Read Me First ...basic info about the Surname Index
In January 2012 we began an ongoing project to create a surname index for the content of our Museum.
Our museum has a great collection of documents, in addition to artifacts, related to the history of the Town of Gorham. Although our content is filed in an orderly fashion, it is not easy for volunteers to assist researchers interested in a specific surname. A central surname index of our content will be a great benefit to both researchers and our volunteers.
What is an index?
An index is an ordered list containing limited information, with reference to resources for further study. An index usually contains only a small subset of the information that is contained in the original document. One of the Golden Rules of research is to always use an index to find and review the original document. Do not be content with findings in an index.
How is the Surname Index structured?
The index is sorted alphabetically by surname. Within surname it is sorted by first name. Each record contains the following fields of data:
Item
# Item
# is used to order copies, see How
to Order Copies
Surname
Surname or last name of the individual referenced
First
Middle If
indicated, the first name and/or middle name will be given.
Maiden
Married
For adult females, when indicated, maiden names and other
married names are
included. When it is
likely that a name is a maiden name, it is
enclosed in
parentheses. Females, when
possible, are indexed multiple
times under
all known surnames.
Birth
Yr If
indicated, year of birth.
Marriage
Yr If
indicated, year of marriage.
Death
Yr
If indicated, year of death.
Event Yr If indicated, year of an event other than birth, marriage, or death.
Year Notes:
- The year of birth, marriage, death, and event are included when known to help the researcher identify the individual’s timeframe. The index only includes a 4 digit year even when the source document indicates the month and day as well.
- Years may be given as a range. Usually this is done in the case of multiple events.
- Years may be preceded by “ca.” for circa which means approximate or calculated.
V=Veteran If indicated, military service. May include code for a war such as:
VRW Revolutionary War V1812 War of 1812 VCW Civil War VWWI World War I VWWII World War II VKW Korean War VVN Viet Nam WarRepos. Repository where document is stored. Repositories include:
TGHS for Town of Gorham Historical Society Museum
FS for Family Search at
www.familysearch.org
HQ for Heritage Quest, a database offered by participating libraries. If your local library does not offer Heritage Quest, www.familysearch.org or www.ancestry.com offer comparable content.
NYGRDI for New York Genealogical Death Index (1957-1963) at https://health.data.ny.gov/Health/Genealogical-Research-Death-Index/vafa-pf2s
TGHSYCB2 for Town of Gorham Historical Society/Yates County Binder 2. Our museum has a copy of Yates County Cemeteries and Cemetery Burials, Book Two: Italy, Middlesex, Potter and Rushville compiled by Frances Dumas and Sherry Conybearer, ©1997. This book can be purchased at the Yates County History Center Museum Shop or at http://www.yatespast.com/shop.html. The content of this volume can be accessed at http://www.yatescounty.org/upload/12/historian /CemHeader.htm.
Source Source document within the repository
Location or ID Page number or other pointer to the specific location of a reference
Is all the information in our index correct? Is all the information in our source documents correct?
The answer to both questions is “of course not.” We’ve worked hard to provide an accurate index to our content, but undoubtedly there will be some errors. Our documents, likewise, will contain some errors or inconsistencies. You, the researcher, must evaluate the content and quality of all evidence that you discover.
Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to research and verify the documentation in our museum. We are “just” indexing our content and we hope this effort will be beneficial for your research.
Can the Town of Gorham Historical Society research my family?
We would love to, but we just do not have resources to research individual families for fee or free. The following organizations have directories of genealogists organized by specialties and geographic location:
Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), http://www.apgen.org/directory/index.html
Board
for
Certification of Genealogists (BCG), http://www.bcgcertification.org/associates/index.php
International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen), http://www.icapgen.org/icapgen/aglist