USA > New York > Wyoming County > History of Wyoming County, N.Y., with Illustrations, Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Some Pioneers and Prominent Residents > Part 52
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
1809 .- Becaleel Beede, part of lot 45; Jedediah Green, part of lot &t; Francis Ellingwood, part of lot 19; Samuel Fuller, part of lot 1; Jared Money, part of lot 87.
1810 .- Noah Wiseman, part of lot 48; Gaius Blowers, part of lot 48; Joseph Parker, lot 30; Daniel Cargill, part of lot 8; Leonard and Ethan Cooley, part of lot 45; Joab Wetherbee, part of lot 46; William Broughton. part of lot 14; John B. Eggleston, part of lot 56; John Hoxie, part of lot 56; Simeon Gibson, lot 58; Davis Wood, part of lot 21; Otis Wood, part of lot 21; Philip Reed, lot 6; Stephen Potter, part of lot 44.
Pamelia Patterson was the first child born, in 1807. The first school was at the Centre, taught by Benjamin Cole. The first public house was at the Centre, kept by Charles Bristol in 1815, and the first store was Lewis Wood's, in the "Yates Settlement," in 1816. Wheelock Wood built the first saw-mill in 1809, on Oatka creek; Tilly Parker the first tannery, in 1815, just south of the creek; Sylvester Lathrop the first establishment for wool carding, dyeing and cloth-dressing, in 1820, at " the Creek;" John Card and Ben- jamin Mallory the first grist-mill, in 1825, also at " the creek;" William and John Coon the first blacksmith shop, in 1817, at the Centre, which they carried on till 1819, when Chauncey Smith succeeded them; Daniel Wheeler built the first distillery in the north part of the town, and Abel Moore the first at " the Creek." These were the only dis-
tilleries ever built in the town.
The first log house was built by William Bristol and his brothers Charles and Richard, in 1805, on the south bank of the creek, east of and near the Centre road. William Bristol afterward erected the first frame house, which stood where the hotel now stands.
The first brick building was a school-house in district No. 9, near " Pike " station, built in 1818. The first grounds used for the burial of the dead were on lot 28, on the east side of the Centre road, at the intersection of the street opened in 1879; in the southeast part of the town, on lot 2; on Delhi street, on lot 53: in the northeast part of the town, on lot 7; at East Gainesville and at North Gainesville, on the present sites. The land for the present cemetery at Gainesville was afterward donated by William Bristol and dedicated to this use.
Digitized by Google
Im Bristol.
Digitized by Google
C. D. FARMAN.
MRS. C .D. FARMAN.
SPRING AND HYDRAULIC RAM
TROUT POND. STOCK BARNS. TROUT POND. FLAX MILL.
TENEMENT HOUSE. RESIDENCE OF C . D . FARMAN GAINESVILLE RESIDENCE.
HORSE BARN.
LOWER TROUT POND.
WYOMING, CO., N. Y.
Digitized by
191
EARLY INSTITUTIONS OF GAINESVILLE-CHURCH HISTORIES.
David Beardsley and Daniel Fuller were the first car- penters.
The earliest school-houses were on or near the Centre road, two on the east side and one on the west; one in the northwest corner of lot 26, about forty rods from the Cen- tre road; one nearly opposite the Congregational church, and one on the hill north of the Female Seminary.
Among the early stores were Mr. Grummond's, on Delhi street, near the west line of the town; Ira N. Pratt's, at the creek, and Pearl Flower's, just east of .Pike station. All trade was barter in those early days. The merchants ex- changed their goods for ashes, black salts and potashes, which the early settlers obtained in large quantities by cut- ting and burning the heavy deciduous timber in the process of clearing their lands. For a time the settlers had little else to pay for such necessaries as the merchants supplied.
The taverns of that day were mostly log buildings, and there were as many as six in the town at one time. Whiskey was sold in all, and was the chief source of their revenue. William Bristol, Charles Bristol, Frederick A. Moore, William Patterson, Nyrum Reynolds, John D. Gillett and Gideon Tyrrel were the early tavern keepers.
Among the early marriages were those of William Fuller, James Gates, John D. Gillett, Joseph Williams, Pearl Flower and John F. Howell.
Among the early deaths were those of Noah Wiseman, in 1812, Mrs. Hosea Sheffield, in 1815, and Seth Griswold.
The early physicians were John W. Brownson and Rufus Whitney, at the Creek; Elihu and Joel Amsden, at East Gainesville, and James Kelley.
The early postmasters were William Bristol, John Russell, Hiram Wright and John. D. Gillett. For many years there was a daily stage route passing through the town, from Le Roy to Angelica, and a postrider weekly from Perry to Fre- donia.
Though the town has never had a resident lawyer, its jus- tices' courts have never been idle. Nyrum Reynolds for .many years was retained on one side of nearly every case litigated in these courts. His keen perceptions, retentive memory, energy and sturdy common sense contributed to his remarkable success in these cases. He was appointed associate judge of Wyoming county in 1845. His literary attainments were small. On one occasion, when ridiculed - on account of his bad spelling, he is said to have retorted: " It isn't much of a man who can't spell a word more than one way." After Judge Reynolds probably B. F. Bristol has tried more cases before a justice's court than any other man -who ever lived in town.
The early settlers were generally poor, and their farms small. William Bristol sold his interest in lot 16 for a horse, in lot 26 for a pair of oxen, and made his first payment on lot 27 in services rendered the company. There were ex- ceptions; notably, James Cravath, who came from Preble, N. Y., in 1805, and had the first deed of lands in town. It is related that, soon after Mr. Bristol built his log house, Mr. . Cravath examined and selected about fifteen hundred acres in the west tier of lots. He then went to the land office and ยท asked the price of these lands. The agent advised him to . "article " a small piece. Persisting in his request a price . was named for the tract, and Mr. Cravath poured gold upon the table from his leather saddle bags to pay for the whole.
The work of clearing was great, but it was substantially accomplished in the first twenty-five years. In 1830 the town supported a larger population than in 1855 or 1880. The maximum population was reached in 1840. The fol- lowing figures show the number of inhabitants in the years named: 1830, 1,934; 1835, 2,097; 1840, 2,367; 1845, 1,897; 1850, 1,760; 1855, 1,753; 1860, 1,732; 1865, 1,635; 1870, 1,612; 1875, 1,710.
CHURCHES.
There are six churches in the town-one Congregational, two Methodist Episcopal, one Free Methodist, one Univer- salist and one Roman Catholic.
Congregational .- The first church was Congregational, located in the east part of the town, organized March 11th, 1815. In January, 1816, this church united with the pres- bytery at Mount Morris. In September, 1835, it united with the second Congregational church, at Gainesville, under the sanction of the presbytery; since which time the united body has been known as the First Congregational Church of Gainesville.
The second Congregational church was organized Sep- tember 14th, 1818, with the following members of the session: Stephen B. Bell, Andrew Brunson, Calvin Colton and Moses Bull. The following persons constituted the church: Samuel Olcott, Elisha Osborn, Sheffield Burdick, Joel Smith, Abigail Bristol, Esther Potter, Phebe P. Burdick, Edith Smith, R. L. Cravath, Elizabeth Murray and Polly Trowbridge.
The following ministers of the gospel have officiated as pastors of this church: Rev. Messrs. Ashley, John F. Bliss, Sullivan Halliday, Noah Cook, Conrad Ten Eyck, John M. Ballou, James Henry, John Cunningham, John L. Jenkins, J. Hunter Clark, David Henderson and T. H. Quigley.
Rev. John M. Ballou commenced his labors as pastor of this church in 1835. Resigning in 1856, he removed to Clarence, Erie county, where he now resides. He is a graduate of Auburn Theological Seminary and a member of the presbytery. After twenty years of unremitting toil as an able and faithful pastor, he left a record of Christian life, both public and private, upon which no one has ever found a stain.
Rev. John Cunningham was paster nine years. He was . educated at Oberlin, Ohio, and is an able and faithful minister.
The present membership of the church is about fifty.
Baptist. - There was formerly a Baptist church at the Centre, but no records are to be found. Elder Patterson was the first Baptist minister in the town, and Rev. Mr. Pierce the last. They have had no service for the past .twenty-five years. The church and its edifice long since ceased to exist. Deacons William Wiseman, S. Porter, Daniel Nichols, Gaius Blowers and Eber Hastings were early members of the church.
Methodist .- Somewhere between 1815 and 1825 there existed a Methodist Episcopal class on Delhi street. They worshiped in the school-house ordinarily, but used a barn for quarterly meetings. Among their ministers were Rev. Samuel Wooster and Rev. Mr. Cozort. There was also a class organized in the west part of the town. No records of these churches or classes .have been preserved. The first Methodist Episcopal church in the town. was organized on
Digitized by Google
192
HISTORY OF WYOMING COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Delhi street in the year 1827. It embraced the whole town. The first minister was Rev. Ira Brunson. The first trustees were Joel Pratt, Thomas Wiseman, jr., Samuel P. Russell, Joseph Olds, Samuel Warren, James Wiseman, Elijah Bene- dict, Luther Jennison and Nicholas Cleveland. The first clerk was James Wiseman.
The North Gainesville M. E. church was the next formed.
The M. E. church on Delhi street was merged in that at the Creek, wh ch was organized April 28th, 1827, as the First M. E. Church of Gainesville. The first trustees of the latter were John Card, Horatio M. Gere, Elijah Benedict, William S. Knapp, Day Brainerd and Elisha Brainerd, jr. The first class at the Creek consisted of Milton Foote and wife, John Card and wife, Mrs. Day Brainerd and Miss Hall.
The following are the names of the ministers who have been stationed over this church since its organization:
1829, Rev. Messrs. Willey and Anderson ; 1880, Cozort and Stanton ; 1881, Castle and P. E. Brown : 1832, Samuel Wooster and William Buck ; 1888, 8am- uel Wooster, Fuller Atchinson : 1834, Parker and Castle ; 1986, Alva Waller, H. M. Seaver ; 1836, Alvah Waller and Benjamin Knapp : 1837, W. D. Hewitt, Wooster Wright : 1888, D. J. B. Hoyt, Mason Brownell : 1839, Jobn Shaw. Charles D. Burlingham, Thomas D. Hudson : 1841. A. Anderson ; 1842, M. Preston, J. B. Jenkins ; 1842-15, Gershom Benedict : 1846, 1847, Jacob Hagar ; 1848. John Wallace : 1849, Ephraim Herrick : 1860, 1861, Jason G. Miller ; 1868, 1868, George W. Terry ; 1864, 1856, Alfred Kendall ; 1866, 1866, Mr. Ripley ; 1867, Samuel Luckey, J. M. Simpkins ; 1866, W. B. Buck ; 1868, 1860, R. E. Thomas ; 1861, James E. Bills ; 186%, Albert Plumley ; 1868, William Barrett : 1864, 1806. William Blake : 1806-68, Enos Smith : 1871, 1872, C. G. Stevens; 1873, 0. 8. Chamberlayne ; 1874-76, J. Hurd ; A. W. Staples, 1877-80.
The church is in a flourishing condition, and has about 80 members. A new parsonage was built in 1879.
Free Methodist .- The first Free Methodist church was organized at Gainesville Centre, by Rev. Asa Abell. The church consisted of Rev. M. E. Brown, preacher, and the following named persons: John Sherwood and Mary Sherwood, Betsey Sherwood, John and Jane Handyside, Mary Willis, Caroline Freeman, Mary Freeman, Emeline Johnson, Mrs. Lent and William Zech.
During the year 1866 the church edifice at Gainesville Creek was built and dedicated.
The following named clergymen have been regular min- isters to this church: M. E. Brown, William Cusack, Phillips, William Jackson, J. C. White, Curley Oaks, Joseph Henning and James McAlpine. The membership has num- bered 40.
The Universalist church has had no regular service for fifteen years past. The clergymen officiating in this church have been Rev. William E. Manley, Stephen Miles, Hiram Van Campen, U. M. Fish, B. N. Wiles, Alfred Peck, Alan- son Kelsey, E. W. Locke, C. Dodge, A. B. Raymond, S. Crane, W. Hand, Mr. Sanford.
A Roman Catholic church was organized and a church ed- ifice erected at East Gainesville in 1879. Rev. Father Berk- ery is the pastor.
SCHOOLS.
In 1855 Miss C. A. Eldridge and Miss Maryette Hardy founded at "the Creek " Gainesville Female Seminary. The inhabitants subscribed $2,000 toward the erection of the building, which was burned in 1861, and rebuilt in 1862 by Joel G. Davis for $4,000. The inhabitants also sub- scribed $2,000 toward the second building. It consists of a main part forty feet square, three stories high, and two
wings two stories high. The school was on the plan of the seminary at South Hadley, Mass. (Mt. Holyoke). It was . prosperous for ten years, until the adoption of the present free school system, when it went down. The building has been used for a hotel, and is now occupied for residences. The largest number of students at any time was one hundred and fifty. The founders of this institution were offered superior advantages in larger places, but having a desire to benefit their native town they located here, and no one thing ever benefited the town more than this school. The intel- lectual endowments, earnestness, labor and zeal, and the high Christian character of its founders and teachers made the school a power for good.
Miss Hardy married in 1858 Rev. Mr. Freeland, of the Free Methodist denomination. She occasionally preaches, very acceptably. Miss Eldridge in 1878 married Benjamin Burlingham, of Castile, N. Y., where she now resides. Misses Hardy and Eldridge were educated at Cary Collegiate Insti- tute, in Genesee county, and at Genesee Wesleyan Semi- nary, at Lima, N. Y.
This town has eleven school districts, which with two or three exceptions have comfortable school-houses. The best of these is at Gainesville. It is a new two-story building, with a wing. Next to this is the new one at East Gainesville, which is also two stories. Most of the people of the town manifest a commendable interest in the cause of education, and the town has furnished its share of the teachers and scholars for the county.
TEMPERANCE.
In the briefest historical sketch of Gainesville mention must be made of the part it bore in the temperance reforma- tion. The first total abstinence society was formed in this country in 1826. About the year 1835 the movement may be said to have commenced in this town. Among the early workers in the cause were John W. Brownson, William Broughton, Joel Davis, George Harrington, B. F. Bristol, E. Z. Stowe, Jehiel Tanner and M. B. Spafford. At first only spirituous liquors were proscribed, but soon after pledges were circulated requiring abstinence from all intoxicating drinks. With the progress of the temperance cause the man- ufacture of domestic distilled spirits rapidly declined, and soon the distilleries in the town were stopped. The Wash- ingtonian movement, that great temperance revival of 1840, swept over this town, and the cause gained a new impulse. The temperance men, " tee-totalers " in the cant of the op- position, were thoroughly earnest, and soon raised the ques- tion of " license or no license." At this time the board of excise consisted of the supervisor and the four justices of the peace. The issues thus raised were well fought. In this town a majority of the men elected to these offices for many years were opposed to granting licenses. So complete was the reformation that, with the exception of six months, no license has been granted in this town for the sale of in- toxicating liquors for about forty years. The exception re- ferred to was the year 1848. A majority of the board of excise had been elected by the no-license party. In the ab- sence of B. F. Bristol, one of the justices opposed to license, the board was convened and Adrian Tenant licensed for the final six months of that year. This violation of the moral sentiment of the town has never been repeated.
Digitized by Google
193
GAINESVILLE'S POLITICAL HISTORY-VILLAGES-RAILROADS.
POLITICAL.
Prior to 1848 the vote of the town was usually Democratic, with a strong anti-slavery sentiment. In that year the Van Buren and Adams electors received a plurality of the votes cast. In 1852 in Gainesville, as elsewhere in this State, nearly all the Whigs and Democrats who had joined the Free-Soil movement four years before returned to their former parties for the time, and the vote of the town was cast for Pierce.
But the old leaven was at work, and the sentiment which ( ulminated in the war spirit of 1861 wrought a radical change here.
In 1856 the Republican ticket received the unprecedented majority of 196 in a total vote of less than 400, and that party has ever since carried the town upon political issues.
At the first town meeting, in 1814. William Bristol was elected supervisor, and Nehemiah Park town clerk.
The following list shows the supervisors of Gainesville, and their years of service, from its organization:
William Bristol, 1814, 1816, 1819-21; James Cravath, 1815: Daniel Kellogg, 1817; Richard Bristol, 1818, 1825; Elisha Brainerd, 1822-24; Nyrum Reynolds, 1826-28, 1836, 1838, 1843, 1847, 1850-53; Gideon Tyrrel, 1829; Willard Thayer, 1830-33; Ira F. Pratt, 1834, 1835, 1841, 1842, 1849; E. Z. Stowe, 1837; Daniel Wheeler, 1839, 1840; John W. Brown- son, 1844, 1845; Cheney Wood, 1846; Christopher Post, 1848; John E. Lowing, 1854, 1868-70; William Bristol, jr., 1855, 1863-66; Cyrus Jefferson, 1856; Edwin Amsden, 1857, 1858; B. F. Bristol, 1859, 1860; John Howell, 1861, 1862; Charles D. Farman, 1867, 1871; James Bristol, 1872, 1873; Merritt W. Broughton, 1874, 1875; George L. Cone, 1876-78; Nyrum R. Tiffany, 1879, 1880.
This town has furnished the member of the Assembly for the county seven years, viz .: William Bristol, 1823; John W. Brownson, 1840-42; William Bristol, jr., 1867, 1868; John E. Lowing, 1877. It has furnished the senator for the 30th district two years, viz., John M. Brownson, 1848 and 1849; and sheriff one term, viz., E. A. Day, 1879. The school commissioner for the county has three times been taken from this town, viz .: Harvey W. Hardy, elected in 1857, one term, and Edson J. Quigley, 1872-78, two terms. Hon. William Bristol was chosen Presidential elector and was secretary of the electoral college in 1864.
VILLAGES OF THE TOWN.
Gainesville, sometimes called Gainesville Creek, is the largest village, situated a little south of the center of the town. It contains about one hundred houses and is growing quite rapidly. It has four churches, Congregational, Methodist Episcopal, Universalist and Free Methodist; three stores, a grist-mill, a saw-mill, two blacksmith and two wagon shops, a harness shop, a planing-mill, a cheese factory, a hotel, a fine school-house, the Gainesville Bank, owned and managed by Seth P. Allen, and a depot of the Rochester and State Line Railroad. The village is pleasantly and healthily situated. The people are thrifty and enterprising, and they manifest an interest in religious and educational matters which prom- ises well for the future of the town.
East Gainesville, situated in the east part of the town on Wolf creek, contains about forty houses, three stores, a hotel, a cheese factory, a blacksmith shop, a Catholic church,
a depot on the N. Y., L. E. and W. Railroad, which is also used as a terminus of the Silver Lake Railroad, a depot on the R. and S. L. Railroad, and a new school-house.
Pike Station is situated in the southwestern part of the town, on the R. and S. L. Railroad. It contains a hotel and a few houses. It has recently been started, and may become a village of some importance.
Rock Glen is situated in the northern part of the town, on Oatka creek, on the R. and S. L. Railroad. It is surrounded by picturesque scenery. It contains a depot building, a gro- cery, a post-office, a saw-mill and a blacksmith shop. It has a good water power, which at present is not extensively used. At this place are extensive and valuable quarries of gray sandstone.
The factory of the Warsaw Furniture Company, a joint stock company with a capital stock nominally of $50,000, was located at Rock Glen. The main building was of stone, three stories in height, heated with steam and filled with ex- cellent machinery. It was burned in 1877.
RAILROADS.
This town has three railroads, the N. Y., L. E. and W., the Rochester and State Line and the Silver Lake. The first named crosses the northeastern portion of the town, runs five miles within the town and has one station, which is located at East Gainesville. Several citizens of the town subscribed liberally toward its construction. The Silver Lake Railroad is a short road between Perry and East Gainesville.
The Rochester and State Line Railroad extends diagonally through the town from northeast to southwest, having eleven miles of road in the town and four depots, Rock Glen, East Gainesville, Gainesville and Pike. The town was bonded in the sum of $50,000 to aid in its construction. B. F. Bristol, Robert F. Shearman and Charles D. Farman were appointed commissioners to issue the bonds of the town, and represent its interests in the road. The commissioners is- sued the bonds and exchanged with the railroad company for first mortgage bonds of the road. There bonds were afterward exchanged for railroad stock, in order to enable the company to complete the road. September 18th, 1877, the track was laid to Main street, Gainesville, and the first locomotive passed to that point. The event was celebrated by a public meeting and festival. The first survey for the road was made in 1870.
The citizens of Gainesville raised by subscription one half the cost of the depot at that village, and persons residing near Rock Glen were equally public spirited in contribut- ing to build the depot at that station. The depot known as Pike station was built mainly by the contribution of people residing in the adjacent towns of Pike and Wethersfield, to secure a station at that point.
WAR HISTORY.
As the town of Gainesville was organized during the war of 1812, it is difficult, if not impossible, to give a complete list of all who enlisted in that war from this town. Isaac Wilson, of Middlebury, afterward first judge of Genesee county, was captain of a company of cavalry, in which Wil- liam Bristol was lieutenant; Chester Warriner was a sergeant. Daniel W. Bannister, Noah Wiseman, who died during the war and was buried at Gainesville with military honors, and
Digitized by Google
194
HISTORY OF WYOMING COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Ezra B. Warriner, and perhaps some others, were members of a company of light infantry. The five persons named were from that part of the original town of Warsaw now known as Gainesville.
WAR OF THE REBELLION.
No sketch of Gainesville would deserve the name histori- cal without an account of the part borne by her citizens in the suppression of the great Rebellion. The first rebel gun was fired at Fort Sumter April 12th, 1861. Three days later President Lincoln issued his call for seventy-five thous- and volunteers. The 17th N. Y. infantry, with the first company from this county in its ranks, went to the front in May, 1861, with eleven enlisted men from. this town. Four months later the 5th N. Y. cavalry was organized, and Gainesville furnished thirteen enlisted men for that regi- ment. A year later the 130th N. Y. infantry, with thirty- three, and the 136th N. Y. infantry, with twenty-four enlisted men from this town, went forward. Others went in various organizations, which were mainly recruited elsewhere. The names of 130 men enlisted from this town, with a population of 1,732, are given below, six of whom are sons of Dennis McGuire.
In the summer of 1863 thirty-nine men were required from Gainesville under the call for 300,000. Volunteering and substitution made up the number, so that there are no records of any drafted men going to the war from this town.
In the autumn of 1863 came the call for 500,000 men. At a special town meeting it was voted to pay a town bounty at the discretion of the supervisor. Only three votes were cast against the proposition. Recruiting was kept up steadily for the old regiments in the field, and before the draft was made the quota of Gainesville (of forty-three) was filled.
July 18th, 1864, 500,000 more volunteers were called for. Before the day set for the draft the town's quota of forty- three was again filled.
To the last call for 300,000 men, for one year, Gainesville was not required to contribute. The average term of the enlistments of the men so far exceeded that of the enlist- ments in other localities that she was exempt from further requisition.
Every call of the government upon this town was answered; the required bounties were paid by her patriotic citizens by tax and voluntary contribution.
The following sums were levied upon the taxable property of the town: 1864, May, special county bounty tax, $5,278.50; 1864, November, annual county bounty tax, $3.795.07; 1864, November, town war bonds, $3,242.00; 1865, May, special county bounty, $9,568.00; 1865, No- vember, annual county bounty, $8,746.07; 1866, May, special county bounty, $2,973-79; total amount raised by taxation, $33,603.43. .
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.