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From: "Bill & Cathy McGrath" <>
Subject: Re: [Rensselaer] TIGS Renns. County Marriage Index
Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2006 07:25:09 -0400
References: <225.6fde53c.31de1cb8@aol.com>


Good Morning Fred:

All the information you are interested in (marriage years, address of County
Clerk, how to get copies, etc.) is covered in the following message.

Regards,

Bill McGrath
Clifton Park, NY

ANNOUNCING NEW DATABASE:
MARRIAGE INDEX FOR
RENSSELAER COUNTY, NEW YORK

In addition to the Troy Irish Genealogy Society mailing list, this message
is also being sent to the following genealogy mailing lists:

MAILING LIST COVERS
Rensselaer County List - Research in Rensselaer County.
Albany County List - Research in Albany County.
Schenectady County List - Research in Schenectady County.
Saratoga County List - Research in Saratoga County.
Genealogy NYS List - Research in New York State.
Chenango County List - Research in Chenango County.
NY-Hudson River List - Research in counties bordering
Hudson River;
(Rockland, Orange,
Ulster, Greene, Albany,
Rensselaer,
Columbia, Dutchess, Putnam
Westchester) &
Schenectady County.
NY-RollCall List - Research on New York State
kin.
NY-Mohawk Valley List - Research in Mohawk Valley Region
of NYS, covers
Albany, Fulton,
Herkimer, Madison,
Montgomery,
Oneida, Otsego,
Schenectady &
Schoharie Counties.
NY-WarWashSar List - Research in Warren, Washington and
Saratoga Counties.
NYC-Roots List - Research in New York City.
New York List - Research in New York State
where County is unknown.
Irish-NY-Troy List - Research of Irish Ancestry in
City of Troy, Rensselaer
County, New York.
NY-Irish List - Research on Irish
immigrants who landed, lived in
or passed through
New York State.
NY-Southern List - Research in Southern counties
of New York,
covers Broome,
Bronx, Columbia,
Delaware,
Dutchess, Greene, Kings,
Nassau, New York,
Orange, Queens,
Putnam, Richmond,
Rockland, Suffolk,
Sullivan,Tioga,
Ulster & Westchester
Columbia County List - Research in Columbia County




A. The message can be forwarded to other lists where you feel it would be
appropriate. If posted to any other lists, please copy:


B. The largest project the Troy Irish Genealogy Society has undertaken so
far is the automation of the Rensselaer County Marriage Index. This 10
Volume Marriage Index of Rensselaer County marriages, from 1908 to 1935, has
over 60,000 names. Volume I, with its 5,000 marriages and 10,000 names was
the initial step of this major project and is now available on the TIGS
website.

C. You can view these marriage records by going to the Troy Irish Genealogy
website at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nytigs/ and click on TIGS PROJECTS
and then click on TIGS Projects In The Works. It should be noted that these
records, like most of the TIGS data series, cover the general population in
the area and are NOT restricted to Irish surnames.

D. If you are researching relatives with a RENSSELAER COUNTY, NY area
connection, you will be interested in this new on-line, name searchable,
data base of 10,000 names of local residents who were married in Rensselaer
County, New York. If you live in a nearby county or even further away, you
might want to check out the data base. There are also marriages in the data
base where both individuals lived in Albany County or other nearby counties,
and where some individuals lived in other states, especially Massachusetts
and Vermont, or even foreign countries. One record even was for a bride
and groom who both lived in Pennsylvania. You may even find earlier
marriages that you were unaware of. Take a look at the data base, you never
know what you will find.

E. In order to appreciate the marriage index on the TIGS website, you need
an understanding of the set up of the Marriage Index book at the County
Clerk's Office. All marriages, along with complete detailed information on
the bride and groom and their parents, were first entered into the Record of
Marriages Book. Brides and Grooms names were then posted to the Marriage
Index Book which served as a locating device to find the complete record in
the Record of Marriages Book itself. Without the Marriage Index, you could
not locate a name in the Record of Marriages Book. The Marriage Index Book
has SEPARATE pages of data for Brides and SEPARATE pages of data for Grooms.
For example, for the letter "A", there is a page of Brides names beginning
with "A" and ANOTHER page of Grooms names beginning with the letter "A".
The data on each page is limited to the first and last name, a page
reference number, a marriage license number and the date of the marriage.
The name of the SPO!
USE is NOT shown in the index. The only linkage to the spouse in the
Marriage Index is the marriage number.

F. The TIGS data base has greatly improved the usefulness of the Marriage
Index as follows:

1. By using the marriage number, the TIGS Marriage Index now links the
names of the brides AND the grooms on ONE LINE of data, thus providing a
much more useful research tool.

2. Some entries in the Record of Marriages Book were never posted to the
Marriage Index Book. These missing records were identified by TIGS workers
and added to the TIGS Marriage Index.

3. A number of records in the Marriage Index showed only INITIALS for
either the bride or the groom. In many cases TIGS workers were able to
determine the ACTUAL names from the original source documents and added them
to the TIGS data base.

4. Several records for grooms names were originally posted to the brides
pages of the Marriage Index Book and a number of brides names were posted to
the grooms pages of the Marriage Index Book. TIGS workers corrected these
errors in developing the TIGS index.

5. A number of transcribing errors when the Marriage Index Book was
created were discovered by TIGS workers and corrected.

6. Last but not least, the TIGS Marriage Index is in strict alphabetical
order unlike the original index. For example, on the original index, you
may have four or more pages of Grooms names all beginning with the first two
letters "Ma" and in no order whatsoever.

G. In using the TIGS Marriage Index data base, keep in mind the following:

1. Handwriting in some cases was very difficult to read and there could
be some problems with spelling.

2. At times, the original posting to the Marriage Index Book showed the
marriage filing data instead of the date of the marriage.

3. Remember, the TIGS index is a transcription of the Marriage Index Book
and NOT the Record of Marriages Book itself. It is always possible that the
original source documents, the Affidavit For License To Marry, the
Certificate And Record of Marriage and the Certificate of Consent, (for
minors), were not posted correctly to the Record of Marriages Book, or that
entries in the Record of Marriages Book were not posted correctly to the
Marriage Index Book, or that TIGS transcribers misread the handwriting. If
there is a question on any entry, the actual source documents at the County
Clerk's Office would have to be referenced.

The TIGS website has a PRINTABLE FORM that can be used to request copies of
the above documents from the Rensselaer County Clerk's Office. Mailing
instructions and fees are on the request form.

H. An example of two entries in the Record of Marriages Book is shown on
the TIGS website:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nytigs/ Click on PROJECTS, then click on TIGS
PROJECTS IN THE WORKS and then click "See Sample Record". The following
information for the bride and the groom is shown in the Record of Marriages
Book and in the primary source documents:

1. Name.
2. Residence.
3. Occupation.
4. Birthplace.
5. Color.
6. Age.
7. Number of Marriage. (first, second, etc.)
8. If widowed or Divorced, Where & When.
9. Father's Name and Birthplace.
10. Mother's Name and Birthplace.
11. Consent By & Relationship (For Minors)
12. Date of License.
13. Date of Marriage.
14. Place of Marriage.
15. Official Performing Marriage & Profession. (Priest, Minister, Rabbi,
etc)
16. Names of Witnesses.

I. The original pages of the Marriage Index Book were scanned by TIGS
members. The resulting pdf files were then sent to the volunteers working
on the project as an attachment to an email, along with an Excel spreadsheet
for data entry. This extensive data base was made possible by the following
volunteers who did a fantastic job on Volume I., the initial phase of this
project. Please note that we had volunteers from all over the United States
and even up into Canada.

Kay Brearton - Wynantskill, New York
Linda Christian-Herot - Newton, Massachusetts
Penny Christopher - Melrose, New York
Bill Delaney - California
Lynn Carey Grice - New Paltz, New York
Joan Howe - Iowa
Jeanne Keefe - Troy, New York
Stephanie Kinney-Dewey - Logan, Ohio
Marilyn Mahoney - Arlington, Massachusetts
Bob McConihe - Haverhill, Massachusetts
Cathy & Bill McGrath - Clifton Park, New York
James L. Owens, Rockville, Maryland
Jayne Paradis - Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Carol Schrom - Troy, New York
Barbara Skerritt - South Carolina
Lizette Strait - New York State
Janice Sullivan - Clifton Park, New York
Lori Taylor-Blitz - Escanaba, Michigan
Susan Toomy Russell - Georgia
Pam Trudeau - Advance, North Carolina
Carol Waldron - Saratoga Springs, New York
Eileen Callahan Werth - Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
Valerie Werth - Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
Donna Vaughn, New York State

J. We invite you to explore the TIGS website where you will find local
history articles, resources and genealogy research tips as well as a number
of free data bases. The TIGS mailing list, which is also free, is ideal for
posting your Troy area genealogy queries. There are also some interesting
photographs on the TIGS website from our group tours of the Gardner Earl
Memorial Chapel at Oakwood Cemetery, the Burden Iron Works Museum and the
Watervliet Arsenal Museum. To see these photographs click on "NEXT" on the
first page of the website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nytigs/ and then click
on "TOURS" on the left side of the next screen. Also, you can search your
surnames in the following additional records transcribed by TIGS members and
other volunteers. These data bases are part of a continuing effort by the
Troy Irish Genealogy Group to make available on line, Troy and other nearby
area records, that may be of interest to genealogy researchers, especially
those outside !
the Capital Area.

Burden Iron Company Steam Mill Payroll Records. (8,236 names)
Troy Area Marriage Records. (1,448 names)
Troy Area Death Records. (6,031 names)
Index-History of the Troy Police Department. (668 names)
Bank Officers in Troy Banks From 1801-1891. (299 names)
Prominent Citizens of Troy, NY & Rensselaer County. (1,800 names)
Representative Young Irish-Americans of Troy, NY - 1899 (400 names)
Deceased Troy, NY Area Individuals Listed in 1902 City Directory (700
names)
Alderman/Assistants In Troy, NY (1,400 names)

K. The next step in the Marriage Index Project will be Volume II, which is
another 5,000 records and 10,000 names. Volume II covers Rensselaer County
marriages from April 23, 1913 to June 17, 1918. (Note: There will be a few
records in Volume II with dates prior to April 23, 1913). If you want to be
added to the list of volunteer transcribers, send an email off list to:
with your name, address and telephone number. You will
be contacted when work on Volume II starts in a few months time.

L. TIGS would like to hear from you if this marriage index was helpful in
your family research.

Regards,

Bill McGrath
TIGS Project Coordinator
Clifton Park, NY






----- Original Message -----
From: <>
To: <>
Sent: Thursday, July 06, 2006 3:58 AM
Subject: Re: [Rensselaer] TIGS Renns. County Marriage Index


> Do You have an email address for the marriages of your county? What
> years
> does it
> cover ? Thank you Fred
>
>
> ==== NYRENSSE Mailing List ====
> Add you name to the Rensselaer County Surname Registry
> http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyrenss2/Surnames.html
>


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