Syracuse and the Mesa Library

It has been a busy couple of weeks, with travel and research. Somewhat frustrating, but overall good things were accomplished. Syracuse was fun - mostly because I got to spend time with my husband. We went to a basketball game, a play, had a nice Valentine's dinner and tried many new restaurants. We had dinner with a friend and her husband Saturday night at their home and then I spent a day with said friend and had a great time - thank you, Lauren!  Enjoyed getting to know Syracuse better too. They have great old houses - lots of history - oh, and it was cold! But not much snow, which helped with traveling around the area. I was able to do some research, especially in the town of Oswego where the county records are. Unfortunately, I got hit about 4 days into the trip with a flu/cold bug and had to slow down a bit. But, next time....

I am still having trouble nailing down anything concrete about Ezra Lane and a connection to his father, Roswell Lane, and exactly where they were in 1810. We have really quite overwhelming circumstantial evidence that they have that relationship, but it would be nice to find it "on paper."  I did pick up deeds to land in Oswego County by a couple of Ezra's children, including my ancestor, Roswell, but other than names, no relationships were revealed.  I stopped in and talked to the County Historian, Justin White. I have corresponded with him quite a bit in the past and he has been most helpful. It was fun meeting him and we talked about other possibilities for research. A real disadvantage to those doing New York research is that they did not require records for births, deaths and marriages until 1881, but every town and county in New York has a historian and they are always very helpful. Ezra had two daughters, Almira and Laura, who married brothers, James M. and Richard P. Watson, who all remained in the Skaneateles area (pronounced "skinny-atlas" for those of us NOT in the know) of Onondaga County, about 10 miles from Syracuse. I did find a few more pieces of information on them. I do wish I could confirm all the children they had, with names and dates. The next step will be church records.

Then yesterday, back in Phoenix, the GenieGirls study group had their long awaited field trip to the Mesa Library. It is second only to the Salt Lake City LDS library in size, and about 45 minutes from our general area of Phoenix, but several of the members had never been. Those who had, were a bit intimated and didn't know where to begin, how to use it and hadn't stayed long. We started with a great tour by one of the volunteers to familiarize us with what they have, how it is set up and how best to use it. That was a huge help. Then we all started doing the research that each had prepared for. Lunch, of course, was a fun break and then back to work! We stayed until about 3, before heading back home. Everyone seemed to accomplish something, even if it was getting more familiar with the library and feeling better about going alone in the future. I think, in general, it enthused everyone to continue with their research.