Case Sensitive

Last fall, I ran across reference to a complicated legal case involving two Gillespy brothers which was heard by the NY Supreme Court in 1814. The case report stated specific Gillespy family relationships, i.e., who married whom, and names of children, which is information most often received by a genealogist as a dream come true. But as I have continued piecing together the Gillespy family groups of early Ulster/Orange, NY, the genealogical details from that NY Supreme Court case just don't fit with other evidence, which is not to say that I haven't really been trying to MAKE them fit. For Pete's Sake, the source is a case report from the NY Supreme Court, so it must be right! But alas, it would seem that every source, every single one, must be critically examined and corroborated. I think this particular case report was probably mistaken in some of the key details pertaining to Gillespy relationships. You can read about my analysis here.

Meanwhile, the best way to really corroborate any of the details in the NY Supreme Court case report is to find the minutes pertaining to the Gillespy case from the lower courts. This Gillespy case was apparently heard several times before reaching the NY Supreme Court - in the Ulster County Court of Common Pleas as well as the Orange County Circuit Court, and maybe others. But locating those records is easier said than done, especially knowing that other interested researchers have tried with determination and failed to locate these records. But are the negative search results because the records no longer exist, or because the records are simply not indexed (which effectively hinders any search), and/or they have been mislabeled or misfiled and/or they have been restrictively stored some place that is physically and/or financially inaccessible to the public? I'd love to hear from anybody who has experience or advise about successfully locating early (pre-1800) court records in Ulster or Orange counties, NY.

At this point, I'm going to give a plug to support any genealogical or historical society whose volunteers are attempting to index records and make those indices available online. Even better, support Reclaim The Records. This organization has made phenomenal progress, especially in New York, using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to see that public records are released to the public domain. The job of discovering and untangling our family history should not be hampered by government restrictions. My two cents.