Books by Harold

This volume is the twenty-first in a series devoted to presenting a transcription of the surviving serial manuscript records for the town of Wilmington, Essex County, New York, in the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Mountains. The blacksmith ledger transcribed herein was found in the old Warren/Haselton house located in the hamlet of Haselton (formerly known as Markhamville), in the town of Wilmington, when it was put up for sale by George Warren in 2006. The house had been in the Haselton and Warren families since the mid-1800s. The provenance of the ledger is not clear; initially, it was most likely to have been the ledger of Timothy Haselton, and then of his son, Daniel. It is also possible that the initial forty-eight pages involved Nathan B. Markham. Genealogists and family historians should find the Haselton blacksmith ledger of considerable value. It captures a somewhat different population than that of the village of Wilmington's general store ledger, 1852-1854. A prime example will be the very large number of entries for Chancey Wilcox. The ledger reveals a complex web of commercial relations and transactions at the sub-town level, and specifically for a hamlet located between the villages of Wilmington and Black Brook. And the entries for government service and non-farm labor will significantly add to an understanding of economic activities at the personal level. Although the ledger primarily concerns blacksmithing tasks and equipment, it also mentions a great variety of goods and tasks, ranging from traditional blacksmith work to grocery store goods. Another significant part of the ledger's contents was the important role of the iron ore industry. To aid the reader, a glossary of unfamiliar terms follows the introduction. A full name index adds to the value of this work.

This volume is the twelfth in a series devoted to presenting a transcription of the surviving serial manuscript records for the town of Wilmington, Essex County, New York, in the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Mountains. Starting in 1886, and continuing in the years covered in this volume, both the lot numbers and tract (complete with descriptive comments) are provided for taxable residents. The following information may also be recorded: number of acres, value of estate, value of personal property, total valuation, amount of tax, dog tax, whether the tax is paid, returned resident highway tax, and returned resident school tax. For lands of non-residents there is considerable information provided, but the owner's name is omitted. For some years (excluding 1892-4 and 1896), an end-of-year Town Supervisor's report (sometimes a newspaper clipping) is appended. It contains valuable information, as all town offices and officers are listed. In some cases the year-end report includes not just officers and amounts paid them, but others who were paid by the Town for services provided. Occasionally, comments are added which could prove useful or add a bit of "color" to your family portrait. The tax records have been transcribed as presented. All names have been reproduced as spelled in the original. A full name index adds to the value of this work.

This volume is the first in a series devoted to presenting a transcription of the surviving serial manuscript records for the town of Wilmington, Essex County, New York, in the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Mountains. The first ledger book for the Town of Wilmington, "lost" for many years, covers the period from the founding of the town in 1821, until 1865 (except for cattle earmarks which are covered until 1884), and contains a record of the Town of Wilmington minutes, plus much more. The minutes of annual and special town meetings are included. Entries make special note of the persons elected or appointed to various offices: e.g., Town Clerk, Town Supervisor, Assessors, Commissioners of Highways, Overseers of Highways, Path Masters, Justices of the Peace, Overseers of the Poor, Tax Collectors, Election Inspectors, Sextons, Poor Masters, Scalers of Weights and Measures, and Superintendents of Schools. Votes are recorded for provisions for the poor and schools. Surveys of new roads, and occasionally new plats, are included. Highway taxes, in the form of corvee labor or days of labor owed by individuals, are recorded for every year. Earmarks for cattle are registered and illustrated. The original ledger is not consistently chronological and is often illegible; however, the authors have attempted to transcribe the entries as presented. Names have been faithfully transcribed, and it is not unusual to find the same name spelled several different ways. A full name index adds to the value of this work.

Never underestimate the value of gossip! Emma D. Hinds, under the pen name of "Rupert," was the gossip columnist and vital records recorder for the Essex County Republican during the period covered. For researchers interested in a family's web of kith and kin, gossip columns can be an indispensable resource, adding regional, cultural, and socio-economic aspects. Numerous pieces of social history linked to individuals or families are recorded here that may not have been noted in print elsewhere. Births, marriages, and deaths are of particular value to genealogists as the period of 1877-1881 falls before Wilmington's civil vital records begin. These tidbits, clipped from a regional paper that otherwise reported little on Wilmington, provide insights into life in a town which had no newspaper. The appointment of school teachers, local schools' closing exercises, church-related meetings, sermons, the coming and going of visitors, and social occasions such as the Sabbath school picnics were all reported along with a sprinkling of disease, illness, crimes, fire, prostitution, and "demon" drink.Entries are sub-divided into personals and subjects, and then each section is further sub-divided into alphabetical listings and chronological entries. The Alphabetical Order by Person section includes the full name, date, subject, and scrapbook page number. The Listing by Event section lists the event, date, description, and page number.