Ulster County, New York Records
Ulster County, New York (Map It) created on November 1, 1683 as one of 12 original counties created in the New York colony. The county was named for the Irish province of Ulster, then an earldom of the Duke of York, later King James II of England.
Ulster County is bordered by Delaware County (northeast), Greene County (northeast), Columbia County (northeast), Ulster County (northeast), Hudson River (east), Sullivan County (southwest), Orange County (south), Dutchess County (southeast).
Ulster County Cities and Towns include Kingston, Denning, Esopus, Gardiner, Hardenburgh, Hurley, Kingston, Lloyd, Marbletown, Marlborough, New Paltz, Olive, Plattekill, Rochester, Rosendale, Saugerties, Shandaken, Shawangunk, Ulster, Wawarsing, Woodstock. Villages include Ellenville, New Paltz, Saugerties. Communities include Accord, Bearsville, Big Indian, Boiceville, Centerville, Chichester, Clintondale, Cottekill, Cragsmoor, East Kingston, Gardiner, Glasco, High Falls, Highland, Highmount, Hillside, Kerhonkson, Lake Katrine, Lincoln Park, Malden, Marlboro, Milton, Mount Pleasant, Mount Tremper, Napanoch, Olivebridge, Oliverea, Phoenicia, Pine Hill, Port Ewen, Rifton, Rosendale Village, Saugerties South, Seager, Shady, Shokan, Spring Glen, Stone Ridge, Sundown, Tillson, Veteran, Walker Valley, Wallkill, West Hurley, West Park, West Shokan, Willow, Woodstock, Zena.
MapGeeks.org has is a collection of old New York maps.
Ulster County, New York Courthouse Records
Ulster County, NY Courthouse
The Ulster County Courthouse is located in Kingston, 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 Ulster 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.
- Ulster County Clerk has Land Records from 1684, Court Records from 1684 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.
- Ulster County Surrogate Court Clerk has Probate Records from 1787. 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.
- Ulster County Treasurer is responsible for the collection of taxes.
- Ulster County 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. - Village & Town Clerk Phone Directory
Ulster 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
Ulster County, New York Vital Records
- Learn More: State of New York Vital Records
- Birth and Death Records: from 1880Â to present
- Marriage Records: from 1880Â to present
- Divorce Records: from January 1963 to present. Earlier Records are in the County Clerk's Office.
- Locations:Â New York State Dept of Health, Vital Records Section
- Vital Records Online:Â USAVital or Social Security Death Index
- Vital Records by Mail:  Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Divorce Certificate, Death Certificate, Genealogy  Applications.
- In Person:Â New York State Dept of Health, Vital Records Section, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12237; (518) 474-3077, (518) 474-3038 Information
Ulster County, New York Resources
- State of New York Archives and Societies
- RAOGK Volunteers for New York
- Ulster County Genealogical Society
- Ulster County Archives
- New York-Ulster County, Elting Memorial Library
- Ramapo Catskill Library System
- Bevier House Museum
- New York Genealogy Research Community
- Ulster County, New York Message Boards
- Ulster County, New York Genealogy Boards
Ulster County, New York External Links
- New York Historical Newspapers - Newspapers.com
- Historical Newspapers from New York (1719 - 1992)
- Kingston Daily Freeman (Kingston, New York)
- Ulster County, New York Books - Amazon
- Births, marriages, deaths, New Paltz, Ulster County, New York
- Ulster County, N.Y. probate records in the office of the surrogate, and in the county clerk's office at Kingston, N.Y
- Ulster county archives--1905 NY state census index
- Old gravestones of Ulster County, New York : twenty-two-thousand inscriptions
- New Paltz rural cemetery records, 1860-1962
- Ulster Co., New York - FindaGrave
- Baptisms of the old Dutch Church of Kingston, New York, 1810-1877
- Guilford church records
- Wawarsing, New York Reformed Dutch Church Records
- Baptismal and marriage registers of the Old Dutch Church of Kingston : Ulster County, New York, 1660-1809
- People's history of Kingston, Rondout and vicinity : the first capital of New York State (1820 to 1943)
- The story of the Paltz : a brief history of New Paltz, N.Y.
- The beginnings of New York : old Kingston, the first state capital
- Ulster County, New York Links - Cyndi's List
- Ulster Co. NYGenweb
- Kingston, New York Directories, 1888-89, 1891-92
- Gazetteer and business directory of Ulster County, N.Y. for 1871-2
- Ulster County, New York Ancestry Database Collections
- Ulster County, New York Military Records