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New York Public Records
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To Search Public and Vital Records -
Vital records are records of life events important enough that
some level of government acquires, organizes, and preserves
them. While the term "vital records" is often applied
to a wide variety of life events... Read
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New York City Vital Records
For birth records from 1910 and death records from
1949, write:
Division of Vital Records
New York City Department of Health
Office of Vital Records
125 Worth Street, Box 4, Room 133
New York, NY 10013
Tel: 212-788-4520
http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/doh/html/vr/vr.html
For marriage records after 1937, write to:
City Clerk (marriage records)
1 Centre Street
New York, NY 10007
For earlier records, write:
Municipal Archives
Department of Records and Information Services
31 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007-1288
Tel: 212-788-8580
Fax: 212-385-0984
http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/doris/html/archives.html
New York State (Except New York City, Albany, Buffalo,
or Yonkers)
For birth, marriage, and death records from 1881 to present, write:
New York State Department of Health
Vital Records Section
Corning Tower, Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12237-0023
http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/consumer/vr.htm
For earlier records, write to the registrar of the
town or township in question.
Albany, Buffalo, and Yonkers
For birth, marriage and death records prior to 1914,
write to the clerk of the city in question.
For later records, see the address for New York state
above.
New York Land Records
Colonial and state government records of patents, grants, and deeds
are at the New York State Archives and are identified in Public
Records Relating to Land in New York State (Albany: New York State
Archives, 1979). See also Calendar of N.Y. Colonial Manuscripts
Indorsed Land Papers...1643–1803 (1864; reprint; Harrison,
N.Y.: Harbor Hill Books, 1987). The Secretary of State Deeds, dating
from colonial times and including many private conveyances up to
about 1775 (fewer to about 1830), are on microfilm at the state
archives and the The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society
with the usual grantor and grantee indexes. Charles F. Grim's An
Essay Towards an Improved Register of Deeds, City and County of
New York to December 31, 1799 "Inclusive" (New York, N.Y.:
Gould, Banks & Co., 1832) indexes the secretary of state's deeds
pertaining to New York City property.
Abstracts of early deeds for Kings and Westchester
counties have been published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical
Record, beginning in vols. 48 and 50 respectively. Fred Q. Bowman,
Landholders of Northeastern New York, 1739–1802 (Baltimore:
Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983), covers the counties of Clinton,
Essex, Franklin, Warren, and Washington. Isaac N. P. Stokes's superb
Iconography of Manhattan Island 1498–1909, 6 vols. (1915–28;
reprint; New York, N.Y.: Arno Press, 1967) is based heavily on land
records and includes detailed maps. It is well indexed.
Bounty land in the central part of the state was
awarded by lottery to New York Revolutionary War soldiers, although
most sold their allotments rather than settling on them. The successful
drawers are listed in The Balloting Book, and Other Documents Relating
to Military Bounty Lands in the State of New York (Albany, N.Y.:
Packard & Van Benthuysen, 1825).
To help understand the settlement of western New
York, see Orsamus Turner, History of Pioneer Settlement of Phelps
and Gorham Purchase and Morris' Reserve (1851; reprint with supplements
and indexes by LaVerne C. Cooley and George E. Lookup; Interlaken,
N.Y.: Heart of the Lakes Publishing, 1976). Turner also wrote Pioneer
History of the Holland Land Purchase of Western New York (1850;
reprint with Cooley's index; Interlaken, N.Y.: Heart of the Lakes
Publishing, 1976, and Bowie, Md: Heritage Books, 1991). See also
William Chazanof, Joseph Ellicott and the Holland Land Company:
The Opening of Western New York(Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University
Press, 1970); Ruth L. Higgins, Expansion in New York (1931; reprint;
Philadelphia: Porcupine Press, 1974); and William Wyckoff, The Developer's
Frontier: The Making of the Western New York Landscape (New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1988). Microfilm of the archives of the Holland
Land Company is available at the Daniel E. Reed Library, State University
at Fredonia, Fredonia, NY 14063; Research Guide No. 55 explains
these records. Karen E. Livsey's Western New York Land Transactions,
1804–1824 (Baltimore, Md: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1991),
is an index to early Holland Company sales. Other land company records
are in the state library in Albany and scattered among other repositories.
In the counties are deeds and mortgages and corresponding
indexes to each type of record (published indexes covering into
the nineteenth century are available for New York and Albany counties).
These records in the county clerk's offices begin mostly with the
formation of the county, but many colonial deeds were recorded in
town records. Also, many land transactions were not recorded in
earlier times because it was a long way to the courthouse, or the
family moved on before the document could get recorded. Furthermore,
with some New York lands in dispute, deed holders were reluctant
to bring them in for recording. Sometimes deeds were recorded in
a neighboring county, if its courthouse was closer to the party
or parties involved. Many early New Yorkers simply leased land from
individuals or families who held vast acreage. Evidence of residency
in those cases might be found in the private papers of manorial
families, such as the Livingstons, Van Rensselaers, and Van Cortlandts.
Unfortunately, there is no guide to the location of all manorial
records, but Sung Bok Kim's Landlord and Tenant in Colonial New
York (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1978) includes
an excellent overview and a good bibliography. The Livingston papers
are available at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park,
New York, and are on film at the FHL. The Van Rensselaer papers
are in the state library in Albany.
New York Court Records
Court records can be a complex source for any state. Their records
include probate records (which include wills), guardianship, naturalization,
and a wide variety of other sources, ranging from criminal trials
to simple road orders. All contain information about individuals
within the area. It should be remembered that there are different
levels of jurisdiction for courts in the United States, all of which
should be considered for research under various circumstances. Court
of Common Pleas, Orphan's Court, Probate Court, District Court,
Superior Court, Supreme Court, and other titles are among those
encountered. To study more about court records in general, see:
Research in Court Records, by Arlene H. Eakle, in:
Szucs, Loretto Dennis, and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, eds. The
Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Rev. ed. Salt Lake City:
Ancestry, 1997.
New York Military Records
Most pre-twentieth-century New York military records are at the
New York State Archives, although some were destroyed or damaged
in the 1911 fire at the New York State Library. Vols. 2 and 3 of
the Annual Report of the State Historian (Albany and New York, 1896,
1897) contain collected lists of colonial militia. See also Edward
F. DeLancy, ed., Muster Rolls of New York Provincial Troops 1755–1764,
vol. 24 of the New York Historical Society Collections (1892; reprint;
Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1990), in which the age, birthplace,
and occupation are given for many soldiers.
Berthold Fernow, New York in the Revolution, vol.
1 (New Orleans: Polyanthos, 1972), was originally vol. 15 of Documents
Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York (Albany:
Weed, Parsons and Co., 1887). Additional names are in New York in
the Revolution as Colony and State, 2 vols., and supplement (Albany:
J. B. Lyon, 1901, 1904) and Calendar of Historical Manuscripts Relating
to the War of the Revolution, 2 vols. (Albany: Weed, Parsons and
Co., 1868), both compiled by the New York [State] Comptroller's
Office. To find other material at the state archives, consult Stefan
Bielinski, ed., A Guide to the Revolutionary War Manuscripts in
the New York State Library (Albany: New York State American Bicentennial
Commission, 1976). See also Milton M. Klein, comp., New York in
the American Revolution: A Bibliography (Albany: New York State
American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, 1974). A lot of Revolutionary
War material burned in the 1911 state library fire, but the remaining
charred fragments are at last being microfilmed and made available
for research. The state archive is preparing a computerized name
index to New York soldiers and other individuals mentioned in the
surviving Revolutionary War manuscripts. Other Revolutionary War
material sent to Washington before the 1911 fire should be sought
in the National Archives (see the New York Genealogical and Biographical
Record, 120 [1989]: 66).
There is much published and manuscript material on
New York Loyalists. One of the best works is Harry B. Yoshpe, Disposition
of Loyalist Estates in the Southern District of the State of New
York (New York: Columbia University Press, 1939). Some Loyalist
material is at the New York Public Library and the state archives.
Hugh Hastings, ed., Military Minutes of the Council
of Appointment of the State of New York, 1783–1821, 4 vols.
(Albany: J. B. Lyon, 1901–04), with vol. 4 as an index, lists
local officers and is useful for determining the area from which
a War of 1812 soldier probably served when only his unit commander's
name is known. Published material on New Yorkers in the War of 1812
is scarce, but a list put out by the New York [State] Adjutant General's
Office is Index of Awards on Claims of the Soldiers of the War of
1812 (1860; reprint; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969).
The original claims are at the state archives, which also has abstracts
of War of 1812 payrolls.
There is a typescript index of Civil War participants
from New York at the state archives. If the regiment is known, see
Register of New York Regiments in the War of the Rebellion, 43 vols.,
issued as supplementary reports to the annual report of the state
adjutant general for 1893–1905 (Albany: J. B. Lyon and others,
1894–1906). A Record of Commissioned Officers, Non Commissioned
Officers and Privates...in Suppressing the Rebellion, 8 vols. (Albany:
Comstock & Cassidy, 1864–68), and Registers...the War of
the Rebellion (Albany: J. B. Lyon, 1894), not indexed by name, were
compiled by the New York Adjutant General's Office. Frederick Phisterer,
comp., New York in the War of the Rebellion 1861–1865, 6 vols.
(Albany: J. B. Lyon, 1912), lists officers only. The National Archives-Northeast
Region and the state archives have the microfilm index of compiled
service records of New York volunteer soldiers in the Union army.
The state archives has much material on the Civil War, including
town clerks' registers, which often show the soldier's full name,
date and place of birth, and names of parents, including mother's
maiden name. Civil War soldiers and deaths of officers and enlisted
men were also noted in the population schedules of the 1865 State
Census.
Richard H. Saldaña, Index to the New York
Spanish-American War Veterans, 1898, 2 vols. (North Salt Lake City,
Utah: AISI Publishers, 1987), is a reprint with an index of the
original three-volume report issued by the state adjutant general
in 1900, arranged by regiment. For World War I, there are card files
of New York state servicemen and navy nurses at the state archive.
For further military information, consult: Neagles, James C. /moved.htm">U.S.
Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources. Salt Lake
City: Ancestry, 1994.
Additional Sources
Flick, Alexander C., ed. History of the State of New York. 10 vols.
1933–37. Reprint. Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, 1962.
Schweitzer, George K. New York Genealogical Research. Knoxville,
Tenn: the author, 1988.
Guide to Records in the New York State Archives. Albany: New York
State Archives, 1981.
Guzik, Estelle M., ed. Genealogical Resources in the New York Metropolitan
Area. New York: Jewish Genealogical Society, 1989.
Bailey, Rosalie Fellows. Guide to Genealogical and Biographical
Sources for New York City (Manhattan) 1783–1898. New York:
the author, 1954.
New York Vital Records:
Event: Birth or death
Cost of copy: $15.00
Address:
Certification Unit
Vital Records Section
P.O. Box 2602
Albany, NY 12220-2602
Remarks: State office has had records since 1880.
For records before 1914 in Albany, Buffalo, and Yonkers, or before
1880 in any other city, write to Registrar of Vital Statistics in
city where event occurred. For the rest of the State, except New
York City, write to State office.
Check or money order should be made payable to New
York State Department of Health. Personal checks are accepted. To
verify current fees, the telephone number is (518) 474-3075. This
will be a recorded message.
Search All New York Records
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Event: Marriage (State)
Cost of copy: $5.00
Address:
Certification Unit
Vital Records Section
P.O. Box 2602
Albany, NY 12220-2602
Remarks: Records from 1880 to present.
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Event:
Marriage (city)
Cost of copy:
$5.00
Address:
See remarks
Remarks:
For records from 1880-1907 and licenses issued in the cities of
Albany, Buffalo, or Yonkers, apply to--Albany: City Clerk, City
Hall, Albany, NY 12207; Buffalo: City Clerk, City Hall, Buffalo,
NY 14202; Yonkers: Registrar of Vital Statistics, Health Center
Building, Yonkers, NY 10701.
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Event:
Divorce (State)
Cost of copy:
$15.00
Address:
Certification Unit
Vital Records Section
P.O. Box 2602
Albany, NY 12220-2602
Remarks:
Records since January 1963.
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Event:
Divorce (county)
Cost of copy:
Varies
Address:
See remarks
Remarks:
County Clerk in county where divorce was granted.
Search All New York Records
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