Westchester County, New York Genealogy

United States New York  Westchester County

Parent County
1 Nov 1683: Westchester County was created as an original New York county.

Neighboring Counties
Bronx· Nassau· New York (Manhattan)· Orange· Putnam· Queens· Rockland· Suffolk· Connecticut county: Fairfield· New Jersey county: Bergen

Biography

 * Reynolds, Cuyler. Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation, Volume 3 (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1914) Download a copy in PDF format from Google Books.

Cemeteries

 * New York Family History research - contains lists of cemeteries in the New York City and surrounding areas (and lots of other research info and links). http://www.nyfamilyhistory.com/cemetery.htm
 * Westchester NYGenWeb: Cemeteries
 * The Political Graveyard: Westchester
 * Find A Grave: Westchester
 * Interment.net: Westchester

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

State

 * Westchester County NYGenWeb's Census Page

History

 * Baird, Charles W. Chronicle of a border town: history of Rye, Westchester county, New York, 1660-1870, including Harrison and the White Plains till 1788. (Anson D.F. Randolph and Company, 1871) Download a copy in PDF format from Google Books.
 * Bolton, Robert. A guide to New Rochelle and its vicinity: Pelham, West Chester, West Farms, Morrissania, Fordham, Yonkers, East Chester, White Plains, Mamaroneck, and Rye (Reprinted Harbor Hill Books, 1976)
 * Bolton, Robert. A History of the County of Westchester, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time. 2 vols. (Alexander S. Gould, 1848) Volume 1 Volume 2 Download a copy in PDF format from Google Books.
 * Bolton, Robert. History of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the county of Westchester, from its foundation, 1693, to 1853. (Stanford &amp; Swords, 1855) Download a copy in PDF format from Google Books.
 * Dawson, Henry Barton. Westchester County, New York, during the American Revolution (s.n., 1886) Download a copy in PDF format from Google Books.
 * De Lancey, Edward Floyd Origin and history of manors in the province of New York and in the county of Westchester (s.n., 1886) Download a copy in PDF format from Google Books.
 * French, Alvah P. History of Westchester county, New York 5 volumes. (Lewis historical publishing company, inc., 1927)
 * Hall, Edward Hagaman. Philipse Manor Hall at Yonkers, NY: The Site, the Building and Its Occupants. (c. 1925) Download a copy in PDF format from Google Books.
 * Jones, Thomas. Editor: Edward F. De Lancey. History of New York During the Revolutionary War and of the Leading Events in the Other Colonies. Volume 1 (New York: The New York Historical Society, 1879). Download a copy in PDF format from Google Books.
 * Judd, Jacob and Philip Van Cortlandt. The Revolutionary War memoir and selected correspondence of Philip Van Cortlandt. (Tarrytown, NY: Sleepy Hollow Restoration) Download a copy in PDF format from Google Books.
 * Morris, Fordham. The borough town of Westchester: An address delivered By Fordham Morris on the 28th day of October, 1896, before the Westchester County Historical Society in the Court House at White Plains, N. Y. (White Plains: The Eastern State Journal, printer; 1895) Download a copy in PDF format from Google Books.
 * Scharf, J. Thomas History of Westchester county: New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York city, 2 vols. (L. E. Preston &amp; co., 1886) Volume 1, Volume 2 Download a copy in PDF format from Google Books.
 * Shonnard, Frederic History of Westchester County, New York: from its earliest settlement to the year 1900, Part 1 (New York History Co., 1900) Download a copy in PDF format from Google Books.

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Westchester County for European settlers included:


 * the Atlantic Ocean
 * Long Island Sound
 * with connections to:
 * Mohawk River
 * with connections to Richelieu River, Chambly Canal and St. Lawrence River
 * Lake Champlain Trail pre-historic
 * Champlain Canal 1823
 * Erie Canal 1825
 * King's Highway (or Boston Post Road, or New York-Philadelphia Post Road) 1664
 * Albany Post Road (or Queen's Road, or King's Road) 1669
 * Hudson River Path

Military Records
Civil War service men in Westchester County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Westchester County:


 * - 5th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 7th Veteran Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 9th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 17th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 27th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 32nd Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 38th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 48th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 49th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 59th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 65th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 95th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 135th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 146th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 164th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 168th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 176th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 186th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 191st Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 192nd Regiment, New York Infantry

Probate Records

 * Early wills of Westchester County, New York, from 1664 to 1784: a careful abstract of all wills (nearly 800) recorded in New York surrogate's office and at White plains, N.Y., from 1664-1784 - full-text freely available via Brigham Young University
 * [SAMPUBCO Browsable index of testators of wills

Libraries, Archives, and Museums

 * Port Chester Public Library, 1 Haseco Ave., Port Chester, NY 10573
 * Westchester Library System
 * Westchester County Archives, including their Virtual Archives
 * Westchester County Historical Society
 * Westchester County Genealogical Society
 * Somers Historical Society

Courthouses
The Westchester County Clerk's office has probate, divorce and court records. The County Archives has probate, land and naturalization records as well as military discharge records and maps. For further information about where the records for Westchester County are held, see the Westchester County Courthouses page.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Westchester New York Family History Center (Scarsdale)
 * Yorktown New York Family History Center (Ossining)

Websites

 * Westchester County NYGenWeb site
 * Westchester County Resources in The NYG&amp;B Record
 * Mackenzie's Families of Philipsburgh