New York Historical Societies

This directory lists 34 historical societies, museums, and archives in New York, from the New-York Historical Society in Manhattan and the New York State Museum in Albany to county societies such as the Dutchess County Historical Society and the Schenectady County Historical Society. The guide below is built around the one fact that trips up most New York researchers: New York City and the rest of the state keep their records in completely separate systems.

New York ratified the Constitution on July 26, 1788, as the eleventh state, but its records begin with Dutch patents of the 1630s and run through 62 present-day counties. Statewide registration of births, marriages, and deaths outside New York City began in 1881 and was not reliably complete until after 1913. State censuses were taken roughly every ten years from 1825 to 1925, and the originals of every pre-1915 count stayed at the county clerk's office rather than in Albany, so survival varies county by county.

Featured Historical Societies

Major repositories: Albany and New York City

Three state institutions share the Cultural Education Center at 222 Madison Avenue in Albany: the New York State Archives, the New York State Library, and the State Museum. The State Archives research room on the 11th floor is open Monday through Friday 9:30 am to 4 pm by appointment (archref@nysed.gov, 518-474-8955), and a week's notice is needed for material in offsite storage. Its free Name Indexes cover wills proved at Albany, naturalization papers, Dutch colonial records, military patents, Revolutionary War pension certificates, War of 1812 claims, Civil War muster roll abstracts, and prison inmate case files.

• New York State Library, Local History and Genealogy: printed family histories with a New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New England emphasis, state census microfilm, church and cemetery records, DAR compilations, Loyalist sources, and city directories on film in the 7th floor microforms area. Its Manuscripts and Special Collections unit, founded in 1881, is on the 11th floor by appointment.
• New York City Municipal Archives (Department of Records and Information Services): vital records for the five boroughs, census and city directory holdings, the New Amsterdam collection (1647-1862), almshouse ledgers (1758-1952), Bodies in Transit registers (1859-1894), Chief Medical Examiner reports (1918-1951), 1940s and 1980s tax photographs of every city building, and property cards from the 1930s to 1970s.
• The New-York Historical Society library in Manhattan and the county historical societies listed below hold the manuscripts, account books, and local newspapers that never reached a government archive.

Vital records: New York City versus the rest of the state

Outside New York City, registration began in 1881 and the New York State Department of Health holds the certificates. For genealogy it provides uncertified copies of births on file at least 75 years when the person is known to be deceased, and of deaths and marriages on file at least 50 years (marriages only if both spouses are deceased). Direct-line descendants can have those waiting periods waived with proof of relationship and death. Three cities kept their own records until January 1, 1914: for Albany, Buffalo, and Yonkers before that date, write to the city's Local Registrar for births and deaths and the City Clerk for marriages.

Inside New York City, the Municipal Archives holds births, deaths, and marriages for all five boroughs from 1855 to about 1950, and its Historical Vital Records of NYC platform now offers more than 9 million digitized records to search, browse, download, or order as certified copies. Births after 1909 and deaths after 1950 are at the NYC Department of Health; marriages after 1949 are at the NYC City Clerk's Office.

• The State Archives holds indexes to state vital records, not the certificates themselves.
• Divorces are court cases, filed with the County Clerk of the county where the judgment was entered; New York restricts access to matrimonial files, so plan on proving a direct interest.
• Church registers often predate 1881 by a century or more; the State Library's collection is the place to start for upstate parishes.

Land records: patents, county clerks, and ACRIS

New York is a state-land state. Title began with a patent from the Dutch or English governor, later from the state, and those patents, along with translations of Dutch-period land papers, are at the State Archives (search the Land Records topic of the Name Indexes). The Secretary of State's deeds, running from about 1640 to 1973 with grantor and grantee card indexes on microfilm, are also in Albany.

Recording became mandatory statewide after 1830, and from then on the County Clerk is the office that holds deeds and mortgages in every county outside New York City. In the city the City Register records property for Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, and its online system ACRIS covers recorded documents from 1966 onward. Western New York has a special layer: between 1786 and 1791 the state sold 5.5 million acres to speculators, and the Holland Land Company (1800-1835), the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, the Morris Reserve, and the Macomb Purchase generated their own ledgers, available on microfilm. FamilySearch has filmed county deed books across the state. For the method, see our guide to tracing a property's deed history.

Newspapers and city directories

The main free source for upstate papers is NYS Historic Newspapers (nyshistoricnewspapers.org), a county-organized site run by New York's library systems, alongside the New York titles on Chronicling America. The New York State Library ran the New York State Newspaper Project for nearly twenty years until it closed in January 2007, cataloging and microfilming papers statewide; its newspaper holdings pages list microfilm by city, county, and title, searchable through the Excelsior catalog.

City directories are strongest at the State Library, whose microfilm and microfiche directory list covers New York cities and counties alphabetically (plus selected telephone and county directories), and at the NYC Municipal Archives for the five boroughs. Nothing in those lists is online; you use them on site. Our article on old city directories explains how to work backward through annual volumes.

Census, military, and statewide indexes

New York took state censuses in 1825, 1835, 1845, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, and 1925. The first three survive only for scattered counties (the State Library keeps the list), 1855 and 1865 are missing some counties, 1875 and 1905 exist for limited counties, 1892 lost some counties, and 1915 and 1925 are nearly complete. The State Library census table shows which years it holds on microfilm for each county; the originals before 1915 remain with the county clerks, and most surviving years are indexed on FamilySearch and Ancestry.

• Military: the State Archives Name Indexes include Civil War muster roll abstracts for New York units, Revolutionary War pension certificates and claims, War of 1812 claim applications, and Mexican War pension entries; the State Library adds DAR record series and a Loyalist bibliography.
• Naturalization: the Archives indexes its naturalization papers series (J1061); county clerk and federal court naturalizations are separate.
• Probate: the Archives indexes wills proved at Albany and insolvency papers from Utica; routine estates are at each county's Surrogate's Court.
• Prisons: inmate case files from Albion, Attica, Auburn, and other state facilities are name-indexed online.

Researching a house or building in New York

New York's State Historic Preservation Office is the Division for Historic Preservation in the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, which administers the State and National Registers of Historic Places, rehabilitation tax credits, Section 106 and state 14.09 reviews, and the Certified Local Government program. Its public research tool is CRIS, the Cultural Resource Information System, a GIS portal with more than 1.5 million pages of National Register nominations, building and archaeological inventory forms, and survey reports; create a free NY.gov ID for full access.

• In New York City, order the 1940s and 1980s tax photograph and the 1930s-1970s property card for your lot from the Municipal Archives; together with ACRIS they usually settle a construction date.
• Upstate, start with the County Clerk's deed chain, then local tax assessment rolls, then CRIS for any survey form already filed. Our guides to dating a house and researching an old building cover the sequence.
• New York's roadside historical markers are today funded mainly through the William G. Pomeroy Foundation's NYS Historic marker grant program, which also publishes a marker map.

Working with New York's historians and societies

New York is unusual in appointing official historians at the county, town, and village level, and these volunteers are often the fastest route to a cemetery transcription, an assessment roll, or a photograph of a vanished building. County historical societies, such as those for Broome, Orange, Rensselaer, Rockland, and Nassau counties listed below, typically keep a research library with set hours and a small fee for non-members. The State Archives' Documentary Heritage Program funds and trains these local record keepers, and its name index search will tell you whether the state already holds what you are looking for before you drive to a village hall.

Additional New York History Resources

• New York State Archives - State government records in Albany with free name indexes and a research room by appointment
• NYS Archives Name Indexes - Search wills, naturalizations, Dutch records, land, military, and prison files by name
• New York State Library Genealogy - Family histories, state census microfilm, city directories, church and military records
• NYS Department of Health Genealogy Records - Rules and forms for genealogy copies of upstate birth, death, and marriage certificates
• NYC Municipal Archives Genealogy - New York City vital records 1855-1950, directories, almshouse and court records
• CRIS (Cultural Resource Information System) - State Historic Preservation Office map database of National Register and survey records
• ACRIS - New York City Register online property records from 1966
• NYS Library State Census Holdings - County-by-county table of surviving state census years on microfilm
• NYS Library City Directories - Alphabetical list of city, county, and telephone directories on microfilm
• FamilySearch Wiki: New York Vital Records - Registration history, NYC and upstate differences, and online indexes

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get an old New York birth or death certificate for genealogy?

It depends on where the event happened. Outside New York City, request an uncertified genealogy copy from the New York State Department of Health: births after 75 years (person deceased), deaths and marriages after 50 years, waived for direct-line descendants with proof. For Albany, Buffalo, or Yonkers before 1914, contact the city. Inside New York City, search the Municipal Archives' Historical Vital Records of NYC platform, which covers 1855 to about 1950.

What years are the New York state census and where are they?

1825, 1835, 1845, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, and 1925. Originals for pre-1915 counts are at the county clerk; the New York State Library holds microfilm and posts a county-by-county table of surviving years. The 1915 and 1925 censuses are nearly complete, and most surviving years are indexed on FamilySearch and Ancestry.

Who holds deeds in New York?

The County Clerk in every county outside New York City, with recording mandatory since 1830. In Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens the City Register records deeds and ACRIS provides online access from 1966. Colonial and state patents are at the New York State Archives.

How can I find out if a New York building is on the National Register?

Search CRIS, the Cultural Resource Information System run by the State Historic Preservation Office, which contains National Register nominations, building inventory forms, and survey reports in a map interface. A free NY.gov ID unlocks the full data.