Cattaraugus County, New York Genealogy

United States New York  Cattaraugus County

Parent County
11 March 1808: Created from Genesee County.

Neighboring Counties
Allegany· Chautauqua· Erie· Wyoming· Pennsylvania counties: McKean· Warren

Bible Records

 * 1581–1917 New York, Family Bible Records at Ancestry– ($); Index. Database is a collection of genealogically important records taken from the Bibles of colony and state residents. Reveals the Bible's original owner, brief record of descendants,and a particular event such as birth or marriage as recorded in Bible.

Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, death, relationship, military, and religious information.


 * Find a grave Cattaraugus County Cemetery Map

Census
For information and tips on using and accessing online census records, see New York Census.

Federal
1890: Census records were damaged and destroyed prior to the establishment of the National Archives and Records Service (NARA). Even though the census is lost, through directories, it is possible to reconstruct the population.

Church Records

 * Salem Welsh Church. Includes burials.

Church Histories

 * Kysor, Kenneth. Benjamin Titus Roberts and the Free Methodist Church. 1987. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Land and Property

 * 1804-1824 - Livsey, Karen E. Western New York Land Transactions, 1804-1824. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1991. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * 1825-1835 - Livsey, Karen E. Western New York Land Transactions, 1825-1835. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1996. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Maps

 * Simple Town Map of Cattaraugus County via NY Gen Web Page
 * Map of Towns of Cattarugus County via Regional Knowledge Network
 * NY Home Town Locator Cattaraugus County Gazateer By Name of Cities, Towns, Census Designated Places, Neighborhoods, Subdivisions &amp; Settlements

Military
Civil War

Available towns. Registers are available for: Allegany· Ashford· Coldspring· Conewango· East Otto· Ellicottville· Farmersville· Franklinville· Freedom· Hinsdale· Humphrey· Ischua· Leon· Lyndon· Mansfield· Otto· Portville· Randolph· Salamanca· South Valley· Yorkshire.

Regiments. Service men in Cattaraugus County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county.


 * -105th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * -116th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * -122nd Regiment, New York Infantry
 * -154th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * -160th Regiment, New York Infantry

Naturalization and Citizenship
SAMPUBCO Index of naturalization records


 * 1907-1966 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index.

Probate Records

 * 1830-1916 - SAMPUBCO - Index of testators of wills.

Guardianships


 * SAMPUBCO Index of guardianships (names of children).

Repositories
Cornell University, Guide to Historical Resources in Cattaraugus County, New York Repositories. ([Ithaca, New York]: New York Historical Resources Center, Olin Library, Cornell University, 1984). ; . Includes index. Includes references to some family histories and genealogies.

Archives, Libraries and Museums
Cattaraugus County Histoical Museum and Research Library 9824 Route 16 PO Box 352 Machias, NY 14101 1-716-353-8200

Cattaraugus County Historian Museum 303 Court Street Little Valley, NY 14755 1-716-938-9111


 * (genealogy center, operated by the county; records include: local census, Civil War rolls, cemeteries, and newspapers.)

Libraries

Allegany Public Library 90 West Main Street Allegany, NY 14706 Phone: 1-716-373-1056

Delvan-Yorkshire Public Library P.O. Box 185 28 School Street Delevan, NY 14042 Phone: 1-716-492-1961

Gowanda Free Library 56 West Main Street Gowanda, NY 14070 Phone: 1-716-532-3451 Website: WWW.CCLSLIB.ORG/GOWANDA

Memorial Library of Little Valley 110 Rock City Street Little Valley, NY 14755 Phone: 1-716-938-6301

Ellicottville Memorial Library 1 Washington Street Ellicottville, NY 14731 Phone: 1-716-699-2842

King Memorial Library Town Hall, Roszyk Hill Road Machias, NY 14101 Phone: 1-716-353-9915 Website: http://WWW.CCLSLIB.ORG/MACHIAS

Myers Memorial Library P.O. Box 559 26 Ivory Street Frewsburg, NY 14738 Phone 1-716-569-5515 Website: http://WWW.CCLSLIB.ORG/FREWSBURG

Seneca Nation Library-Cattaraugus Branch 1490 Route 438 Irving, NY 14081 Phone: 1-716-532-9449

Courthouses
The County Clerk's office has marriage, military, naturalization, divorce, court and land records. The Surrogate Court office has probate records. For further information about where the records for Cattaraugus County are held, see the Cattaraugus County Courthouse page.

Societies
Central New York Genealogical Society Box 104, Calvin Station Syracuse, New York 13205 E-mail: [mailto:CNYGS@yahoo.com CNYSG@yahoo.com]


 * Member queries; surname research list; online resources; six meetings/year; publication: Tree Talks  quarterly with annual index.


 * Counties served: Albany, Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Oreleans, Oswego, Otsego, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Washington, Wayne, Warren, Wyoming, and Yates.

Western New York Genealogical Society

The Western New York Genealogical Society was founded in 1974 to help preserve and encourage interest in the area's rich genealogical heritage. Its focus is on the eight Western New York counties - Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Wyoming, Orleans, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany - which today comprise the area of the original Holland Land Company purchase.

Painted Hills Genealogy Society

Our mission is to make as many records available as possible. Covering the entire Painted Hills Area of Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania. Our society also strives to educate others, while making the field of genealogy fun and exciting to young and old.

Social Groups Online

 * New York Genealogy Research Community (FamilySearch)

Birth
Birth Substitutes


 * 1640–1962 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index.


 * See Town Clerks' Registers of Men who Served in the Civil War in the Civil War section of Military for birth information.

Marriage

 * 1664–1784 New York. Secretary of State, Names of Persons for Whom Marriage Licenses Were Issued By the Secretary of the Province of New York, Previous to 1784 (Albany, New York: Weed, Parsons and Co., 1860). At Cornell University digital library-free; Internet Archive - free; Ancestry edition($); ; . Marriage bonds issued in the State of New York prior to 1784, and the earliest record dating 1664.


 * 1836–1880 Miscellaneous marriages of Cattaraugus County, New York . Contains miscellaneous entries in a marriage book that lacks place of recording. Includes date of the marriage, place of residence, name and age of bride and groom, and name and residence of person performing the marriage. The residence of the officer or clergyman performing the marriage ceremony is listed as Hinsdale for most of the entries in this record. Some of the record may be hard to read because of smudging.


 * 1908–1935 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index;

Marriage Substitutes


 * 1686-1980 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.


 * 1800–1855 New York Marriage Notices at Ancestry– ($); Index. This database is a collection of marriage notices published in newspapers around the state. Contains name of bride and groom, marriage date, marriage location, residence, and newspaper found in.


 * 1801–1880 Barber Collection- Newspaper Marriages at Ancestry– ($); Index. Information extracted from the "Brooklyn Eagle" and the "New York Evening Post."
 * 1809-1850 10,000 Vital Records of Western New York at World Vital Records ($).


 * 1856–1863 Index to Marriages and Deaths in the New York Herald at Ancestry– ($); Index. These newspaper notices refer to people up and down the East Coast as well as midwesterners and persons from as far west as the State of California. Also browseable.


 * 1864-5, 1874-5 See Marriage Schedule information in the State Census section of Census for marriage information for 1864-5, and 1874-5.

Death
Death Substitutes


 * 1795–1952 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. The entries are primarily from the IGI along with some entries derived from compiled and original records such as Family Records, Church Records, and Civil Registration. There may be entries that cite a specific source.


 * 1801–1890 Barber Collection- Newspaper Deaths at Ancestry– ($); Index. Information extracted from the "Brooklyn Eagle" and the "New York Evening Post."


 * 1849-50, 1859-60, 1869-70, 1879-80 See Mortality Schedule information in the Federal Census section of Census for death information.


 * 1856–1863 Index to Marriages and Deaths in the New York Herald at Ancestry– ($); Index. These newspaper notices refer to people up and down the East Coast as well as midwesterners and persons from as far west as the State of California. Also browseable.


 * See Town Clerks' Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War in the Civil War section of Military for death information.


 * 1864-5, 1874-5 See Mortality Schedule information in the State Census section of Census for death information for 1864-5, and 1874-5.

Additional Resources

Websites

 * The Cattaraugus County NYGenWeb Project, an member of The NYGenWeb Project
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project (backup site)
 * Roots Web Cattataugus County Links
 * My New York Genealogy Cattaraugus County Site
 * Cyndi's List New York (Scroll down to Cattagaugus County or word search for "Cattaraugus" )
 * ancestry.com Cattaraugus County Search Ancestry.com (S)
 * Painted Hills Genealogical Society Cattaraugus County Page