, Greene
Co., NY (where he shows up in the 1800 and 1810 Censuses) to Cairo, Greene,
NY (where he appears in the 1820 Census), to the Cairo, Greene Co., NY
(where he was buried in 1828); and
-- fleshes out William4's land transactions.
Many thanks to all of the correspondents (including members of DRAKE-L,
GREENE-L, DUTCHESS-L, etc.) who've helped piece this together. Best regards,
Michael mboleary@mit.edu
May 23, 2000
Sylvia, thank you for giving of your time to make such a nice site possible.
I visit the site daily and get so much from it. My family came to this area
from Columbia county as early as 1795 purchasing land along with Samuel Van
Vechten at Greens Lake. From 1645-1942 my family lived in the area
working the land fighting to protect the land they so loved and no matter
where they where when god came for them their bodies were laid to rest in
the Hudson Valley. I only hope that someday I can go and lay a flower at all
my ancestors graves but until that day your site provides a connection to
the area and for this I thank you and all others that make this site
possible. Mark van Hoesen mlm1@ix.netcom.com
May 22, 2000
Hi Sylvia, What a great job you and your team are doing with this site! I
look forward to my regular visits,- there are always new tidbits.
Keep up the good work! Thank you, Jane Quirk
May 14, 2000
Your site is a visual delight as well as a fountain of great information. My
heartiest congratulations. Janet Newman
May 12, 2000
Hi Sylvia and Listers, Here are two Adams g.s. records from Stone Bridge
Cemetery in Durham. This cemetery seems to be the same one as Meeting
House Hill. This copied from a book I presume. Died 16 May 1832 Joseph Adams
in his 94th year. Charity, consort of Joseph d. Nov 22, 1801 aged 46 years.
Think this is likely to be valid. St.Pauls Lutheran at West Camp lists 1796:
Joseph Adams and wife Charity Hill (who confessed to the Cof E) had their 6
children baptized. There probably are many more stones recorded during the twenties when many
cemeteries were read (though not by the high standards that prevail today).
Many of these lists were photocopied by the LDS and/or were printed in NYGB
Record. Might catch some stones that has disappeared. You are doing great
work rereading the stones. Janet Newman The Stone Bridge Cemetery in
Durham is a completely different cemetery than Meeting House Hill Cemetery.
They are about 3 miles distant from one another. Stone Bridge Cemetery is on
the list for transcription this summer, so the whereabouts of the duo, Charity
and Joseph, may yet be solved. Sylvia Hasenkopf
May 12, 2000
Sylvia, In the Acra Cem. #82 there is listed :
William Wallace d. Mar 18, 1818 1m 16d son of Cornelius A &
Catherine A. Lee. That is wrong. Cornelius was b. 1822 Catherine b.
1825 and they married 1847. Thought I'd let you know, April Saccoccio. Thanks
April. Went back to the Acra Cemetery today (May 13, 2000), and verified that
the date of death should read 1848 NOT 1818. The stone is quite weathered, and
made the 4 and the 1 appear to be the same. The main listing is corrected.
Feedback like this is crucial and much appreciated. Sylvia
Hasenkopf.
May 11, 2000
I am delighted to see this website. The format is great and easy to use. I
especially appreciate the highlighted new contents, as I plan to revisit this
site again and again. John McMenamy
May 9, 2000
It's always a treat to see a new site develop, and one thing I especially like
about this one is the list of all the town clerks, their addresses and phone
numbers, and a rough idea as to the timeframes of their record holdings. This
was a terrific idea on someone's part, and I hope that other county sites will
emulate it. Also, I look forward to seeing the timeframe information filled in
for the Town of Ashland, once home to some of my ancestors. Thanks to everyone
for all you've done so far! Ed Kohinke We are
awaiting this information from the Town Clerk, who was, unfortunately, in a
car accident. As soon as we receive it, we'll post it! Sylvia Hasenkopf
May 6, 2000
I have been working diligently with Michael O'Leary in trying to unravel
our Drake roots. Your site has provided much needed and appreciated
information, and I personally want to thank you for your hard work. Will look forward
to other additions to the site. Thank you. Ruthe White
May 5, 2000
Just found the new site
and am very pleased. Found a lady who apparently has same lines of
research as myself, plus we share a mutual "long distance" cousin.
You and the other researchers did a nice job on the site and there is lots of
room to grow. More people are looking for their roots, and so many have
ties to Greene County. Thanks to you and the others for the hard work of
getting the new site up and running. Best regards, Claudia Bellas.
May 4, 2000
Hi Sylvia, What an improvement to the Greene County list. all those cemetery
records on line, have been looking them over today.... found one Taylor so far.
God Bless you and all your helpers. Thanks to all for doing this.
Charlotte
May 4, 2000
I'm not sure when your site went live (just 5-1?), but it's wonderful and your
reply on Greene-L regarding the Allerton Cemetery has provided me with the data
needed to end a two year-long string of bad luck trying to find "my"
William Drake (1st Gayhead Cem). I cannot thank you enough!! The site looks
great and is full of very useful info! Thanks and congrats on a fantastic job.
Regards, Michael
May 3, 2000
Hello Sylvia and Team,
I am thrilled to see the team of workers and contributors of material
that you have assembled for this new Greene County website. You all have certainly put in a lot of work to get off to such a great start.
The site is great looking, clean and easy to navigate. Thank you! Joyce Riedinger