Why was the index made?
It was tediously entered in the hope that, someone appreciating it and knowing something about Dianna Livingstone (or Herrick) Ellsworth might help us find her true parentage. See our blog about her if curious or have something for us: http://www.insearchofdiana.blogspot.com. You can also send an email to dianna@kina.net.
How do I enter an name in which I'm interested?
If you're looking for all the "Hamilton" names just put in Hamilton . For an individual, like this: Alexander Hamilton.
What is / where are the original deeds?
The original is in handwritten volumes of deed recordings, grantor index, and grantee index in the county buildings in Oswego, New York. Several years ago the LDS Church gained permission to microfilm all these deed recordings. They ended up as microfilm reels, originals stored in a mountain of granite (for protection) near Salt Lake City, Utah.
What is in the Oswego Deed Index?
This computerized Oswego deed index only contains an index to grantor/grantee information from 1791 thru 1836, except that the letter H (only H) contains additional indexed material beyond 1836 to about 1860. It was created from the grantor index.
How was it made?
It was created from Oswego County's index to grantor pages just as it was written ...including obvious misspellings. Lynn Ellsworth sat at a microfilm reader and typed what he read into a laptop computer. At present there are more than 46,000 entries in the computerized index.
How do I read a line of the ODI?
The first part of the line needs no explantation. The part of the printout that looks like this: Onei2 171 FHL US/CAN 1012255 means that it came from the index book Oneida County book 2, page 171 which can be seen in the LDS Church's Family History Library microfilm called US/CAN 1012255 (US / Canadian film number 1012255). Oswego County was created in 1816 from parts of Oneida County and Onondaga County, hence some very early entries in Oswego's index were copies of parts of recordings from those two counties.
What is in the last entry called notes?
Sometimes I couldn't exactly tell what was written, so I would put another way a word or number might be spelled or written...a guess!
Where can I find an LDS Family History Library?
All large cities in the US and Canada and many smaller cities (even some towns) have LDS Family History Libraries where copies of these microfilms can be borrowed for a dollar or two. Look in the white pages of the local phone book for Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, then find amongst the church listings there find one that refers to the Family History Library with its phone number and address. Oswego County itself has an FHE Library! I can't remember which town, not Oswego, up the coast of Lake Ontario a ways.
What do you mean "borrow" a microfilm?
You pay 2 or 3 dollars so that someone in Salt Lake City can copy the film for you onto a microfilm for your use. It is then shipped to your local FHE Library, usually in a timely manner. I never wait for more than a week for it to arrive. For a few dollars more it can stay in the local library indefinitely (that means forever), otherwise it'll eventually be returned to Salt Lake City when you're through with it. There are millions of microfilms available in this way. You really don't have to travel very far to do almost all of your genealogical research.
Are there mistakes in the index?
Of course! I'm only human. I tried to be very careful, though.
Are there any interesting historical characters in the index?
Well, other than your own ancestor you might put in this name: "Morris" and you'd see Governour Morris, one of the signers of the constitution, or "Alexander Hamilton", one of the great founders of the U.S. or, for LDS people, how about "Hiram Page" or "Wilford Woodruff"!
How did you get the index into a searchable database?
You must think I did it! No, I'm not that smart. But my son Paul is! He is a computer guru, and he did it for me. If fact, it runs in his home on a little old server stashed away in a closet near his water heater.
Will the index be extended?
Perhaps if enough interest is shown I will extend the index, first from 1837 to 1840, then, later, in 10 year increments, 1841-1850, 1851-1860, etc.