The Lyme Heritage Center was established in 1990 to accumulate, preserve, and make available to the public all possible historic or current records and news items concerning the town of Lyme and its people. It is committed to assist researchers and scholars, either in person or by mail, in the use of the contents of our repository. We collect or copy all written, photographed, taped or microfilmed records deemed historically important to our locale. We have committed our resources to furthering interest in local and family history.
A volunteer is on duty 10 to 12 PM Monday and Tuesday, 1:00 to Wednesday and Friday 1 to 3. Please confirm hours first by calling Julia Gosier at (315) 649-5452. You may write queries to Julia Gosier; 28589 Empie Road; Three Mile Bay, NY 13693. We do not charge a user's fee, but gratefully accept donations of money or materials. Patrons are expected to pay costs of postage and photocopying.
We house general history information on the Town of Lyme, and also on the towns of Brownville, Cape Vincent, and Clayton. We have approximately 2,000 family files, and many genealogies. We have census and other records. Some of our records are county-wide. We are constantly adding to our collection of updated cemetery records, early town vital records, early histories and atlases, news notes, early ledgers and miscellaneous histories.
The Lyme Heritage Center and Lyme Free Library are presenting the historical journal of John Bedford, also known as the Bedford Diary, an unvarnished look into the everyday life of Jefferson County in its earliest days. What went on in the neighborhood, interesting marriage customs, and a description of the little French foreigners in a backwoods Yankee school (Cape Vincent being heavily settled in that era by French and German immigrants) make this a fascinating read for anyone connected with the American frontier of the early nineteenth century.
John Wiley Bedford spent his early life at Marysburg, Ont., on Grenadier Island, the Town of Cape Vincent and the Town of Lyme before moving to Illinois in 1854. His journal deals with historical and personal issues between the years of 1810 and 1844. Excerpts of this book have appeared previously, but this is the first unabridged reprint, wherein Bedford writes not only about political events of the day but also about his fellow early settlers. The book will appeal to those interested in the history of Northern Jefferson County, and also to those who are interested in the way-of-life of any early settlement. Genealogists will find the book of interest because Bedford names the people in the area and characterizes them, for better or worse.
The 233 page, hard cover book includes a 1000 item index and 20 pages of appendices.The book is offered for $25. Please add $4.50 if it is to be mailed. To order send name, address, phone number and a check made out to "Lyme Heritage Center" to Julie Gosier, 28589 Empie Road, Three Mile Bay, NY 13693.
Several years ago, video tapes were available on the following programs hosted by Lyme Heritage Center. Please contact them directly about availability of these or other videos:
Attending a one room school
Prohibition
These programs were made up of reminiscences of eye witnesses or participants.
Lyme Heritage Center has an up-to-date card file index on all its genealogies.
We are fortunate to have on this site a listing of the family files held by Lyme Heritage Center. They are being added to continually. This list was prepared by the staff of Lyme Heritage Center. Some cautions in using the list: every surname is listed, but many have very little information, perhaps an obituary, or a wedding notice. On the other hand, someone may have donated a family group sheet or a complete family history. There is no guarantee that the person you are looking for, even though she has the same unusual surname listed, will appear in this family file.
As is customary in working with historical groups, be prepared to pay copying and mailing costs. Lyme Heritage has NO governmental support. A small donation may hurry your request, but understand that members of the extremely small staff have many other calls on their time, so be patient and courteous. As always, those two virtues bring their own reward!
1. Roster of Jefferson Country's Absent Sons and Daughters. An alphabetized list of about 4,000 people who left the county before 1905, the town they moved from and town to which they moved. ......................................... ......$18.00 + $3.50 S. & H.
2. Ernest Cook Vol. 1. Compilation of Ernest Cook's interviews with Jefferson County's elders. Series such as: "Talks with Men of the North Country," "The famed Goodenough School," and "Forgotten Post Offices." This last series is especially useful for the genealogist because Cook names all the families who received mail at these remote locations. One hundred and twenty articles, 118 pages, with index ................................................$18.00 + $3.50 S. & H.
3. Ernest Cook, Vol. II in this volume there are a total of 100 articles; 42 on Theresa, 10 on the French nobility in the north country, 5 on the Edus emigration which tells why and how the non-noble left Europe, 15 articles on the Champion area, 28 on the Scotch Pioneers. There are 113 pages, many of them retyped for easier reading. With index ................$18.00 + $3.50 S. & H.
4. Ernest Cook, Vol. III. One hundred nineteen pages, completely retyped for easy reading, with 30 articles from March 1910 to July 1929, many on Chippewa Bay area. Cooks's technique was to interview the elders of a community. If he were interviewing an 80 year old in 1920, the man would have been born in 1840 and could give an oral history of the area from those early days. With index ....................$18.00 + $3.50 S.& H.
5. Ernest Cook, Vol. IV. Thirty three articles, 117 pages, completely retyped for easy reading. There are articles on some of the famous names in the ountered in this uninhabited region.With Index .. $18.00 + $3.50 S. & H.
6. Ernest Cook, Vol V. Forty articles, 128 completely retyped pages, from August 1929 to November 1929, mostly on the Rossie, Hammond, Theresa areas...........................................$18.00 + $3.50 S.& H.
7. Ernest Cook, Vol. VI. Forty one articles, 121 completely retyped pages, including a 13 article series on the Copley's of Chaumont and Antwerp, a 17 article series on the Town of Lyme and an 11 article series on Point Peninsula. .......$18.00 + $3.50 S. & H.
8. Point Salubrious 1802 - 2006 by Clara Van Doren. Includes 169 color pictures. ........$32.00 + $3.50 S. & H.
9 Schermerhorn Park Memories by Frank Schermerhorn Silver. Special Order .......$16.00 + $3.50 S. & H.
10. The Historical Journal of John Bedford. A gripping saga of the difficult life of the pioneer in what was a nearly uninhabited Northern New York State. This is the story of Bedford's life between 1810 and 1844 .......$25.00 + $4.50 S. & H.
11. The Founding of the Schools in Lyme and the Pioneers who Built Them, by Joyce Lance. Includes a 3,000+ item index .......$22.00 + $3.50 S. & H.
12. Follow the North Shore by Joyce Lance. Stories of the Early Settlers of Point Peninsula... $18.00 + $3.50 S. & H.
13. History of the Town of Lyme by Charles R. and Harriet L. Knapp. Booklet .......$5.00 + $2.50 S. & H.
14. The "Ciscoe Chasers" of Chaumont Bay, Booklet. .......$5.00 + $2.50 S. & H.
15. A Historical Sketch of the Town of Cape Vincent, by Elizur N. Pratt, Booklet .......$5.00 + $2.50 S. & H.
16. Chaumont History through Old Postcards. There are about 80 old postcards of old Chaumont with commentary .....$15.00 + $3.00 S. & H.
17. Recipes and Reminiscences. Olde time recipes, curiosities, and pictures. ....... 10.00 + $3.50 S. & H.
18. Chaumont History through Old Postcards. About 80 old postcards of the Village of Chaumont with commentary. ....... $15.00 + $3.00 S. & H.
PRICES AND SHIPPING ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
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County Co-Coordinator Nancy Dixon or
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