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State of New York
Learning to Search for New York Genealogy Materials
New York is often condensed in people's minds to the vast city known familiarly as "the Big Apple," but New York is also a massive state that is home to a large array of historical figures and events. Native Americans, Revolutionary War sites, major American companies, and all kinds of settlements and villages that date back to the nation's earliest days and all of them are of interest to genealogists. Luckily, it is very simple to get data for New York genealogy projects, and this article will explain how!
Good Ways of Searching for New York Genealogy Data
When you need to look something up you probably don't head to the local library, but instead head to your computer or mobile device with Internet access. This is also something that modern genealogists can do too because of the large amount of electronic material available. Consider that when searching for New York genealogy information you can go online and use the different New York resources that will allow you to begin acquiring facts and copies of the materials needed.
Not all of the information for New York genealogy is available in this format though, and there are many organizations and groups that have yet to digitize their collections. This means that your research for New York genealogy materials will also have to incorporate offline locations. It is necessary for a genealogist to learn about the tools to use for New York genealogy, and how to differentiate the offline from the online.
A Standard Method for New York Genealogy Research
Public records easily qualify as the most frequently used resources for New York genealogy, and they are found in the following places:
- Local Records – anyone looking for New York genealogy will tend to begin in a county clerk's office or website, and then move on to the local small local libraries, genealogical societies, historical societies, and school or college libraries for New York genealogy data. These are places that are usually offline and open by appointment or special arrangement.
- Vital Records – these are made up of the birth, marriage, divorce and death records from county, state, and national archives, and can also contain cemetery or obituary information, immigration and naturalization details, newspaper items, military records, census records, passenger lists and records as well; these are available as online and offline resources for New York genealogy.
- State Records – from probate information to surname lists, state census information, private manuscripts, newspapers, military or veterans information, marriage details, maps, land records, genealogical folders, estate information, deeds, death records, cemetery information, birth certificates and more; these records are available as online and offline resources for New York genealogy.
Best Resources for New York genealogy
You will need to learn which resources work best for New York genealogy projects. Below we have supplied some of the strongest tools for New York genealogy:
New York (except NYC):
- Certification Unit, Vital Records Section/2nd floor, 800 North Pearl Street, Menands, NY 12204
New York City details at:
- NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Vital Records, 125 Worth Street, CN4, Rm. 133, New York, NY 10013; Website: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/new_york.htm OR http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/new_york_city.htm . This is where anyone can order birth, death, marriage and divorce records via a written request or even online.
Additional state and local records can be found at the:
- New York State Archives, New York State Education Department , Cultural Education Center , Albany, NY 12230; Website: http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_genealogy.shtml
Also, consider using the New York Genealogical and Biographical website at http://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/.
Finally, these three popular websites provide a tremendous amount of state-specific details to those in search of details for New York genealogy projects.
- The USGenWeb Project - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nygenweb/;
- State census records at Genealogy Research Guides - http://www.researchguides.net/census/state.htm; and
- Genealogy Today - http://www.genealogytoday.com/genealogy/states/new_york.html
List of New York Counties
Select a New York county from the table below to to view more information on genealogical information & records pertaining to each New York county.
New York State Historical & Genealogical Societies, Archives, Museums and Libraries
Submit a website link, report broken links for New York Archives Websites
New York Archives
- New York State Archives and Records Administration, The State Education Department, Cultural Education Center, 11th Floor, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12230; (518) 474-8955
- National Archives--Northeast Region, 201 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014.
New York Museums
New York Libraries
- New York State Library, Cultural Education Center, 7th Floor, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12230
- The New York Public Library, 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018
New York Historical & Genealogical Societies
- The New-York Historical Society, 2 West 77th Street, New York, NY 10024; (212) 873-3400
- Western New York Genealogical Society, Inc., 5859 S Park Ave, P.O. Box 338, Hamburg, NY 14075-0338
- Central New York Genealogical Society, P.O.Box 104, Colvin Station, Syracuse, NY 13205
