New York County, New York Records

New York County, New York (Map It) created on 1683 as one of 12 original counties created in the New York colony. The county was named in honor of King James II of England (1633–1701), who was Duke of York and Albany before he ascended the throne of England, Duke of York being his English title .

New York County is bordered by Bergen County, New Jersey (west/northwest), Hudson County, New Jersey (west/southwest), Queens County (northeast), Queens County (east/southeast), Queens County (south/southeast), Richmond County (southwest).

New York County Cities and Towns include Alphabet City, Battery Park City, Bowery, Carnegie Hill, Chelsea, Chinatown, Civic Center, Columbus Circle, Cooperative Village, Diamond District, East Village, Ellis Island, Financial District, Five Points, Flatiron District, Garment District, Governors Island, Gramercy, Gramercy Park, Greenwich Village, Hamilton Heights, Harlem, Hell's Kitchen, Herald Square, Hudson Heights, Hudson Yards, Inwood, Kips Bay, Koreatown, Lenox Hill, Liberty Island, Lincoln Square, Little Germany, Little Italy, Loisaida, Lower East Side, Lower Manhattan, Madison Square, Manhattan Valley, Manhattanville, Marble Hill, Meatpacking District, Midtown, Morningside Heights, Murray Hill, NoHo, NoLIta, Peter Cooper Village, Polo Grounds, Radio Row, Randall's Island, Roosevelt Island, Rose Hill, San Juan Hill, SoHo, South Street Seaport, Spanish Harlem, Stuyvesant Town, Sugar Hill, Sutton Place, Tenderloin, Theatre District, Times Square, TriBeCa, Tudor City, Turtle Bay, Two Bridges, Union Square, Upper East Side, Upper Manhattan, Upper West Side, Ward's Island, Washington Heights, West Village, Yorkville. Islands of New York City include Barren Island, The Blauzes, Broad Channel Island, Chimney Sweeps, City Island, Coney Island, Ellis Island, Governors Island, Hart Island, High Island, Hoffman Island, Hunter Island, Isle of Meadow, Liberty Island, Long Island, Manhattan, Mill Rock, North Brother Island, Prall's Island, Randall's Island, Rat Island, Rikers Island, Roosevelt Island, Shooters Island, South Brother Island, Staten Island, Swinburne Island, Twin Island, U Thant Island, Ward's Island.

MapGeeks.org has is a collection of old New York maps.

New York County, New York Courthouse Records

The New York County Courthouse is located in New York City, New York. Also contact local Town Clerks. They are responsible for vast amounts of local information from deeds, property transfers, and genealogical materials. Research on place and road names, the history of property transfers and much more are available through your Town Clerk. They are a tremendous resources. Learn More About State of New York Court, Tax, Land and Probate Records.

The Clerk's Office DOES NOT DO RESEARCH. Most staff will assist people in finding the materials, but it is up to the individual to do the research.

The following dates indicates what vital, land, probate, and court records are in New York county. The date listed for each record is usually the earliest registration filed. The date does not indicate that there are alot records for that year and does not mean that all such events were actually filed with the clerk.

At the City Register's Ofice, Rooms 203-205, 31 Chambers Street, New York 10007. Early records of the County are in the Division of Old Records, 7th Floor. Pre-1830 surrogate files are not known to have survived. Extant early inventories are at the Surrogate's Court, the New York Historical Society, and the New York Municipal Archives

• New York City Clerk has Land Records from 1654, Court Records from 1654 and Naturalization Records. State court naturalization records remain in custody of the county clerks. Older court naturalization records have been transferred to the National Archives--Northeast Region. The County Clerk is the keeper of most civil and criminal trial court records for Supreme Court and County Court, naturalizations, marriages (1908–35), censuses (Some county clerks' offices hold duplicate copies of some of the State censuses taken periodically between 1825 and 1925 and copies of the federal census), as well as deeds and mortgages.
• New York County Surrogate Court Clerk has Probate Records from 1665. The County Surrogate Court Clerk maintain records of wills, letters testamentary, letters of administration, orders and decrees, and appointments of guardians; and filed papers, including original wills, petitions for probate (gives date of death and lists next of kin), performance bonds, property inventories (seldom found after ca. 1900), administrator's or executor's accountings, etc. Surrogate's Courts create comprehensive indexes to records and files.
• New York City Treasurer is responsible for the collection of taxes.
• New York County (Manhattan Borough) Historian maintains archival holdings for virtually every facet of the county’s history. The county, town, city or village Historians may provide access to obituaries, vital records, church records, maps, and family files or journals. Some historians provide search services for their office records and others may refer you to local genealogists who research in the area.
  In New York State Law: "§ 57.07. Local historian; appointment; maintenance of historical edifices.
  A local historian shall be appointed, as provided in this section, for each city, town or village, except that in a city of over one million inhabitants a local historian shall be appointed for each borough therein instead of for the city at large; and a county historian may be appointed for each county."
  
  Counties therefore are not REQUIRED to have an appointed county historian, but are ALLOWED to appoint such an historian. Cities, Towns and Villages "SHALL" appoint a historian, although there doesn't appear to be any dire consequence if one should fail to do so: the Village of Philmont in Columbia County, for example, has neglected to refill the office since the death of their last historian. 
• New York City Vital Records Office, Dept of Health, 125 Worth Street, Rm #133, New York City, NY 10013; (212) 788-4520, (212) 788-8580 Archives

New York County, New York Census Records

• Learn More: State of New York Census Records
• U.S. Federal Population Schedules: 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 (free index), 1890 (fragmented), 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940
• U.S. Census Reconstructed Records: 1660-1820
• State Population Schedules: 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, 1925
• Other State Census Schedules: Census of Inmates in Almshouses and Poorhouses, 1830-1920, Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880, Non-Population Schedules 1850-1880
• U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules: 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880
• Selected U.S. Federal Census Agriculture Schedules: 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880
• Selected U.S. Federal Census Industry Schedules: 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880
• Union Veterans Schedules: 1890

New York County, New York Vital Records

• Learn More: State of New York Vital Records
• Birth and Death Records: from 1880 to present
• Marriage Records: from 1880 to present
• Divorce Records: from January 1963 to present. Earlier Records are in the County Clerk's Office.
• Locations: New York State Dept of Health, Vital Records Section
• Vital Records Online: USAVital or Social Security Death Index
• Vital Records by Mail:  Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Divorce Certificate, Death Certificate, Genealogy  Applications.
• In Person: New York State Dept of Health, Vital Records Section, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12237; (518) 474-3077, (518) 474-3038 Information

New York County, New York Resources

• State of New York Archives and Societies
• RAOGK Volunteers for New York
• New-York Historical Society
• New York City Municipal Archives, Department of Records and Special Services
• New York Genealogical and Biographical Society
• New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building; Family records, manuscripts, maps, photographs, historical records, rare books, several collections.
  • Special Collections: Phone: (212) 930-0801; Special collections requires a Library card and prior approval to research the material. Be sure and contact the librarian to know the procedure.
    • Milstein Division of US History, Local History, and Genealogy
    • Manuscripts and Archives Division
    • Special Collections,
• Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; According to their website: This Center has "for over 80 years ...collected, preserved, and provided access to materials documenting black life, and promoted the study and interpretation of the history and culture of peoples of African descent.", ,
  • Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Phone: (212) 491-2224
    • Collections
    • Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
• Patricia D. Klingenstein Library
• New-York Historical Society LIbrary & Museum
• Inventory of the county and borough archives of New York City.
• Inventory of the county archives of the city of New York.
• Inventory of the county archives of New York City.
• Inventory of borough archives in the city of New York: Bronx borough.
• New York Genealogy Research Community
• New York County, New York Message Boards
• New York County, New York Genealogy Boards

New York County, New York External Links

• New York Historical Newspapers - Newspapers.com
• Historical Newspapers from New York (1719 - 1992)
• New York County, New York Ancestry Database Collections
• The New York Times (New York, New York)
• New York Herald (New York, New York)
• New York Daily Times (New York, New York)
• Barnard Bulletin (New York, New York)
• New York Times, (New York, New York)
• Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (New York, New York)
• New York Evening Times (New York, New York)
• New York Times (April 15th, 1865)
• New York County, New York Books - Amazon
• New York City, Births, 1891-1902
• New York City, Deaths, 1892-1902
• New York City, Marriages, 1600s-1800s
• New York City Reformed Dutch Marriage Records, 1639-95
• Marriage and death notices from the New York weekly museum, 1789-1796
• Marriage and death notices from the New-York weekly museum, 1790-1793
• Supplementary list of marriage licenses
• Index of marriages and deaths in New York weekly museum
• Miscellaneous vital statistics other than death and marriage notices taken from the Brooklyn Eagle
• Registers of the births, marriages, and deaths of the Eglise françoise à la Nouvelle York
• New York Times, Obituaries & Marriage Notices, 1889
• New York Times (New York City, New York) Death and Marriage Index, 1890
• New York City Deaths, 1814-16
• Independent (New York City) Ministerial Register, 1892-95
• Index to Marriages and Deaths in the New York Herald 1856-1863 Vol. 2
• Index to Marriages and Deaths in the New York Herald, Vol. I: 1835-1855
• Index of wills for New York County (New York City) from 1662-1850
• New York City Wills, 1665-1707
• New York County, Letters of Administration Index, 1743-1875 (Barber Collection)
• New York City Wills, 1708-1728
• New York City Wills, 1744-1753
• Minutes of the Common Council of the city of New York, 1675-1776 : in eight volumes.
• New York City Wills, 1730-1744
• New York City Wills, 1760-1766
• New York City Wills, 1754-1760
• New York City Wills, 1766-1771
• New York City Wills, 1771-1776
• New York City Wills, 1777-1783
• New York City Wills, 1706-1790
• New York City Wills, 1780-1782
• Record of real estate owned by the city of New York
• List of persons who were taxed on seventeen thousand five hundred dollars and upwards in the city of New York
• Abstract of wills probated in the Common Pleas Court
• Index of wills for New York County, New York from 1851 to 1875, inclusive
• Abstracts of Van Voorhees family wills in the Surrogate's Office of New York County
• New York State Census Collection
• 1855 census of the 15th Ward, New York City
• New York City Police Census, 1890
• Gravestone inscriptions of Trinity Cemetery, New York City, New York
• New York City, Dutch Church Burials
• New York Marble Cemetery Records, New York City, NY, 1830-1937
• Burials in the Dyckman-Nagel burial ground and the Berrian graveyards near Kingsbridge, New York City
• New York Co., New York - FindaGrave
• The baptismal records of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of New Utrecht, Long Island
• New York, New York City, Saint Peter's Lutheran Church Records, 1862-1955
• Historical guide to the city of New York
• Minutes of the Common Council of the city of New York, 1784-1831
• A History of the parish of Trinity Church in the city of New York
• Leslie's history of the greater New York
• History of the city of New York : its origin, rise and progress
• The old merchants of New York City
• Holocaust: Survivor Names printed in Aufbau Newspaper, New York, 1944-1946
• New York County, New York Links - Cyndi's List
• New York Co. NYGenweb
• Manhattan, New York City, New York Directory: 1839-1840
• New York City Directory, 1890
• New York City Directory, 1869
• New York City Directories
• New York City Directory, 1786
• New York City, Public School Teacher Retirement List, 1895 - 1915
• New York Politicians and Postmasters, 1898
• List of registered voters in the city of New York, for the year 1880
• A Copy of the poll list of the election for representatives for the city and county of New-York
• A copy of the poll list of the election for representatives for the city and county of New-York : which election began on Monda
• A Copy of the poll list of the election for representatives for the city and county of New-York
• Manhattan New York City Directory: 1829-30
• New York City Directory, 1786
• Webb's consolidated directory of the north and south shores, Staten Island
• Catalogue of members in the communion of the (Collegiate) Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of the City of New York : January 6,
• Catalogue of members in the communion of the (Collegiate) Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of the City of New York
• Directory, Tremont Baptist Church : Tremont Avenue west of Webster Avenue, New York City, nineteen hundred and sixteen.
• Index to Petitions for Naturalization filed in New York City, 1792-1989
• Index to Declaration of Intent for Naturalization: New York County, 1907-1924
• New York County Supreme Court Naturalization Petition Index, 1907-24
• New York City Immigrants (Austria, Galicia, Poland), 1891
• New York City Immigrants (Austria, Galicia, Poland), 1890
• New York City, Ellis Island Oral Histories, 1892-1976
• AJHS Selected Naturalization Records, New York City, 1816-1845
• New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1925-1942
• New York, New York, Index to Passenger Lists, 1820-1846
• Atlases of New York city
• AJHS WWII Jewish Servicemen Cards, 1942-1947
• AJHS WWI Jewish Servicemen Questionnaires, 1918-1921
• New York City and vicinity during the war of 1812-'15 : being a military, civic and financial local history of that period
• The battle of Harlem Heights : September 16, 1776 : with a review of the events of the campaign
• New York City during the American Revolution : being a collection of original papers (now first published) from the manuscripts
• New York City during the American Revolution
• New York during the Revolution
• New York County, New York Military Records