Jefferson County, NY history

Jefferson County, New York, In the World War --The bulk of this impressive volume is made up of two lists: those from Jefferson County who served, and those who died.  It is impressive, for a county with the population of Jefferson County, how many were in each category.  There are also photographs (of varying quality) of many of those who died.  Additional lists identify those who served in non-military capacities, both as nurses and YMCA/Red Cross workers abroad, and on commissions and committees and boards at home.  The lists of those who served generally include the street address of record of the serviceman, as well as whether they were members of the American Expeditionary Force (i.e. served in Europe) or another branch of the service that may or may not have served outside the continental United States. The remainder of the volume is text – documentation of service supporting the military on the home front, and a bit of material about the war itself.  Notable in the latter category is that Serbia is called “Servia” – an alternative name for the country of which we were unaware.  Likewise notable and useful even for those without a Jefferson County connection are tables comparing the Army divisions in various quantitative measures, such as length of time overseas, length of time “in action”, casualties sustained, prisoners captured, etc.  211+ pages, in PDF format.  Download now for $5.00.

The Wilna Township chapter from Edgar C. Emerson's comprehensive county history, Jefferson County, New York (1898).  23+ pages, PDF format, download now for $2.75. 

The Watertown Township chapter from Edgar C. Emerson's Jefferson County, New York (1898).  20+ pages, PDF format, download now for $3.00.   

The Adams township chapter from Edgar C. Emerson's Jefferson County, New York (1898).  An additional township chapter as we continue to republish Emerson's Jefferson County book.  That this township's population peaked in 1860 is of interest to anyone viewing population trends in upstate New York over time.  37+ pages, PDF format, download now for $3.25.

The Alexandria Township chapter from Edgar C. Emerson's  Jefferson County, New York (1898).  An additional township chapter as we continue to republish Emerson's Jefferson County.  We were interested to learn that a military and naval engagement of the War of 1812 was fought in and around Sackets Harbor in this township – an engagement of which we were previously unaware.  Then, as now, the population of the area was sparse.   25+ pages, PDF format, download now for $3.00.

The Antwerp Township chapter from Edgar C. Emerson's Jefferson County, New York (1868).  An additional township chapter as we continue our project of republishing Emerson's Jefferson County book.  23+ pages, in PDF format, download now for $2.75. 

The Brownville Township chapter from Edgar C. Emerson's Jefferson County, New York (1868).  An additional township chapter as we continue our project of republishing Emerson's Jefferson County book.  36+ pages, in PDF format, download now for $3.25. 

Jefferson County, from French's Gazetteer of the State of New York (1860).  This source is considered definitive for the period just prior to the Civil War and essential for any Jefferson County collection.  The following localities are mentioned in boldface in this chapter:  Adams, Adams Center, Smithville, Appling, North Adams, Alexandria, Alexandria Bay, Plessis, Redwood, Antwerp, Ox Bow, Sterlingburgh, Spragues Corners, Brownsville, Dexter, Limerick, Moffatsville, Pillar Point, Cape Vincent, Saint Lawrence, Millens Bay, Champion, Great Bend, West Carthage, Champion South Roads, Clayton, Depauville, Clayton Center, Ellisburgh, Ellis Village, Belleville, Pierrepont Manor, Woodville, Mannsville, Rural Hill, Wardwell, Henderson, Henderson Harbor, Smithville, Roberts Corners, Hounsfield, Sackets Harbor, East Hounsfield, Stowells Corners, Le Ray, Le Raysville, Evans Mills, Sandfords Corners, Black River, Lorraine, Lyme, Chaumont, Three Mile Bay, Point Peninsula, Orleans, La Fargeville, Omar, Stone Mills, Orleans 4 Corners, Port Orleans, Collins Landing, Pamelia, Pamelia Village, Juhelsville, Pamelia Four Corners, Philadelphia, Sterlingsville, Rodman, Zoar, Whitesville, Rutland, Felts Mills, Black River, Tylerville, Rutland Center, Theresa, West Theresa, Watertown, Burrs Mills, Watertown Center, Fields Settlement, Wilna, Carthage, Natural Bridge, North Wilna, Wood Settlement, Worth, and Worthville.  14+ pages, PDF format, download.  $1.75 

Jefferson County, from Mather & Brockett's Geographical History of New York (1848).  Only a dozen years before French's Gazetteer, and quite a different treatment.  In the 1840s, New York was still a growing state – still frontier, in parts – and the authors of this volume attempted, with uneven results, to capture the geography and history of the state.  We say uneven, because the counties receive uneven treatment.  Some are treated at considerable length and offer a complete view of the time of that county, while others are treated very briefly and one supposes that a few were scarcely researched at all.  Fortunately this was not one of the latter.  Jefferson County fared considerably better than average at seven pages.  Some counties received as few as three.  We also include in this publication the section on land grants due to their importance in the state’s history. Mather & Brockett is difficult to find today, and we're very happy to be able to bring it to you.  7++ pages, PDF format, download now for $3.50.

The Civil War chapter from Edgar C. Emerson's Jefferson County, New York (1898).  Chapter includes general material about attitudes toward the war in Jefferson County, and lists units raised in the county, including officers (commissioned and non-commissioned) as well as the history of each unit.  30+ pages, PDF format, download.  $3.75

See also:  relevant material in the NYS Canal Commissioners Report for 1878 available for download on our New York State Miscellany page.

Edgar C. Emerson's Jefferson County, New York

Here is a nice Jefferson County item that looks like it should be useful to anyone doing genealogy and local history in that locale.  Published in 1898, it is in three parts:  part 1, consisting of 875 pages, is the county and town history section.  Part II, biographies of notables, is around 60 pages long.  Following that, Part III consists of 276 pages of "personal references."  There are three separate indexes, consisting of around 50 pages -- saving us the necessity of indexing such a large volume. There is also a large number of pictures, both portraits and views of county scenes, in addition to the numbered pages.  All in all, there's a huge amount of information here, in what appears to be a very accessible form for that era.  If the Watertown, NY area is of interest to you, you'll want this one.  We're currently publishing the chapters about each town as individual downloads (see above).

Day Book:  Brown's Store, Stone Mills, Jefferson County, NY

(November 1853 - November 1854). This is a one-of-a-kind original day book (sales and purchases) for a pre-Civil War country store located in Orleans Township, Jefferson County. If you had an ancestor in that tiny community, or if you have an interest in knowing how country stores worked at that period of time, you will have a wonderful time with this.  We're certainly not expecting to sell many copies of this one, but the large-format pages have a wealth of information for those willing to read and extract it.

Proceeding of the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors (1934)

There is quite a bit of local history and some genealogy in this 367 page volume.  These include the coroner's report (with names, dates, and causes of death), the sheriff's report (including information about all those consigned to mental health or delinquent facilities during the year, with some family information) and minutes of all of the meetings during the year, as well as financial information.  This is a pretty specialized item, so we'll wait for indications of interest before we schedule republication -- but we could make it a download, or a series of downloads.  What do you think?