New York Introduction

United States New York   Introduction

This set of Wiki pages describes major sources of information about families from New York. As you read this outline, study the United States set of Wiki pages, which will help you understand terminology and the contents and uses of genealogical records.

Records of the Family History Library
The Family History Library has many of the records described in these New York Wiki pages. The library has over 50,000 microfilms and continues acquiring additional materials—particularly for New York City and Long Island. Although the Family History Library has microfilm copies of some twentieth century records, most are of pre-1900 records. The microfilm copies come from records at the National Archives and its Northeast regional center, the state archives, county courthouses, church archives, university libraries, and historical societies.

The Family History Library's major holdings include federal and state censuses; church records; passenger lists; and land, probate, naturalization, and some marriage records for most counties. The library also has a comprehensive collection of published and manuscript genealogies of New York families. It has few town records and relatively few county records from Long Island (Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, and Kings counties). For beginning research, the most helpful sources are:


 * Federal census indexes, 1790–1870, 1880, 1900, 1920
 * Church records
 * Birth, marriage, and death indexes and records
 * County deed, mortgage, and probate indexes
 * County histories

Some of the sources described in this set of Wiki pages list the Family History Library's book, microfilm, and microfiche. These are preceded by FHL, the abbreviation for Family History Library. You can use these numbers to locate materials in the library and to order microfilm and microfiche at Family History Centers.

Family History Library Catalog
The library's records are listed in the Family History Library Catalog found at the library and at each Family History Center. The catalog is available in a online or microfiche version. To find a record, look in the Place Search of the catalog for:


 * The place where your ancestor lived, such as:
 * UNITED STATES - CENSUS
 * NEW YORK - GENEALOGY
 * NEW YORK, KINGS - PROBATE RECORDS
 * NEW YORK, KINGS, BROOKLYN - CHURCH RECORDS


 * The record type you want to search, such as:
 * UNITED STATES - CENSUS
 * NEW YORK - GENEALOGY
 * NEW YORK, KINGS - PROBATE RECORDS
 * NEW YORK, KINGS, BROOKLYN - CHURCH RECORDS

The page titles in the New York Wiki pages match the names of record types used in the catalog.