USA > New York > Livingston County > History of Livingston County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 61
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111
dry. The village is abundantly supplied with wholesome water from an elevation sufficient for fire purposes without the aid of mechanical force, though this is not wholly relied on. It has some fine churches and business blocks and many taste- ful residences.
The village was first known to the white settlers as Allen's Hill, from Ebenezer Allen, its first settler, and subsequently as Richmond Hill, a name given it by Col. John Trumbull, an artist who delineated some of the most important scenes of the Revolution, and at one time contemplated making it his place of residence. He selected and purchased a site near the residence of the late Judge Hastings, planted an orchard, and made some preparations for building ; but the name was abandoned with the abandonment of his idea of settling here, and, like the town, received and has since retained the distinctive name of its dis- tinguished proprietor.
It contains six churches, (Presbyterian, Episco- pal, Baptist, Methodist Episcopal, Free Methodist and Catholic,) a fine Union school, with academic department, two district schools, two newspapers,* ( The Union and Constitution, William Harding, publisher, and the Mount Morris Enterprise, George M. Shull, publisher,) two banks, (Genesee River National and Binghanı Bros .- private,) various important manufacturing establishments, twenty- one stores of various kinds, four hotels, (Dodge House, Scoville House, Wallace House and Burke House,) various mechanics' shops, including two harness shops, (Frank Austin and Thomas Conlon, ) and four blacksmith shops, (O. C. Matteson, George Wooster, John Sleight and F. S. Dal- rymple,) and a population of 1,928.
"No village," says Jessie Jasper, a local writer, "has sent out more professors, clergymen, mission- aries, painters, musicians, poets, writers, judges, congressmen, architects, and machinists than Mt. Morris."
The village was incorporated May 2, 1836. The first corporation meeting was held at the house of Riley Scoville, June 9, 1835, Justice O. D. Lake presiding, and the following named officers were elected: Reuben Sleeper, James Conkey, Ichabod Thurston, Oliver Stanley and John Sloat. Trustees; and James H. Rogers, Adino Bailey and Stephen Summers, Assessors. George Hastings was clerk of the meeting.
At a meeting of the Board held June 12, 1835, the following named officers were chosen :- Reu-
* See Chapter XII. for History of the Press.
1
293
VILLAGE OF MOUNT MORRIS-OFFICERS.
ben Sleeper, President; George Hastings, Clerk ; Aylmer Keith, Treasurer; Walker M. Hinman, Asa Woodford, John P. Gayle, John N. Hurlbut, Fire Wardens; Reuben P. Wisner, Collector; Ezra Kinne, Pound Master.
Following is a list of the Presidents and Clerks of the village from the date of incorporation : - Presidents. Village Clerks.
1835-6. Reuben Sleeper.
Geo. Hastings .*
1837. Phineas Canfield.
Reuben P. Wisner.
1838. Stephen Summers. clo
1839.
Geo. G. Williams.
do
1840. do
Wm. H. Houghton.t
1841. David A. Miller.
George H. Elliott.
1842-3.
Geo. G. Williams. Geo. N. Williams.
1844.
John Vernam.
do
1845.
Elijah E. Thatcher. do
1846.
Hugh Harding. do
1847.
Reuben P. Wisner. do
1848.
Jesse Patterson.
clo
1849.
do Henry I). Barto, Jr.
1850. Augustus Conkey.
do
1851-3.
John Vernam.
McNeil Seymour.
1854.
Abraham Wigg.
do
1855.
Henry K. Safford. C. B. Adams.
1856-8.
Abraham Wigg.
do
1859.
Reuben Sleeper.
do
1860.
Abraham Wigg.
McNeil Seymour.
1861.
Reuben Sleeper.
do
1 862-4.
Hiram P. Mills.
do
1 865-9.
C. B. Adams.į
dog
1870.
A. F. French.
Z. A. Colburn.
1871.
Z. W. Josłyn.
do
1872.
H. P. Mills.
do
1873.
Hugh Harding.
1874.
Z. W. Josłyn.
F. E. Brown.
1875.
H. P. Mills.
C. Sutphen.
1876. Henry Scoville.
do
1877.
F. E. Hastings.
J. M. Hastings.
1878. Geo. W. Phelps.
Carlos A. Miller.
1879. H. W. Miller. do
1880. Z. W. Joslyn.
James L. Skillin.
Village officers of 1881 :- H. H. Scoville, Presi- dent; Mathew Taylor, Peter Schermer, Morgan Hammond, Hugh Harding, Trustees; James L. Skillin, Clerk; H. M. Dayfoot, Health Officer ; E. A. Mills, Treasurer ; Daniel Cassidy, Collector ; William Murray, H. S. Wigg, A. McCarthur, As- sessors ; C. J. Perry, Chief Engineer, H. S. Wigg, Assistant Engineer Fire Department; Chas. Hard- ing, Treasurer Fire Department.
Mt. Morris, though its inception dates back to the first settlement of the town, did not early de-
velop a commercial importance. The following description of it in 1813, which we extract from the discourse of Rev. Darwin Chichester, will be read with interest by the present generation. He says :-
"We will enter on what is now the plank road across the flats. Ascending the hill, we pass what is now Beach's Temperance House. There stands the frame dwelling of widow Baldwin-on the cor- ner opposite, towards the north, is the frame dwell- ing of Capt. Baldwin -- going a little farther, we are near the frame residence of deacon Jesse Stanley, now the site of the residence of James R. Bond, Esq. In reaching this point, we pass the school- house, a few rods to the left, that building which is so plainly pictured to the minds of some of this audience, around which so many associations of early days cluster. Its unpainted and mutilated seats and dingy walls, bring with them pleasing thoughts, for they are fresh, strong impressions of early days. This building is not seen from the road, for, though we stand in front of what is known as Dean's brick store, and look no farther than what was lately the law office of R. P. Wisner, Esq., yet the oak bushes and saplings completely conceal it from view. A little farther on, and we are oppo- site the site of this [Presbyterian] church building. On the other side of the road stands the old block- house, into which all the inhabitants fled on one occasion the year before, for fear of a coming army of British and Indians. A few rods farther, and on the north side of the road, is the frame dwelling of Mark Hopkins, Esq., on the site of the residence of the late David A. Miller, Esq. We ascend, and from Prospect Hill, look over the village, and we can count the four framed dwellings just mentioned, and no more. These, with twenty-two log-houses, constitute the Mt. Morris of 1813. The eye can rest upon two streets, the one we have passed over, coming from the valley, passing the site of this church edifice, turning to the left, and winding up the hill towards Nunda, and the other running through the place north and south, being what is now Main street. These two streets, or roads, the sides of which are well lined with oaks, shrubs and saplings, are the only streets of the village. Here is now and then a remaining tree of the forest, and plenty of undergrowth. On every side, except that of the valley, is a dark forest, the impressions upon which, by the woodman's ax, are, as yet, hardly perceptible.
"Going towards Nunda, we pass through an un- broken forest for three-and-a-half miles, we then reach a solitary dwelling, that of Mr. Houselander, and for six miles beyond that (where now is a suc- cession of fine farms, with their neatly painted dwellings,) is an unbroken forest."
In 1817, says Franklin Cowdery, in describing the condition of Western New York in that year, in the Cuylerville Telegraph of March 18, 1848, Mt. Morris had a tavern, a few mechanics' shops, and a small store kept by Allen Ayrault. "This,"
* November 21, 1836, Reuben P. Wisner was appointed Clerk vice George Hastings removed.
t January 23, 1841, George H. Elliott was appointed Clerk vice W. H. Houghton, deceased.
# December 17, 1869, A. F. French was appointed President vice C. B. Adams, deceased, December 9, 1869.
§ May 13, 1870, Z. A. Colburn was appointed Clerk vice McNeil Sey- mour, deceased.
do
294
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
says Mr. Chichester, in referring to the epidemics which have raged with great power in this vicinity, " was a memorable year-one that brought sorrow into many a dwelling. Hardly a family in the place escaped sickness-and one family, (a member of which told me of the ravages of the disease,) lost four of its members." Spafford, in his Gazetteer of 1824, dismisses the subject of its description with a single sentence. He says, " the village of Mt. Morris, where the town meetings are now held, * has the post-office, and a small collec- tion of houses." In his Gazetteer of 1813 it is not even mentioned. In 1836, as described in Gor- don's Gazetteer of that year, the village contained three churches, (Presbyterian, Episcopal and Meth- odist,) three taverns, nine dry goods stores, three groceries, two hatters, one tannery, two shoe stores, three cabinet makers, one chair factory, one bakery, one iron foundry, one hemp factory, one plow and wagon factory, two blacksmiths, one hardware store, tin factory, two saddlers, three tailors, two drug shops, one printing office, issuing a weekly paper, two lawyers, four physicians, one flouring mill, one carding and cloth-dressing mill, and had in the im- mediate vicinity three saw mills and more than a hundred dwellings. There were then four addi- tional post-offices in the town-at River Road, Brushville, River Road Forks and Brooks Grove. In 1840, says Disturnell, in his Gazetteer of 1842, it contained about 1,200 inhabitants, 200 dwell- ings, four churches, (Presbyterian, Episcopal, Pap- tist and Methodist,) three public houses, twenty stores and groceries, one furnace and a pottery, two Hlouring mills, two saw mills. The post-offices in the town, in addition to Mt. Morris, were, Brush- ville, Brooks Grove, Ridge River Road, and St. Helena.
MERCHANTS .-- The first merchant in Mt. Morris, if such he may be called, was Ebenezer or " Indian" Allen, a native of New Jersey, who came here dur ing the Revolutionary war to escape the military enrollment. He did not continue in trade after the white settlers came in. He obtained his goods at Philadelphia and exchanged them with the Indians for peltries.
The first regular merchant, it is believed, was Elisha Parmelee, who came here from Connecticut about 1811, and opened a store on State street, in a building which stood on the site of the residence of J. B. Bacon, on the north side of that street, and was removed about 1854 to its present loca- tion on Eagle street. It is now owned and occu- pied as a residence by Cornelius Cassidy. Parmelee
removed to Warsaw in 1817, and was succeeded in the same store by Allen Ayrault, from Connec- ticut, who removed to Moscow in 1819, and two or three years later to Geneseo, where he became a prominent banker.
There was no store from that period until 1823. when Abner Dean and Reuben Sleeper (Dean & Sleeper) came from Laurens, Otsego county, and occupied the same store. They dissolved partner- ship in 1828, and both continued to trade separately, Dean in a new store, adjacent to the old one, until 1841, when D. K. Moss, from Greene county, took the store and put in a new stock of goods, but after trading about two years he sold out at auction and went away. Sleeper became a prominent mer- chant in the village, continuing at intervals till his death May 11, 1872, at the age of 74. He was associated from 1847 to 1854, with Lucius C. Bingham, who then engaged in the hardware busi- ness.
David A. Miller, from Orange county, was con- temporary with Ayrault and traded two or three years. He then engaged in farming and distilling, and some fourteen years later resumed mercantile business, which he continued successfully about ten years, from 1831 to 1841, when he sold to his sons Henry R. and David, who traded with some slight changes till about 1843, when Henry retired. David continued until 1854, when he sold to his brother Henry, who sold out about 1864, and died Sept. 23d, of the following year, aged 50. His father died August 6, 1853, aged 64.
In 1824, William H. Stanley, who came here with his parents from Connecticut in 1811, opened a store and traded till 1831, when James H. Rogers became his partner, continuing for three or four years, when Stanley retired. Rogers continued alone until 1842, when he failed.
In 1829, Phineas Canfield, from Chenango county, commenced trading in company with Henry Gale, from Orange county, under the name of Gale & Canfield. After two years, David A. Miller took Gale's place and soon after acquired Canfield's interest, continuing till 1841.
In 1833 N. L., George W. and Joseph Totten, brothers, commenced business. They closed out in 1835. In 1848 N. L. Totten opened a grocery, continuing till 1860, associated the first two years with R. C. Hill. In 1871 Mr. Totten resumed the grocery business, which he continues to the present time.
In 1837 James R. Bond came from Geneseo and did an extensive business till about 1843.
295
VILLAGE OF MOUNT MORRIS-MERCHANTS.
In 1839 Higgins & King, (Henry I. Higgins and Charles W. King,) the latter from Cayuga county, established the first hardware store of any importance in the village. They sold out about 1841 to Abram Vernam, from Saratoga county, who sold in 1850 to Harvey & Thatcher, (George C. Harvey and Elijah F. Thatcher,) who continned the business until 1854, when they sold to Bing- ham & Thatcher, (Lucius C. Bingham and Elijah E. Thatcher,) who continued till the death of Thatcher, Sept. 3, 1855, at the age of 47. Mr. Bingham continued the business alone until 1863, when he associated with himself William H. Coy, under the firm name of Bingham & Coy. In 1875 Mr. Bingham purchased Mr. Coy's interest, and in January, 1879, he admitted to partnership Henry Gale, with whom he is still doing business under the name of L. C. Bingham & Co.
About 1840 Hugh Harding, who came from Dansville and in 1834 established the Mount Morris Spectator, the pioneer newspaper in Mt. Morris, which he was then publishing, opened a stock of books and stationery-a business he has continued to the present time. This was the first, and is now the only book store in the village, and with the exception of one started some years ago by J. W. Webb, but continued only about a year, it is the only one that has been established in the village.
In 1841 Norman Seymour, a native of Herki- mer, came here from Geneva and commenced the dry-goods business, which he changed in 1864 to hardware, continuing the latter to the present time under the name of Seymour & Co.
In 1844 Sanford E. Hunt and George Talcott, the former from Portage and the latter from Hart- ford, Conn., commenced trading and were promi- nent merchants for about two years, dealing in merchandise and lumber.
H. W. Miller, druggist, came here with his parents from Cayuga county about 1835. In :850 he bought out R. J. Stanley, who had traded some four or five years, and subsequently he purchased the stock of George S. Whitney who had traded some fifteen or twenty years.
Jacob O. Crevling, boot and shoe dealer, com- menced mercantile business in December, 1850. He was associated with Ezra Kinney in 1852, with John Marsh in 1862, and with Dennis Evans in 1863-4. Mr. Crevling is a native of New Jersey, and came with his parents to Mt. Morris in 1833.
Wheeler Hinman, who was born in this county February 14, 1815, commenced trading here in
1856, and did a prosperous business here till his death, January 4, 1867.
Numerous others of little prominence have traded here for short periods.
The other merchants now engaged in business here are :- Timothy Hennessy, grocer and liquor dealer, who commenced business some twenty years ago; W. Richmond, jeweler, a native of Ba- tavia, who came here from Geneseo, where he had carried on the same business, and established him- self in trade March 16, 1863; H. Burt, general merchant, who, in 1865, in company with the late P. J. Runyan, purchased the grocery business of S. E. Brace, who had traded some seven years at differ- ent times, and quit mercantile business to engage in banking with the Messrs. Bingham ; (Mr. Burt resumed his present business in the fall of 1874. He is the present post-master, having been ap- pointed to that office in 1877 ;) Emma Burke, mil- liner, a native of Mt. Morris, who commenced business in 1867; M. J. Noonan, tobacconist and cigar manufacturer, a native of Mt. Morris, who commenced business in 1868; M. Beggs, milliner and fancy goods dealer, who is a native of Mt. Morris, and commenced business about twelve years ago; Alfred Harris, furniture dealer, and a native of Mt. Morris, commenced business some ten years ago-his father, E. S. Harris, who now carries on the undertaking business at the same place, came here from Warsaw about 1837, and engaged in the cabinet business ; Henry Wagner, grocer and liquor dealer, commenced business in January, 1874, at which time he bought out Timo- thy Hennessy, is a native of Germany, and had resided here several years previously ; Norman A. Seymour, druggist, who commenced business in 1875, in company with William R. Hinds, whose interest he purchased at the expiration of two and one half years ; the business was established in 1850 by Thomas & Joslyn ; (Mr. Thomas of that firm sold to James Yeomans, who sold to Messrs. Seymour & Hinds ; the store has always been known as the Empire Drug Store ;) J. S. Mosman, general merchant, purchased the dry goods establishment of Eddy, Gregg & Co., who had traded here for three years, in August, 1875. and the following January added to his stock gro- ceries, boots and shoes and clothing; and in March, 1880, he admitted his son, William O. Mosman, to partnership; A. Halstead, dealer in boots and shoes, commenced business October 25, 1875, under the name of Halsted & Co .; he bought out William H. Coy, whose father, Loren Coy, had
296
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
carried on business for many years ; Barney Beu- erlein & Co., (Nicholas Johantgen,) clothiers, from Dansville, where Mr. Johantgen resides and car- ries on the same business, commenced business here in 1877; F. W. Woolever, furniture dealer and undertaker, commenced business some two years ago, having previously worked at the cabinet business in this town ; Thomas T. Gallagher, gro- cer, commenced business here April 1, 1879,-this is a branch of his store in Dansville, where he has traded since 1868, in company, until 1872, with Albert Sweet, under the name of Sweet & Gallag- her ; and Allen & Pennington, (William P. Allen and J. W. Pennington,) flour and feed dealers, who commenced business in August, 1880.
POSTMASTERS .- The post-office at Mt. Morris was established in 1818, and the mail was received once a week. It was carried on horseback, but often on foot, over the route between Moscow and Angelica. The first postmaster was David A. Miller, who held the office from 1818 to 1841. His successors have been Stephen Summers, Henry Swan, Augustus Conkey, Moses Clark, (who held the office eight years,) Philo Thomson, (appointed in the fall of 1861,) George W. Barney, Norman Seymour, Jacob A. Mead, Dr. Loren J. Ames and Hathorne Burt, who was appointed in 1877.
PHYSICIANS .- The first physician to locate in Mt. Morris was probably Henry Gale, though it is doubtful if he ever practiced here. He was the father of Mrs. David A. Miller, whose husband was one of the first merchants here. He was blind for many years prior to his death, which occurred July 6, 1835, at the age of seventy-one.
Abraham Camp, whom the Rev. Dr. Parsons says was the first regular practitioner in this village, and was highly esteemed both as a physician and a man, was born Norfolk, Conn., July 31, 1770, and there he spent his youth and early manhood. In October. 1813, after a short residence in Vermont and in Greene county, in this State, at the solicita- tion of Deacon Jesse Stanley, he came to this place accompanied by his wife, four sons and two daughters. His first residence was on Main street, on the premises now owned and occupied by Ozro Clark. With the exception of three or four years spent with his son Cicero, in Ohio, he resided here till his death, August 10, 1850, aged eighty. Mary, his wife, died August 3, 1844, aged seventy-four. He was the father of Abraham C., and Moses Camp. He practiced here till about 1820, until Dr. Bingham came.
Dr. Gates located in Mt. Morris in 1817, but re-
mained only a year or two. lle then went to Al- legany county.
Charles Bingham was born in Bozrah, Conn., and studied medicine in that State. He was licensed by the State Medical Society of Connecti- cut in 1808, and in that year moved to Avon, where he practiced his profession until 1820. In that year he removed to MIt. Morris, where he pur- sued an extensive and successful practice until failing health compelled him to abandon it. He died at Mt. Morris December 3, 1842, aged 58. Mary, his wife, died here February 8, 1873, at the advanced age of 87. Messrs. Lucius C. and Charles L. Bingham, two of Mt. Morris' most prominent business men and influential and re- spected citizens, are sons of Dr. Bingham, and all that are left of the family.
Hiram Hunt came here from Cayuga county about 1824. He studied medicine with Dr. Stephen Mosher, of Union Springs, in that county, and with the exception of two years spent in De- troit, Mich., practiced here till his death, which . occurred Oct. 8, 1853, at the age of 51. Eben- ezer Childs came here from Massachusetts in 1834 and practiced till about 1849, when he went to North Carolina and died in the South. William H. Thomas came here from Allegany, his native county, in 1837 and practiced here till his final sickness, dying here about 1876. He was blinded in 1858 from accidental shooting. William Whit- ney, a son of Dr. Jonathan Whitney, one of the old pioneer physicians of Cayuga village, removed thence to Mt. Morris in 1839. About 1847 he removed to Chicago, where he died some time during the late war. John Sullivan Hunt, a brother to Dr. Hiram Hunt, whose parents were among the early settlers of Mt. Morris, studied with his brother Hiram and graduated about 1838. He practiced a few years at Union Corners, in this town, and at Mt. Morris about three or four years from 1845. He died here of consumption about 1850. Henry Maxwell came here about 1846. and after practicing some four years returned to Lockport, whence he came. Alexander H. Hoff, the son of a clergyman of the Dutch Reformed Church, came here from the Hudson river coun- try about 1847, and succeeded Dr. Whitney, con- tinuing his practice here till about 1863, when he went to Albany. During the war he became a surgeon in the regular army and died while serving in that capacity after the war. He was succeeded by T. Romeyn Huntington, son of Dr. Hunting- ton, of Perry, whence he came about 1854. He
297
VILLAGE OF MOUNT MORRIS -PHYSICIANS.
graduated at Philadelphia. After practicing some two years he returned to Perry. Alexander C. Campbell, who was born April 30, 1812, came here in 1857 from Lima, where, and in Nunda, he had previously practiced. With the exception of some two years spent in Avon he practiced here till his death, Oct. 30, 1871.
David L. Williams came here from Elbridge about 1845, and practiced till his death, February 16, 1853, aged 34. He was the first homeopathic physician to locate here. W. T. R. Wells, who had formerly belonged to the regular school, came here from Covington, Wyoming county, about the time of Dr. Williams' death and practiced here a few years. He afterwards practiced electropathy and subsequently became a lecturer on that branch of medical science. He is now living in Roch- ester.
W. W. Potter came here from Washington, D. C., in 1872, having served as a surgeon in the army, and at the close of the war established him- self in practice in that city. He left here in the summer of 1876 and went to Batavia, where he still resides. Augustus F. McKay came from the locality of Wilkesbarre, Pa., and succeeded Potter, continuing two years, during which time he became a convert to homeopathy. He returned to Penn- sylvania. Charles F. Morgan, a young man from Connecticut, came in 1870 and practiced a year or two with Dr. Joslyn. He went to Michigan. Dr. Spiegel, who had practiced some two years in Tus- carora in this town came here about 1877, and after practicing about a year returned to Utica, whence he originally came.
Miss Mina A. Baker, a graduate of Ann Arbor, who was a native of Monroe county, but raised in Mt. Morris, practiced here about a year-1876-7. She removed to Racine, Wisconsin, where she is now practicing very successfully. She was the first lady physician in Mt. Morris.
Lewis G. Ferris, from Cayuga, settled about 1837 or '38 in the locality of Brooks Grove, and prac- ticed till his death about 1850. He was preceded there by Dr. William Munson, who was one of the earlier practitioners of the town.
Drs. Hiram Hunt, E. Childs and Alexander Campbell were among the most prominent physi- cians. Dr. Hunt was a heroic practitioner. When he undertook a case he did it with a firm decided hand, gave thorough doses of medicine, and was regarded as successful. Dr. Campbell was a man of very decided ideas. He had a happy faculty of impressing his patients with them, and was re-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.