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Home to one of the first immigrant settlements in America, and one of the country’s all time most popular ports of entry, it’s quite possible that the “Empire State” could hold some answers to your ancestry. But with a population of nearly 20 million, and a history stretching back four hundred years, finding your ancestor there will require a consummate strategy. The racial, religious, and cultural demographics of New York State however, add to its richness of character, and make for fertile researching grounds for family historians.
We have sought high and low to find you the very best resources and the most accurate information available for doing genealogical research in New York State, both online and off. There are and abundance of genealogical records available for New York, and we’ll show you:
Initially we’re going to cover the early history and settlement of New York State. Knowing where its population came from, where they settled, and where they may have migrated to is valuable information to the genealogical researcher. That type of knowledge can direct you as to where you should look for a particular surname, even what period to search for it in.
It is believed the earliest inhabitants of New York State arrived in the area around 12,000 years ago. These peoples grew into what became the Algonquian and Iroquoian cultures, which included the Iroquois, Mohawk and Cherokee nations. The first Europeans to discover New York were the French, who arrived in 1524, but the first to lay claim to the land were the Dutch in 1609.
The Dutch initially made up the majority of New York’s population, and this remained so until the 18th century. By that time colonists from England had settled, and the Pilgrims of New England slowly began to migrate into Long Island and Staten Island by way of Connecticut. Others expanded into the areas that are modern day Westchester and Albany.
Revolutions across the European continent in1848 saw many liberalist Germans arrive in New York during that year. The Germans immigrants were generally warmly received, and established shops, schools, newspapers, and some like Carl Schurz (US Senator and Secretary to the Interior) became political leaders. In the 1850’s alone more than three quarters of a million Germans passed through New York via Ellis Island, and established communities such as Little Germany (now Alphabet City, Manhattan), and Yorkville on the Upper East Side.
The bulk of Irish immigrants began arriving during the 1850’s, but they were present in smaller numbers before that time. Irish names have been found on some of the ancient registers of the Dutch Reformed Church, and the Earl of Limerick. Irish continued to immigrate to the New World throughout the Revolutionary War period, and following the War of 1812, a steady stream of them made their way to American shores. The greatest numbers came during the course of the Great Famine, and soon made up a quarter of the east coast population, many of them settling in Lower Manhattan
The Italians weren’t as warmly welcomed as the Germans and Protestant Irish, and so clustered together in their own small communities as a matter of survival. Over 600,000 Italian immigrants arrived in New York between 1890 and 1900, most of them from southern Italy and Sicily.
Jewish immigrants arrived in the wake of the Germans and Irish in the late nineteenth century. Many came from the Russian Empire of that era, which would have included Lithuania, the Ukraine, Poland and other Russian satellite nations.
Boundary Changes: Boundary changes are a common obstacle when researching New York ancestors. You could be searching for an ancestor’s record in one county when in fact it is stored in a different one due to historical county boundary changes. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries can help you to overcome that problem. It provides a chronological listing of every boundary change that has occurred in the history of New York.
Name Changes: Surname changes, variations, and misspellings can complicate genealogical research. It is important to check all spelling variations. Soundex, a program that indexes names by sound, is a useful first step, but you can't rely on it completely as some name variations result in different Soundex codes. The surnames could be different, but the first name may be different too. You can also find records filed under initials, middle names, and nicknames as well, so you will need to get creative with surname variations and spellings in order to cover all the possibilities. For help with surname variations read our instructional article on How to Use Soundex.
Genealogical resources include not only records, but the organizations that house them, or can direct you to them. These institutions include: Archives, Libraries, Genealogical Societies, Family History Centers, Universities, Churches, and Museums.
600 East Locust
Des Moines, New York 50319
515-281-5111
400 West Pershing Road
Kansas City, MO 64108.
Phone: 816-268-8000
E-mail: kansascity.archives@nara.gov
Genealogical and historical societies have access to extensive catalogues of genealogical data. They are also able to offer expert guidance for genealogical researchers. Many members are professional genealogists who are most willing to share their expertise in finding ancestors.
New York Genealogical Society – census, vital records, religious records, city directories, military records, family histories
6000 Douglas Ave.
P.O. Box 7735
Des Moines, IA 50322
Telephone: 515-276-0287
Old Fort Genealogical Society – cemetery records, township maps, old settlers list
Ft Madison Public Library
1920 Ave E
Ft Madison, IA 52627
Mailing lists are internet based facilities that use email to distribute a single message to all who subscribe to it. When information on a particular surname, new records, or any other important genealogy information related to the mailing list topic becomes available, the subscribers are alerted to it. Joining a mailing list is an excellent way to stay up to date on New York genealogy research topics. Rootsweb have an extensive listing of New York Mailing Lists on a variety of topics.
A message board is another internet based facility where people can post questions about a specific genealogy topic and have it answered by other genealogists. If you have questions about a surname, record type, or research topic, you can post your question and other researchers and genealogists will help you with the answer. Be sure to check back regularly, as the answers are not emailed to you. The message boards at the New York Genealogy Forum are completely free to use.
Many genealogy periodicals and historical newspapers contain reprinted copies of family genealogies, transcripts of family Bible records, information about local records and archives, census indexes, church records, queries, land records, obituaries, court records, cemetery records, and wills.
600 East Locust
Des Moines, New York 50319
515-281-5111
Maps are an integral part of genealogical research. They help us to locate landmarks, towns, cities, parishes, states, provinces, waterways and roads and streets. They also help us to determine when and where boundary changes might have taken place, and give us a visualization of the area we’re researching in.
For locating place names, a gazetteer is the best possible resource for any genealogist. Gazetteers are also sometimes called “place name dictionaries”, and can help you to locate the area in which you need to conduct research.
City directories are similar to telephone directories in that they list the residents of a particular area. The difference though is what is important to genealogists, and that is they pre-date telephone directories. You can find an ancestor’s information such as their street address, place of employment, occupation, or the name of their spouse. A one-stop-shop for finding city directories in New York is the New York Online Historical Directories which contains a listing of every available city and historical directory related to New York.
Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Records – Also known as vital records, birth, death, and marriage certificates are the most basic, yet most important records attached to your ancestor. The reason for their importance is that they not only place your ancestor in a specific place at a definite time, but potentially connect the individual to other relatives. Below is a list of repositories and websites where you can find New York vital records
Some county clerks kept vital records as early as 1838. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of these documents for many counties which can be accessed at New York Family History Centers. Existing originals are found in the county clerk’s office or in the New York Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) for that county.
Original copies of New York Vital Records for death, birth, marriage, and divorce may be ordered from:
New York Department of Public Health
Division of Vital Records
605 West Jefferson Street
Springfield, IL 62702-5097
Telephone: (217) 782-6553
Fax: 217-785-3209
The New York State Archives has an New York Statewide Marriage Index, 1763–1900 which contains one million marriages, or two million names.
Census records are among the most important genealogical documents for placing your ancestor in a particular place at a specific time. Like BDM records, they can also lead you to other ancestors, particularly those who were living under the authority of the head of household.
Federal census records for New York exist from 1800 to 1990. Unfortunately the 1800 census was lost, and the 1810 census contains only a few names from Randolph County. The 1890 census was destroyed, though a few names from Mound Township in McDonough County remain.
Church and synagogue records are a valuable resource, especially for baptisms, marriages, and burials that took place before 1900. You will need to at least have an idea of your ancestor’s religious denomination, and in most cases you will have to visit a brick and mortar establishment to view them.
Most church records are kept by the individual church, although in some denominations, records are placed in a regional archive or maintained at the diocesan level. Local Historical Societies are sometimes the repository for the state’s older church records. Below are links archives that maintain church records, as well as a few databases that can be viewed online.
The Family History Library contains many church records from a variety of denominations on microfilm.
The New York State Archives collected some early New York church records that are now held by the New York State Library.
Most of the records of individual denominations are kept in central repositories.
American Baptist Historical Society
1106 South Goodman Street
Rochester, NY 14620
Phone: (716) 473-1740
Early, for Mormons in New York Wards and Branches can be found on microfilm at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The film numbers can be searched online at the Family History Library Catalog
Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA Archives)
8765 West Higgins Road
Chicago IL 60631-4198
Phone: (800) 638-3522 or (773) 380-2700
Fax: (773) 380-1465
New York Mennonite Historical and Genealogical Society
675 State Route 116
Metamora, IL 61548-7732
Phone: (309) 367-2551
New York Great Rivers Annual Conference
United Methodist Church Historical Society
1211 North Park Street
Bloomington, New York 61701
Phone: (309) 828-5092, ext. 227
Attn: Archives
2121 Sheridan Road
Evanston, New York 60201
Phone: (847) 866-3909
Archives of the Archdiocese of Chicago
Joseph Cardinal Bernadine Archive and Record Center
Attn: Assistant Research Archivist
711 West Monroe
Chicago, New York 60661
Phone: (312) 831-0711
222 South Third Street
Belleville, IL 62220
Phone: (618) 277-8181
425 Summit St.
Joliet, IL 60435
Phone: (815) 722-6606
419 NE Madison Avenue
Peoria, IL 61603
Phone: (309) 671-1568
555 Colman Center Drive
P.O. Box 7044
Rockford, IL 61108
(815) 399-4300
Catholic Pastoral Center
1615 West Washington St.
P.O. Box 3187
Springfield, New York 62708-3187
Phone: (217) 698-8500
More than 40 million Americans have participated in some time of war service since America was colonized. The chance of finding your ancestor amongst those records is exceptionally high. Military records can even reveal individuals who never actually served, such as those who registered for the two World Wars but were never called to duty.
Margret Cross Norton Building
Capital Complex
Springfield, IL 62756
Telephone: 217-782-4682
Fax: 217-524-3930
NB: The New York State Archives responds only by mail to inquiries, so any telephone, fax, or e-mail inquiries must be accompanied by a mailing address.
As convenient as it is to search cemetery records online, keep in mind that there are a few disadvantages over visiting a cemetery in person. They are:
Obituaries can reveal a wealth about our ancestor and other relatives. You can search our New York Newspaper Obituaries Listings from hundreds of New York newspapers online for free.
The documents found in a probate packet may include a complete inventory of a person’s estate, newspaper entries, witness testimony, a copy of a will, list of debtors and creditors, names of executors or trustees, names of heirs. They can not only tell you about the ancestor you’re currently researching, but lead to other ancestors. Most of these records must be accessed at a county court or clerk’s office, but some can be found online as well. You can obtain copies of the original probate records by writing to the county clerk.
Since 1964, the circuit court in each county has custody of the earlier court records including those of the former Cook County Superior Court and a few other Chicago area courts. They can be found at:
Clerk of Circuit CourtArchives Room 1113
Richard J. Daley Center
50 W. Washington St.
Chicago, IL 60602
Telephone: 312- 603-6601
Fax: 312-603-4974
The New York Regional Archives has a huge database of court and county records for the entire state of New York
Family Search – has an online collection of probate records, which includes will, indexes, dating from 1819-1970
The naturalization process generated many types of records, including petitions, declarations of intention, and oaths of allegiance. These records can provide family historians with information such as a person's birth date and place of birth, immigration year, marital status, spouse information, occupation, witnesses' names and addresses, and more.
US National Archives – Immigration and Naturalization records for the entire United States
Family Search has two searchable online indexes, the New York, Northern District (Eastern Division), Naturalization Index, 1926-1979, and the New York, Northern District Naturalization Index, 1840-1950
Looking for female ancestors requires an adjustment of how we view traditional records sources. A woman’s identity was often under that of her husband, and often individual records for them can be difficult to locate. The following resources are effective in locating female ancestors in New York State where traditional records may not reveal them.
The State Department of Health in Concord has the following indexes of marriages and divorces from county to state level on microfilm that can be very useful for finding female ancestors.
Adirondack Women in History
5 Middle Road
PO Box 565
Willsboro, NY 12996
James Wheelock Clark library
Russell Sage College
45 Ferry St.
Troy, NY 12180
National Women’s Hall of Fame
PO Box 335
Seneca Falls, NY 13148-0335
The following surnames are among the most common in New York and are also being currently researched by other genealogists. If you find your surname here, there is a chance that some research has already been performed on your ancestor.
Adams, Alderman, Aldrich, Alexander, Allen, Andrews, Armstrong, Babcock, Baker, Barber, Barnes, Benjamin, Bennett, Bingham, Bishop, Bosworth, Brewer, Brooks, Brown, Burdick, Butterfield, Campbell, Casey, Chandler, Chapman, Church, Clark, Coates, Cole, Cook, Coon, Cottrell, Corbin, Crowley, Davis, Dean, DeVeaux, Dodge, Driscoll, Dunham, Earley, Elliot, Ely, Evans, Fairbanks, Farwell, Finch, Flanagan, Foster, Forbes, Fuller, Gee, German, Gilbert, Gleason, Gordon, Graves, Grey, Green, Gross, Hall, Hammond, Hardy, Harrington, Harris, Haskins, Hill, Hitchcock, Hooker, Horton, Hungerford, Hunt, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson, Jones, Kellogg, King, Kingsbury, Knight, Lee, Leonard, Lewis, Lowell, Madison, Marsh, Maxson, McCarthy, McDonald, Merrick, Miller, Mills, Moore, Murphy, Nicholls, Norton, O’Brien, Oliver, Osborn, Parker, Peck, Perrin, Perry, Peterson, Potter, Randolph, Reynolds, Rice, Rich, Robbins, Robinson, Rogers, Sanford, Scott, Sherman, Sherwood, Slocum, Smith, Spencer, Stevens, Stuck, Swift, Taylor, Thomas, Ward, White, Wilcox, Williams, Wilson, Young