The map collection in the New York State Library's Manuscript and Special Collections section may be a helpful resource. You might also study migration routes followed by groups of settlers. If you are not sure of the location of a place named in your records, our Finding Places Web page may be useful. Once you have gathered data from the sources suggested above, you are ready to visit libraries possessing genealogical collections, historical societies and archives. In general, libraries have published materials.
Archives have original, one of a kind records.
Thanks to the Onondaga County Public Library for their brochure, Tracing Your Family History , from which much of this material was taken. For more specific information about doing genealogical research and standardizing the data you collect, there are many books available. If you are visiting the State Library, you can look in the Genealogy section with 929 call numbers for books on this topic. The Department of Health began recording births, marriages and deaths in 1881. Keep References Write down the source of your information and the place where you found the source.