Fulton History Newspaper Database Gets Major Media Recognition
April 7th, 2008 | Author: richhill
Readers of this Upstate New York Genealogy Blog will remember that we have written several times about one of our favorite people, Mr. Tom Tryniski, who publishes the fabulous collection of newspapers on-line for free at www.fultonhistory.com.
Now the Fulton History website has just received mass media recognition in today’s Syracuse Post-Standard newspaper. The article will give you some idea of the enormity of this growing collection that has always been available on the Internet for free!
Tom now covers newspapers from Albany to Buffalo and he is branching out North and South. One of the latest additions is the collection of 72 rolls of newspapers on microfilm from Amenia in Dutchess county, New York.
Congratulations Tom on some well deserved attention!
Read the Post-Standard article here: http://tinyurl.com/3zho7r
Dick Hillenbrand
Read our two previous Blogs about fultonhistory at:
http://ny-genes.blogspot.com/2006/03/oswego-county-newspapers-and-more-on.html and here:
http://ny-genes.blogspot.com/2006/11/wwwfultonhistorycom-damaged-upstate-new.html
Read some of our previous most popular Blogs on other subjects below:
New York State Vital Records -
Revolutionary War Patriot or Loyalist -
Palatine DNA Project -
Visit our main website at www.unyg.com
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Put a saucer under the cup, because there is more to come. Read the Post-Standard news article about his site.
LOL. I may have to use a bowl to hold the cup overflow. That is a great site and I’m looking forward to using it again when I get back to the Garbinski research. You know, from census reports alone, there would have been no indication that Tom Garbinski owned a tavern. It took the newspaper stories about him and Prohibition and raids by the government that was listed in the newspapers to round out his life.
He is almost fully “fleshed” now.
Shirley
Dick: with respect, I found that site to be distracting…and any newspapers I inquired of ? well, they did not go any further back then 1893.
Thanks so much for passing along this site. Achieved success last night and look forward to further serching today.
Dianne
WOW Dick!!! I found 2 articles on my great aunt Nellie Phoenix winning a prize for naming a new drink and most of all–and article on my great grandfatherr Walter Phoenix , that confirms the story that he always wore a goatee due to a terrible accident in Canestota NY the silver factory that made a mess of his chin and looked so bad that he wore a goatee to cover til the day he died!!! He has that goatee in dozens of old photos that I have. I know it must be my ggf because it mentions his being a gifted flutist.
Now–HOW do I print them? I am sure I have done this before but I can’t find the tools to do it after I blow it up enough to read it!!! I copied the directions off the site but can’t find the necessary tools or a print bar. I have Acrobat 7. Any hints would be greatly appreciated.
Barb in CT
To Duane,
Oh, such a shame. I’ve had thousands of hits since fultonhistory went line. I learned more about my family and ancesters through this newspaper site, then I knew in real life!
Dee
Hi,
Where Do I click, please use words I would understand! (smile) Thank you, Duane
To duane,
Click “Enter” and that takes you to a search box for the newspapers. After you get into the newspapers, the glitzy stuff goes away.
It took me awhile, but I finally found the newspapers, and what a find it was! I felt like I was reliving my grandmother’s life! She was a joiner, so in the paper a lot for various different organizations.
Barbara
This site has been a life saver for me. I use it
almost everyday. The site helped me to find my an
obituary for a relative I have been looking for for
years. I found it in an Albany newspaper even though
the death occurred in Fulton County.
Don’t give up on learning how to use the site. If you
put the name you are looking for in quotes it helps.
Try different combinations.
I know what you mean but there is so much info out there, it’s worth it.
Periodically, I go back and look some more. Just last week I found ads for
the minstrel show that my grandfather was a headliner for (the show was in
Poughkeepsie although he was from Cooperstown), as well as to a reference to
his entrepreneurial and artistic nature – he was selling sketches of the
accused murderer in a trial in Cooperstown for a quarter apiece, outside the
courthouse.
You never know what you’re going to get.
Max
Hi Dick,
I have to give you and Mr. Tryniski a very big THANK YOU! I went to the website, paid no attention to the glitzy side of the webpage and entered only my search information on the left hand side. With the exception of a few obits, various census and other impersonal records obtained via the Internet over the years I knew very little about my mother’s side of the family (long story). Through
the http://www.fultonhistory.com website I found so many snippets of information in one afternoon…even a couple of full length articles regarding now deceased family members. It did take a while to look through everything – but well worth it!
For example, prior to my mother’s birth her own mother and older sister (who was an infant at the time) were rescued early one morning by fireman via a ladder up to the 2nd or 3rd floor when their building had a big fire. I never heard my mother mention this story so perhaps she was never told about it…
Two of my great aunts had a double wedding in 1919…
In 1914 or so, my great grandfather went to the police station and had a warrant put out on a young (gentle)man for abduction. Apparently, one of his daughters (another great aunt of mine) went off with this young man. She was 15 and he was perhaps 10 years or so older than she. The two ended up marrying each other at some point in time so I guess the issue was moot…or is that why they married? LOL!
Multiple references to my aunt for singing at various community/church/social events when she was a teenager. One included my mother singing with her…I know they both had beautiful voices – my aunt was a mezzo soprano (I think), and my mother had the most fabulous tone to her very low alto voice…which I sort of inherited
My grandfather won some sort of “speed walking” race. He clocked in a few miles under 200 in 36 hours. Another time, he and a bunch of his friends were arrested and charged with gambling…in his apartment (the same one where the fire took place later on).
Other snippets include vacation returns, school awards, community involvement activities and multiple obits for people who may or may not have been related to my family but who had either the same surnames or if not, who came from the same remote comune in otherwise little heard of Basilicata region of Italy.
Sorry this was so long. Just want folks to know they should check out the link…Granted, by entering only a surname – hundreds (even thousands) of articles can come up which will take forever to look through. Use your head, if you enter only a surname then narrow down the results by clicking on only those articles that fit a more specific criteria such as by date or location or whatever…kind of hard to explain.
But do check it out. Thanks again Dick. By the way, do you have any relatives in western MA? My paternal aunt is married to a Dick Hillenbrand.
Sincerely,
Michelle
Michelle,
Thanks so much for such an excellent report!
As to my HILLENBRAND ancestors, I would not be closely related to any modern day HILLENBRANDs in america, because my grandfather was the only son of an only son. Use the search box on this Blog and enter the word Markelsheim to read about it.
unyg
Dick, thank you so much for the lead on the newspaper database. I’ve been
glued to it for two days, finding numerous valuable articles on both my
husband’s and my own lines. Thank you again, Virginia
Virginia,
I am amazed everry time I use the site! I keep finding things I would have never known about.
Thanks for the feedback.
unyg
I found the database very interesting and found articles about my
ancestor. Unfortunately the page of the newspaper had only the month
and day at the top of it, the year must have been on the next page. I
was totally unable to figure out how to view the next page. Do you know
how to do that? Thanks for your help.
Carol
Each scanned image has a file number at the end of it. Just go back to the search box and enter that exact long number with just one number more or less at the end and it will take you to the page before, or the page after. So you will be entering just an image number in the search box instead of the normal name.
That should do it. That comes about not from the scanning process, but from poor quality control of the original microfilming company.
unyg
thanks, I must have been tired last night. Usually I can figure these things out. I agree, the papers are hard to read.
Carol,
Better you should ask Tom from his website. He is real good about answering questions and I would only be guessing.
If someone died about 1820 probably Greene Co NY or maybe Albany Co NY where or what newspaper should I look for? I’d like to find an obit for a Phillip Terry. Thanks. M.E.
This is where I would go to start looking.
http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/nysnp/
UNYG
When you are viewing an image at fultonhistory.com, if you then hover the cursor over the various icons that display along the top, the leftmost cursor will say ‘print’. Click that and it will ask you which printer you want to print to. Most people will have just one printer attached.
Hope this helps -
Russ
I have been using the Fulton History site for a couple of years now and
usually find what I’m looking for…and more! I love it and have spent
hours doing searches. Thank you Tom for your hard work!
Paulette
I also have looked up some great articles on my 2nd and 3rd great
grandfathers on the Case side, however I haven’t figured out how to print the
information. Can anyone give me some hints, please. thanks, Carole
I highlight the text I want, and copy it into an email, then send it to myself……….works great
I use the clip board- minimize & put it on Word …then go back and get the date & publication for my source…etc ..put that on Word and then either save or print
Marilynn
I live in the UK and was recently helped in searching your census and was
given this Fulton History site. On searching have found quite a few members
of my HEDLEY family, one being a famous Opera Singer and teacher of music,
also marriage announcements and deaths.
Truly great site
Regards
Patricia Hedley
Patricia,
Very nice to hear from you and to have the feedback. It really helps to put meat on the bones with the newspaper articles.
There is also a lot of free help on our main website as well as older messages on the Blog site. Glad to have you as a reader.
All the best to you.
The FultonHistory.com url is not working
So try again later.
unyg
The drop-down date selections seem to be limited to recent years only
(since 1990). Am I missing something?
Robin
I have found family listed from 1875
Don’t rely on that drop down date thingy. direct your questions to Mr. Tryniski please.
unyg
Hi all,
I got in early this morning and was reading Orange Co. NY newspapers from
1903.David
Robin
I had the same question. I tried just putting in a year “1833″ into the
search field and newspapers hat referenced those dates were viewable.
Bert
Found a couple of my ancestors listed!! Thanks so much :^)
Christina, with Kansas ancestors
Christina,
That is excellent to hear. So many of these Yorkers went on out to the Upper Mid-West that you are almost sure to find “something” of interest back East.
Thanks for letting us know.
unyg
Thank you so much for posting this site!?? I found lots and lots of information, including marriage information and a breakdown of a will.? Sure do appreciate you sharing.
Peggy
I tried to send my thanks to you on list but it just kept coming up blank so I’ll send it direct.. Your link to the NY papers was a true blessing to me. My brick wall has been the family rumor that my ggrandmother was half Indian. Thanks to the link I found out that it was my gggrandmother who was half and her mother was full blood. I was so excited when I read the article that I could hardly sleep last night. I thought James Littleworth was the key so I searched him and struck pay dirt. Thank you so very much for sharing. This is what I found. (I wish I could have met him, he sounds like quite a character)
My deepest thanks, Debbie
Albany NY Evening Journal 1866
—James Littleworth, of Plympton, Pa., now
87 years old, Is the father of 31 children, the
oldest of whom is 50 years and the youngest
four months. He is living with his fourth
Wife whom he married at the age of 59, she
Being a little Indian squaw of 14. By her he
Has had 13 children. Littleworth is a
Native of England and has been an English
soldier in Denmark, Portugal, Spain and
Canada. For 40 years he used liquor to excess,
but has since been a-teetotaler.
Debbie,
You’ve made my day! I don’t think I have ever received a more heart felt thanks and I REALLY appreciate it!
There are a couple of unique situations here. First, it comes from a non-NYS message board. Almost always when I send out notices to rootsweb, say once every month or two, it is about a news item that I have written about on my Blog, and believe has major interest to others. Normally these announcements only get sent to the NYS counties message boards, and then there is a flurry of activity on the Blog and main website for a few days, and life goes on.
Rarely do I send announcements to other states’ boards, but on occasion, when I believe that others in the main migration pattern might benefit I do so. Some of the non-NYS boards chastise me but I let it slide because quite often there will be a response somewhat similar to yours that makes the whole process justifiable.
I do not SPAM anyone, ever! I post things that I think will be helpful to researchers. Always have, always will. If a non-NYS board does not want to accept it, then it is their loss. In the case of the fultonhistory.com Blog, it was about a company that gives totally FREE access to a database that would cost millions of dollars to build and maintain, and it was from a Blogger (me) that gives absolutely FREE help all the time!
Now, secondly the other thing that is unique in your response is that out of 40 or so years of research, yours is the very first case where I have ever seen anyone ever document the Native American Indian connection in their family lore that was handed down.
I am so happy for you I could just shout! Yeah!
Just think, that news column had lain in obscurity oh so many years, and along comes some new technology that allows it to be indexed and searched. Life is GREAT!
Thank you so much for sharing.
I would like to have your permission to post your message on my Blog and share the excitement with others.
All the best to you, and wishing you great success with putting your family history together.
Dick Hillenbrand
http://www.unyg.com
Please feel free to share the joy with anyone you may want to. One thing I found interesting is that I show him living in Plympton Ont. Canada so I’ll see if I find him in PA or Tenessee as another article stated. I guess we’ll never know how it ended up in a NY paper! But I am oh so glad it did.
By the way, is the fultonhistory.com your website? If not please send the link to your blog. If there is any way I can do a look up for you or anyone you blog in MI I will be more than happy to.
Thanks again Debbie
Debbie,
Actually newspapers are not considered “documentary evidence” as per most genealogists. However they are excellent tools for steering you in the right direction in order to obtain true vital records documents. That being said, sometime the newspapers will be the only evidence ever found.
Your is still one of my favorite stories of all time!
unyg
THANK YOU!!!!! My grandfather and his siblings, aunts, uncles, mom and grandmother were named as heirs to the NYC tract of land that belongs to the Rockefellers!!!! My gpa was right!!!!!
Wonderful! Did you find this on fultonhistory.com?