Hi Joan,
What is the problem with the St Agnes records? Are they fading? It makes me sad to think of all the old records that are being lost. The person who was working on the family tree for my aunt back in the 80s has the grave locations for the family, plus tidbits of info from them, but no additional names. I’m guessing that she got whatever info was there because I can’t imagine she would have the records and not include everything that was in them.

Thanks for the info on the location of St John’s. I have mapped the family addresses from the old records that I do have, and that was right in the neighborhood. In 1880 they lived at 152 State Street. By 1884, they were living at 99 Third Ave. I went through the city directories from 1861 to 1907. I also noticed that the location of the grocery where the Armstrongs lived and worked at 12 S. Ferry is now an overpass.

As to marriage records, I understand that even after the city did require them, people often didn’t comply; same with births. I think I got lucky with my grand father’s civil birth certificate from 1884

The Old Fulton NY Post Cards site is great. I found a few articles about the Armstrongs. Nothing of great significance, but it was cool to be able to “see” what your ancestors were doing. That site also gave me the location of a farm purchased by an ancestor in another line. Now THAT was a find. I also learned something VERY important about that site. I tried saving the PDFs to my computer, but without the online enhanced viewing, most are practically useless. I’m going to have to go back and re-find everything and do screen captures to be able to save them and read them. At least from what I do have, I can make out the dates on most.

Thanks for the good luck, I have a feeling I'm going to need it. I find it ironic that I have other lines who were a part of historical records: early fur trappers in Canada, and early settlers on Pennsylvania. But on the line that bares MY last name, I can't get back any farther than 2 generations before my parents.

Rick

Rick