Need more info on 1700's geneology?

Question:

Need more info on 1700's geneology?

I traced my family back to the early 1800's. Does anyone know how to research the 1700's becuase all the census forms of the 1700's are different and they do not list spouse names or childrens names. I am looking for a Jacob Spoor of NY childrens names are Horace and Ruth Spoor, came to Michigan in 1850's
Thanks

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Is it the Horace who died in Oscoda in 1891? His death records do show his parents were Jacob and Ruth. I also see that they spent several years near Flint. You might start with the Genessee County Library or the Library of Michigan to see if he or one of his sons shows up in a book called "Portrait and Biographical Record of Genesee, Lapeer and Tuscola Counties, Michigan: Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, Together With Biographies of all the Governors of the State and of the Presidents of the United States." (1892)

The next thing to search is the newspapers in both Oscoda and Richland/Genesee to see if it mentions more on his parents and his place of birth. Also look for religious information, such as the church from which he was buried to see if you might be able to get information from them on where he came from/when/etc.

I'm not sure if this is the same Horace Spoor, but you can check with the St. Clair County Clerk for a copy of the marriage license to see if there is a complete place of birth on Horace:

4 July 1852
Horace Spoor, 19, Berlin Twp
Synthia Carpenter, 20, Berlin Twp
Erastis Spoor & John Carpenter; John B. Frost
(from the Dibean Marriage Index for St. Clair Co)

There's a second marriage an hour west in Genesee Co 7 years later:

MERRILL, MARY SPOOR, HORACE R 25 SEP 1859
It's possible they'll have complete info. My experience is that St Clair did a better job than most counties of tracking residents and completing forms, but you may get lucky with either one.

My guess, just based on Horace's age, is that Jacob may have fought in the War of 1812. If so, you can check military records to see if you can find an enlistment point for him.

More likely, though, is that Jacob was an immigrant. There are several reasons for coming to that conclusion, but the major one being he doesn't appear in earlier censuses for New York state. My first stop would be a good research library for a book called "Dutch to America" (Library of Michigan and the Newberry Library in Chicago both have copies, and I think the Detroit Public Library does...also possible that the Hoyt Library in Saginaw has one). This was a fabulous book for many reasons, but primarily because they were great about not only listing all Dutch passengers coming to the US, but also because they were great about telling what their hometowns were in the Netherlands.

The other possibility is that he was from one of the long-term Dutch families of "New Netherlands". They tended to live on Manhattan, then migrated to the rural areas near the Vermont border and to the Albany NY area. You would be looking for the records of Dutch Reformed churches of the era to see if you can find baptismal records on Horace or marriage records of Jacob and Ruth.

The other resource I haven't seen you mention are the state censuses carried out by the State of Michigan in the middle of every decade. These seem to be a well-kept secret for some reason. Unlike federal censuses, the State of Michigan was looking for demographic information on the people moving into the state and wasn't focused on just getting voter information for determining congressional districts. Instead, they ask questions like what year did you move to the state of Michigan? Where did you move from? They also did a better job listing women and children in the early years. These are on microfilm and most county libraries in Michigan can get them through Interlibrary loan for you. The Library of Michigan and Archives of Michigan have them, as do many of the larger genealogy research libraries in the state.

Hope it helps...

PS, just did a quick lookup on Erastis Spoor, the best man at the St Clair Co marriage and found he was from Tioga NY. If he's a brother or close relative, Tioga might be a good place to snoop...