How do I research my family history?
Genealogical research can be extremely time-consuming and unfortunately the library does not have enough staff to assist you in researching. However, we are happy to introduce you to the resources we have available at the Library and online and can get you started with your research.
Resources available at the library include: Waterville Times database, local history books and the obituary index. To access Ancestry and HeritageQuest at our partner Mid York libraries, Click HERE.
Additional assistance is available from Waterville Historical Society. The Society is open on Wednesdays from 10am-4pm.
Library History
Waterville Historical Society
Marshall Historical Society
Heaps of History – Written by Richard F. Brown
this blog contains several historic writings.
Fulton History
History of the Greater Waterville Area – Electronic Collection
The following full-text articles concern the history of the greater Waterville area, and are presented here with the cooperation and generous assistance of the Waterville Historical Society. Following the title of many of the articles appears the years in which they were first written or published (not necessarily the time periods discussed in the article).
A collection of Photographs & Maps.
If you have any comments, suggestions or contributions of material, please contact us.
LIST OF FULL-TEXT ARTICLES
Waterville Times Obituary Index: 1856-1895 Richard Brown has compiled a complete database, reproduced here in four (4) parts, of obituaries which appeared in the pages of the Waterville Times from 1856 through 1895. The full-text articles are in the collection of the Waterville Public Library. This database, containing the name, date of death, place of death and obituary publication date for more than 2,100 individuals, is an extremely valuable resource which we are most excited to present here. Each data file is quite large (approximately 325K), so please be patient while the pages download.
The Betrayal of Samson Occom (1998) This article by Bernd Peyer, which appeared in the November, 1998 issue of the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, deals with the life of Samson Occom (1723-1792), a Mohegan Indian instrumental in creating the Christian Indian community in Brothertown.
Cowen’s History of the Loomis Family Former Town of Sangerfield historian Norman R. Cowen recounts some of the exploits of Central New York’s most infamous crime family.
Map of Oneida County (1829) A map showing the original patents and land grants of Oneida County. References to these patents and grants are still commonly found in Oneida County deeds.
The Fire of 1838 (1838) A poem from the scrapbook of H. J. Coggeshell loaned to the Waterville Historical Society by Bill Cowen.
Pomroy Jones’ History of the Town of Sangerfield (1851) A chapter from Annals and Recollections of Oneida County, as published by Pomroy Jones in 1851. The research and writing of this particular chapter, however, have been credited to Amos. O. Osborn, a Waterville historian, lawyer and Renaissance man, whose own history of the Town appears elsewhere in these pages.
Pomroy Jones’ History of Marshall Township (1851) Also excerpted from Jones’ Annals and Recollections of Oneida County.
Pomroy Jones’ History of the Town of Augusta (1851) A third chapter from Pomroy Jones’ Annals and Recollections of Oneida County.
Recollections of Abner Livermore (1851) Abner Livermore (1777-1857), an early Waterville area resident and school teacher, shares his memories of local people and events from the 1790’s through the early 1800’s. His original letter is in the collection of the Waterville Public Library.
The Railroad Comes to Town (1867) A contemporary account of the opening of the railroad between Utica and Waterville on November 14, 1867, as published in the Waterville Times.
Waterville Seventy Years Ago (1876) This article appeared in the Waterville Times on Thursday, March 23, 1876. The locations of the homes described herein may be determined by referring to the map appearing following the text portion of the article.
The New York Sun’s History of the Loomis Gang (1877) A history of the infamous Loomis Gang written by Amos Cummings for the New York Sun in 1877 and reprinted in several upstate journals.
The Old Anvil – 1849 Forge Hollow Celebration (1886) An amusing story written for the Waterville Times by “E. J. R.” which appeared in that publication in two segments on July 9 and July 17, 1886.
Days of Long Ago (1886) The recollections of a former Waterville resident in an 1886 interview by historian Amos Osborn. The article was originally published in the Waterville Reflex – a newspaper which later merged with the Waterville Times – and reprinted by the Times early in the 20th century.
Amos Osborn’s History of Sangerfield (1886) The text of a speech given by Amos Osborn (b. 1811), resident historian, lawyer and Renaissance man, of Waterville, to the Oneida County Historical Society, as published in the Waterville Times on October 1, 1886. A brief biography of Mr. Osborn appears at the end of the article.
The Hop Industry (1886) An excerpt from Amos O. Osborn’s History of Sangerfield, written in 1886, concerning the Waterville area’s once-thriving hop industry.
Tom Kindness, One of the Last of the Mohegans (c. 1905) This article, which was found in an old scrapbook, appears to have been printed in an out-of-town newspaper. Although the article is undated, extrinsic evidence suggests that it was published c. 1905.
History of the Nine Mile Swamp (1947) Town of Sangerfield Historian Norman Cowen takes a trip around the NineMileSwamp with his guides, George B. Stetson and Aden Livermore, both 81 years of age, and their teacher, Phenette Carter, 93.
Waterville Masonic Temple (1950) An historical account of the Waterville Masonic Temple and its chapter room as compiled by Worthy Sister Gertrude Allen and Sister Beverly Allen. It was given to the members of Crystal Chapter, O.E.S. on the occasion of the celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Chapter, February 14, 1950.
Hop Extract Industry Started Locally? (1973) An interesting article written by M. L. Peterson for the Waterville Times in 1973.
The Brothertown Tribe (1989) Excerpted from the book, A Man Called Sampson, written by Will and Rudi Ottery in 1989. The book traces the ancestry and progeny of Sampson, a Mashantucket Pequot Indian, born in what is now New London County, Connecticut – including brief descriptions of family connections to other historic native American family groups, the ancient Pequot tribe, the Pequot War, the Brothertown tribe of New York and the Brothertown tribe of Wisconsin. A copy of this book – donated by Will and Rudi Ottery – is available at the Deansboro Library. This excerpt is reprinted here with the kind permission of Will Ottery.
Kate Loftus Welch (1996) Prepared for the Waterville Public Library and the Waterville Historical Society by Thomas Barnes, author and editor of Along Willona Creek (1996) and The Poet of Forge Hollow (1997).
