Erie County, New York Genealogy

United States New York  Erie County

Guide to Erie County New York genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, military, immigration and naturalization records.



Parent County
Created 2 April 1821 from Niagara County.

Neighboring Counties
Cattaraugus· Chautauqua· Genesee· Niagara· Wyoming· Ontario Canada counties: Welland· Lake Erie

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.


 * Map of Cemeteries in Erie County - Findagrave
 * Erie County, New York Online Cemetery Listings

Individual cemeteries:


 * White Chapel Memorial Cemetery, Amherst BillionGraves
 * Williamsville Cemetery, Amherst BillionGraves

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

Federal

 * The 1890 Census is lost. For a substitute, see directories.

Catholic

 * Ann Mensch's Local Catholic Church and Family History &amp; Genealogical Research Guide is a free online resource that identifies the parishes of Erie County, years parishes were created, contact information, as well as links to online records and research tips. Erie County parishes fall under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Buffalo.
 * Brief histories of local Catholic churches are available at Buffalo Roman Catholic Parishes, courtesy: NYGenWeb.

Lutheran

 * 1829-1933 St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Eggertsville Records include list of pastors; births and baptisms 1844-1880, 1829-1865, 1880-1932; confirmations; communicants; marriages 1843-1932; deaths 1844-1933.

Methodist Episcopal

 * 1867-1948 Methodist Episcopal Church. Williamsville and Bowmansville Charge Contains history of the church 1844-1946; record of probationers including a few deaths 1869-1925, 1930-1936; class record including deaths 1869-1909; alphabetical record of members in full connection including deaths 1873-1948; record of official members 1867-1889; baptisms 1869-1941; marriages 1869-1946; appendix with a few deaths 1881-1883, 1902-1904.

General
"Many Buffalo church records have been microfilmed and are available in the Special Collections Room at the main branch of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, the Research Library of the Buffalo History Museum, and from any local LDS Family History Center."

Cornell University's Study Center for Early Religious Life in Western New York has an online guide to Erie County church records housed in their collection.

Directories

 * BuffaloResearch.com provides links to all known online directories for Buffalo, 1828-1923, plus a few for Erie County and other western New York locales.

Genealogy

 * Rootsweb message board for has many information threads about families that resided in that county. There is a search engine that allows you to search by surname and topic.

History

 * BuffaloResearch.com - How to Research Buffalo, New York, Ancestors, Buildings, Companies, and more.

Immigration

 * Barnette, Mic. "Southerners in Erie County in 1850," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 141, No. 4 (Oct. 2010):274-291. Digital version at New York Family History ($);.

Land and Property
Original land records in began in [?dateyear?]. These records are housed at the [?repository?] in [?town?].

Online



Microforms


 * 1808-1964 Deed Records 1808-1927 - Index included: 1808-1964
 * 1808-1856 Mortgage Records 1808-1856 - Index included: years undetermined.

Books




 * 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

 * BuffaloResearch.com Maps - Over 200 online maps of Buffalo, Erie County, and Western New York
 * Map of Erie County Towns - Regional Knowledge Network
 * Outline of Erie County Over Google Map - NY Home Town Locator
 * Map of Towns of 7 Western New York Counties apx 1825 - Downloadable JPEG - Stoneybrook University

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


 * Lake Erie
 * Catskill Turnpike, trail 1760s; turnpike 1804, from Catskill to Bath, New York with extensions to Buffalo, New York, or Erie, Pennsylvania
 * Lake Shore Path, 1792 from Buffalo, New York to Cleveland, Ohio
 * Great Genesee Road, 1794 from Utica to Buffalo, New York
 * Erie Canal, 1825 from Albany to Buffalo, New York

Military
Civil War

Available towns. Registers are available for: Amherst· Aurora· Boston· Brant· Buffalo· Clarence· Colden· Eden· Elma· Evans· Grand Island· Hamburg· Holland· Lancaster· Marilla· Newstead· North Collins· Sardinia· Tonawanda· Wales.

Regiments. Service men 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 Erie County:


 * - 116th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 132nd Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 151st Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 155th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 160th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 164th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 176th Regiment, New York Infantry

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

Newspapers

 * Blasdell NY Frontier Herald 1956-1966
 * Buffalo NY Daily Courier 1847-1888
 * Buffalo NY Evening Courier and Republic 1862-1884
 * Buffalo NY Polish Weekly Review 1929-1930
 * Buffalo NY Morning Express 1880-1924
 * Hamburg NY Front Page 1964-1979
 * Hamburg NY Photo News 1970-1976
 * Hamburg NY Erie County Independent 1875-1944
 * Hamburg NY Sun 1945-1988

Other resources


 * The Griffin 1933-1948 Canisius College, Buffalo, NY at Canisius College 
 * The Spectrum 1950-1957 at University at Buffalo

Obituaries
BuffaloResearch.comhas links and guides to multiple online and offline sources of obituaries and death notices.

Probate Records
The petitions for are also available on microfilm at the Family History Library and its centers:


 * 1799–1905 Listed as "Surrogates Records" Includes film index.

Online Probate Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1800-1929 Abstracts of Wills, Administrations and Guardianships in NY State, 1787 - 1835 at New York Ancestors ($); includes.
 * 1819-1865 - SAMPUBCO Browsable index of letters testamentary.


 * - Erie County: Estate Index, 1800-1929; Letters of administration, 1826-1901; Letters of testamentary, 1832-1900; Wills and Administrations, 1819-1832

Probate Records on Microfilm

The probate records described above may also be on microfilms like these:


 * 1800-1929 Surrogate's records.

Repositories
Erie County has more than 25 intriguing historical societies, museums, and town historians. For a list, visit Erie County, New York Town Historians, Historical Societies and Historical Museums.

Cornell University, Guide to Historical Resources in Erie County, New York Repositories. ([Ithaca, New York]: New York Historical Resources Center, Olin Library, Cornell University, 1983). ; . Includes index. Includes references to some family histories and genealogies.

County Historian's Office
Erie County Historian Doug Kohler 95 Franklin Street, 16th Floor Buffalo, NY 14202 716–858–8500 Email: doug.kohler@erie.gov.

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

Societies
A list of local libraries and archives with Polish resources is available online at the Polish-American Heritage in Buffalo and Erie County, New York website.

Social Groups Online

 * Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society - Facebook.


 * Erie County Historical Federation (ECHF) - Facebook.


 * New York Genealogy Research Community (FamilySearch on Facebook)

Birth
Birth Substitutes


 * 1640–1962 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index.
 * See Town Clerks' Registers of Men who Served in the Civil War in  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.

Marriage Substitutes


 * 1620–1901 Names of Persons and dates of marriages from Elma, Erie County, New York website. Extracted marriages from the book “History of the Town of Elma, Erie County, NY, 1620-1901, Chapter XVII, Page 157.” Index gives: • Groom Name • Bride Name • Date


 * 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  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

Erie County New York Genealogy Websites

 * The Erie County NYGenWeb Project, an member of The NYGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Erie County.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Erie County. (Backup site)
 * BuffaloResearch.com - Buffalo Genealogical Data
 * Erie County Links - Erie County, New York Cemeteries Past and Present - More links than just cemeteries.