General family research internet resources

Genforum
http://genforum.genealogy.com/
(individual surname, state and country message boards, click on
"learning center" for much practical advice)

Rootsweb
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
(message boards, Free Pages, World Connect, gedcoms added by private people)

ISTG (Immigrant Ship Transcriber's Guild)
http://www.immigrantships.net/index2.html
(ship passenger lists donated by private people)

Castle Garden
http://www.castlegarden.org/
(New York port used before Ellis Island)

Family Search (the Mormon Church's database)
https://familysearch.org/
(They have a very useful learning center or you can go to their local brick & mortar history centers and order films. They are all over the country in their churches)

Ellis Island
http://www.ellisisland.org/
(New York port immigrants came into from 1892-1924)


SSDI (Social Security Death Index)
(no longer available on Rootsweb but can be found on Family Search)

Genealogy Trails
http://genealogytrails.com/

Cyndi's List
http://www.cyndislist.com/

Ancestry.com
(Has sources you can't get elsewhere but you have to pay for it.)
(The Sidney library and the Minster museum have it)

Find a Grave
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi
(Many have photos of the grave stone)

I apologize for the links not working. I'm having a problem with certain things on here.

Early schools

Education was very important to the pioneers. The earliest schools were built of logs and a better building was constructed when there was time and money.

The specifications for a new brick school were very explicit down to the kind of wood and mortar that was to be used. According to the specifications for Sherman School, "The contractor is to furnish all materials and labor necessary for the full completion of the building except the bell which will be furnished by the building committee but must be hung by the contractor". The foundation and brick work were to be "put up in good strong mortar made from good sharp sand and fresh lime". There were to be 3 coats of plaster, the first having "good long winter hair" in it. Blackboards were to be "4 feet high and a good quality of slate and properly secured to the wall". Windows had wire mesh attached to the outside to protect them from baseballs and snowballs. Sherman School had a basement and a furnace but many schools were heated with a wood or coal burning stove that had to be lit in the morning by the teacher or a student.