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Archiver > GEN-NYS > 1999-03 > 0921105217


From: Kelvin Kean <>
Subject: Re: UPSTATE NEW YORK
Date: Wed, 10 Mar 99 17:33:37 -0500


Mary Grindol noted...

>The New England Historic Genealogical Society which has been doing
>business for over 150 years has a handbook called GENEALOGIST'S HANDBOOK
>FOR NEW ENGLAND RESEARCH, second edition (1985). The states that are
>included are:
>Connecticut
>Maine
>Massachusetts
>New Hampshire
>Rhode Island
>Vermont

Mary and the NEHGS are indeed correct. But for those of us who are
geographically challenged, it's terribly important to remember that much
of New York State, especially the part variously called "Upstate", was
settled by people from New England, not just the Hudson River Dutch. In
fact that settlement is what underlies the continuing dichotomy between
the two parts of New York, Upstate and Downstate. Upstate is was peopled
by the descendents of the original settlers of the Hudson River Valley
north of New York City, and Downstate, what was originally New Amsterdam
and Long Island, was peopled by a mix of people including the Dutch and
also many people from New England who came south across the Sound. Even
the northern half of Westchester County, the quintessential suburban
county just north of New York City, was settled mostly by folks from
Connecticut who couldn't obtain enough farm land in what is now Fairfield
County, Connecticut. In short, understanding the differences between
Upstate and Downstate can be very helpful, if you're not sure where your
ancestors may have originated. And in Westchester, there are even
distinct differences in the origins of the original families to specific
towns in Connecticut. It pays to know where to look.

Kelvin Kean
Elverson, Pennsylvania

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