In September, I had the good fortune to travel to New York with both the time and purpose for doing research on this line. How exciting! I planned for weeks and came up with an itinerary that would start in Albany and the New York State Archives and New York State Library, move to the county seats of Ulster, Dutchess, and Orange, and if time permitted, take me then into villages like Pine Bush and Montgomery. It was a good plan, but without going into the details, very little of it could be carried through to produce any results worth mentioning, which I must say was and is staggeringly disappointing.

However, I will also say that the kind people of the Orange County Genealogical Society were aware of my sad situation and they even called after my return to Colorado with the offer to do what they can to help my search. That's when I realized just how much of the research analysis I've done in the last three years is in my head. So with this post, I attach three new documents to the library - one is a general summary of my New York research, and the other two contain more specifics about research pertaining to each of the families, Greer and Gillespie. I can only hope that this work will result in a spark of recognition for somebody, and if not that, then ideas and suggestions from other researchers whose points of view might broaden my own.

Posted on October 15, 2012

1. Who are the parents of Isabella Gillespie Greer? I tend to get obsessed with WHY I can't find a death certificate for Isabella who died in 1891 when death certificates were indeed being issued in Michigan. I have looked in neighboring counties, but to no avail. Nevertheless, the REASON I want that death certificate is the hope that it will, as most death certificates do, mention who her parents were. Without knowing Isabella's parents, we can't connect Isabella to the direct descendants of John Gillespie (either first or second marriage).
2. Who was James Gillespie, born abt 1772 who was on the 1850 census of Bloomfield, MI? I strongly suspect he is Isabella's father, and possibly the father of Thomas Gillespie, Jr. whose death certificate lists James Gillespie as father, and mother unknown. I would expect him to be buried in Franklin Cemetery with the other Gillespie/Greer pioneers, but so far I don't know of any evidence that he is there. For all I know, he died outside Michgan altogether - maybe he went back to NY? Or to Canada to visit? Or back to Ireland?
3. Who was James Gillespie, born abt 1820, died 1866, and was buried with the other Michigan pioneers? Because a flag was engraved on his gravestone, we assume he was a veteran, but so far we can't find where or when he served.
4. Who was Thomas Gillespie, Sr., husband of Nancy Gillespie? He was related in some way, but there's quite alot of tangle at this point.
5. Who was Mary Ann Gillespie who married Henry P. Sloat? We're still looking for clues to her connection with the NY Gillespie's where she was apparently born around 1816. hmmmmm?

Updated on April 4, 2013