In my earliest efforts to piece together the family of Dr
Adam Clark and his wife Harriet Watson of Albany County, NY, I made quite a few
assumptions. They had married about
1820 and their numerous children were born between 1821 and 1843 prior to the establishment
of government birth records. Several of their sons had Watson as a middle name
and some had moved to Delhi in Delaware County. When I found a James W Clark,
born 1829, living in Delhi, I initially wondered if he was another of their
sons. James was a farmer in Delhi married to Elizabeth Bailey, the father of
quite a few children, and a veteran of the Civil War.
As time goes on more and more resources become available, providing
the opportunity to check early life events more carefully. Especially helpful
are smaller local newspapers, many of which are being digitized. For the era
prior to government vital records, a newspaper report can be important. I have
been spending time and effort searching those newly-available newspaper records
for verification and documentation of many family members. However, that is not how I discovered my
error.
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