Press Release: 19th Century Records Return Home
OCHC Trustee and Volunteer Barbara Granato recently embarked upon an effort to help save history. She acquired 19 boxes of records from county archives that the clerk's office was removing from storage to be returned to their rightful homes in the town or village where they originated. The records date from the 1840s, 1850s, and early 1900s and include birth, marriage, deaths, orders of filiation, indentures, and commitments to orphanages; these records are an invaluable historical and genealogical resource.
Ms. Granato spent 10 months organizing, photographing, and transcribing each record. The History Center will keep some of these records, along with a copy and their transcriptions, that will available for researchers and the public to access in the History Center’s Tharratt Gilbert Best Research Library. The remainder of the records will be returned to the appropriate town or village clerk. Additionally, a copy of the finished product will be bound and placed in the library at DAR Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Oneida County Clerk Sandra DePerno, stated that “I am happy to hear that the History Center along with the various towns and cities in Oneida County will be benefiting from the vital records that were found. In New York State, the city and town clerks are the repository for all vitals, not the County Clerk. I am sure these records will be invaluable to our local officials, and will add to their already vast historical collection.”
Members of the press are invited attend a press conference on Thursday, October 1 at 10:00 am in the Oneida County History Center gallery to learn more about the project from Ms. Granato and witness the return of the records to local clerks. Please RVSP to rmclain@oneidacountyhistory.org as COVID restrictions limit gallery occupancy.
The Oneida County History Center is a private 501(c) (3) not-for-profit educational institution dedicated to preserving and promoting the history, heritage, and culture of the Greater Mohawk Valley. Visitors will be admitted to the Tharratt Gilbert Best Research Library by appointment only until the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. Access is free for members and $5 per visit for non-members. Appointments can be made by calling 315-735-3642 or requesting an appointment on www.oneidacountyhistory.org.