Suffolk County, New York Genealogy

United States New York  Suffolk

Parent County
Created 1 November 1683 as an original New York county.

Neighboring Counties
Nassau· Westchester· Connecticut counties: Fairfield· Middlesex· New Haven· New London· Rhode Island county: Washington· Atlantic Ocean

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.

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

Church

 * 1723-1799 - Records of the First Church of Huntingdon, Long Island, courtesy: New York State Historical Literature.
 * 1736-1817 - Newtown Long Island Dutch Reformed Church Baptisms 1736-1817, courtesy: Ancestral Things.
 * 1736-1846 - First Reformed Dutch Church of Newton, Long Island, New York Baptisms, Marriages, Communicants, courtesy: Olive Tree Genealogy.
 * 1696-1884 - Presbyterian Church, East Hampton, New York, Church Records 1696-1884: Extract from Printed Records of the Town of East Hampton, New York, Vol. 5, 1905. Sag Harbor, N.Y., 1946. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Land and Property

 * 1698-1736 - Records of Southampton, Long Island, New York: Abstracts of Volume 2 of Deeds in Town Clerk's Office. 1915. Digital version at World Vital Records ($).

Military
Civil War

Available towns. Registers are available for: Brookhaven· East Hampton· Huntington· Islip· Riverhead· Shelter Island· Smithtown· Southold.

Regiments. Service men in Suffolk County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were formed in Orange County:


 * - 102nd Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 127th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 131st Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 132nd Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 139th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 145th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 155th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 156th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 176th Regiment, New York Infantry

Newspapers

 * Suffolk Historic Newspapers

Probate Records

 * 1670-1688 - Long Island Source Records, courtesy: Ancestry ($). Includes Inventories, Sessions Book No. 1.
 * 1691-1703 - Early Long Island Wills of Suffolk County 1691-1703. Digital versions at Family History Archives, New York State Historical Literature, World Vital Records ($).

Courthouses
The Suffolk County Clerk's office has incomplete birth and death records, marriage, court and land records. The Surrogate Court has probate records. For further information about where the records for Suffolk County are held, see the Suffolk County Courthouses page.

Societies
Three Village Historical Society 93 North Country Road in Setauket, New York

Birth
Birth Substitutes


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


 * See Town Clerks' Registers of Men who Served in the Civil War in Suffolk County 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.


 * 1908-1936 Suffolk County Marriage Index at German Genealogy Group - free.


 * Marriage Substitutes


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


 * 1696-1811 Salmon, William. The Salmon Records: A Private Register of Marriages and Deaths of the Residents of the Town of Southold, Suffolk County, N.Y., and of Persons More or Less Closely Associated with that Place: 1696-1811. New York: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1918. Digital version at Ancestry ($).


 * 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."


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


 * 1871-1891 Barber, Gertrude A. Marriages of Suffolk County, N.Y.: Taken from the "Republican Watchman," A Newspaper Published at Greenport, N.Y. 1950. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Death
Death Substitutes


 * 1696-1811 Salmon, William. The Salmon Records: A Private Register of Marriages and Deaths of the Residents of the Town of Southold, Suffolk County, N.Y., and of Persons More or Less Closely Associated with that Place: 1696-1811. New York: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1918. Digital version at Ancestry ($).


 * 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.


 * 1859-1900 Barber, Gertrude A. Deaths Taken from "The Republican Watchman": A Newspaper Published Every Saturday Morning at Greenport, Suffolk County, N.Y., Covering Death Records for the Whole County / Copied and Compiled from the Original Newspapers by Gertrude A. Barber. 5 vols. 1991. Digital version at Ancestry ($).


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


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

Additional Resources

Websites

 * Long Island Genealogy