Lewis County, New York Genealogy

Guide to Lewis County, New York ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

New York Online Genealogy Records

Description
The County was named for Morgan Lewis, the Governor of New York when the county was established. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

Lewis County, New York Record Dates


The county was named after Morgan Lewis 4th governor of the State.

Parent County
Created 28 March 1805 from Jefferson and Oneida counties.

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating New York County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation New York County Boundary Maps" (1683-1915) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

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.


 * 1800-1965 at FamilySearch — index

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.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places


 * 1843-1883 West Leyden Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed Parish Baptisms, courtesy: NYGenWeb.
 * 1843-1880 West Leyden Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed Parish Marriages, courtesy: NYGenWeb.
 * 1844-1868 West Leyden Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed Parish Confirmations, courtesy: NYGenWeb.
 * 1846-1880 West Leyden Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed Parish Deaths, courtesy: NYGenWeb.
 * West Leyden Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed Parish Families, courtesy: NYGenWeb.
 * 1863-1889 Methodist Episcopal Church. Copenhagen Station. Contains baptisms 1865-1887, marriages 1864-1887, probationers' record 1884-1887, alphabetical list of members including deaths 1863-1879, record of the classes severally including deaths 1874-1889.
 * 1870-1915 Methodist Episcopal Church. Martinsburg Circuit Contains records of members and list of classes including deaths 1872-1915, baptisms 1873-1914, marriages 1873-1912, deaths 1870-1912. Includes some members of Harrisburg Circuit.

Adoptions

 * 1805–1901 Marriages, Adoptions, misc. county records

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1906-1942 at FamilySearch — index and images

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

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.

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

Online



Microforms


 * 1788-1865 Deed Records 1788-1873 - Index included: 1805-1873
 * 1794-1870 Mortgage Records 1794-1857 - Index included: 1805 - 1870
 * 1805-1962 Lis Pendens 1805-1873 - Index included: 1868 - 1962
 * 1857-1902 Sheriff Certificates of Sale

Books



Maps

 * Maps of New York (1683-1915)

Civil War
Available towns. Registers are available for: Denmark· Diana· Greig· Harrisburg· Leyden· Lowville· Lyonsdale· Montague· New Bremen· Osceola· Pinckney· Turin· West Turin.

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


 * - 1st Battalion, New York Light Artillery, Batteries D and H.
 * - 7th Regiment, New York Cavalry, Company E
 * - 14th Regiment, New York Infantry, Companies F and I.
 * - 20th Regiment, New York Cavalry, Companies A, E and F.
 * - 20th Regiment, New York Cavalry, Companies E and F.
 * - 35th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company B.
 * - 59th Regiment, New York Infantry, Companies B and G.
 * - 97th Regiment, New York Infantry, Companies B and H.
 * - 100th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company B.
 * - 130th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company I.

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1791-1980 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Lowville NY Lewis County Republican 1850-1857
 * Lowville NY Northern Journal 1838-1858

Other resources at Northern New York Historical Newspapers:


 * Lewis County Democrat, 1867-1906
 * Lowville Journal and Republican 1860-1940.

Probate Records
Online Indexes


 * 1629-1971 at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 1659-1999 New York Wills and Probate Records 1659-1999 at Ancestry — index and images $
 * 1787-1835 Abstracts of Wills, Administrations and Guardianships in NY State, 1787-1835 at American Ancestors ($)
 * 1806-1870 SAMPUBCO - Free browsable index of testators of wills.
 * 1840-1847 Will Index, Volume C (1840-1847), courtesy: NYGenWeb.
 * 1866-1923 at FamilySearch.org — index and images


 * - Lewis County: Dower records, 1824-1866; Final settlements, 1856-1883; General index, 1805-1940; Guardianship records, 1830-1855; Letters of administration, 1805-1829, 1856-1881; Letters of administration, Letters of testamentary, 1830-1855; Letters of guardianship, 1806-1829; Letters of testamentary, 1856-1881; Sales, 1824-1894; Wills, 1806-1870

Probate Records on Microfilm

Probate records found at Historical Records and described in Online Probate Records above are also found on microfilm as follows:


 * 1805–1940 General Index to Wills
 * 1806–1870 Wills and Testaments
 * 1805–1883 Probate Records
 * 1806–1855 Guardianship

Repositories
Cornell University, Guide to Historical Resources in Lewis County, New York Repositories. ([Ithaca, New York]: New York Historical Resources Center, Olin Library, Cornell University, 1987). ; . Includes index. Includes references to some family histories and genealogies.

Archives, Libraries and Museums
Libraries

Lowville Free Library 5387 Dayan Street Lowville, New York 13367 Phone: 315-376-2131 Hours: Monday and Friday 1 - 5 pm Tuesday and Thursday 10 am - 8 pm Wednesday 12 - 5 pm Saturday 10 am - 2 pm Facebook

County Historian's Office
Lewis County Historian Masonic Temple Building 7552 South State Street P.O. Box 446 Lowville, New York 13367 Phone: 315-376-2825

The County Historian may provide access to obituaries, vital records, church records, maps, and family files or journals. Some historians provide search services for their office records and others may refer you to local genealogists who research in the area.

Courthouses
The Lewis County Clerk has birth, death, divorce, court, land, naturalization, miliatry rolls and state census. The Surrogate Court has probate records. For further information about where the records for Lewis County are held, see the Lewis County Courthouse page.

FamilySearch Centers

 * Fulton New York FamilySearch Center
 * Lowville New York FamilySearch Center
 * Potsdam New York FamilySearch Center
 * Pulaski New York FamilySearch Center
 * Watertown New York FamilySearch Center


 * Kawartha Lakes Public Library - Omemee Branch - an affiliate library

Societies

 * Lewis County Historical Society 7552 South State Street Lowville, New York 13367 Phone: 315-376-8957 or 315-376-2825 Email: lewiscountyhistoricalsociety@gmail.com Facebook

Collection includes local and regional history books, farm and business directories, obituaries, cemetery records, early newspapers on microfilm (182501993), immigration index, photographs, genealogies, historical documents and morel


 * 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.


 * 4 River Valleys Historical Society P.O. Box 504 Carthage, New York 13619 Phone: 315-773-5133

Social Groups Online

 * New York Genealogy Research Community (FamilySearch on Facebook)

Vital Records

 * 1856-1954 NYS Historic Newspapers. Includes Black River Democrat (1913-1943), Lewis County Banner (1856-1859), Lewis County Democrat (1867-1906), Lowville Herald &amp; Lewis County Democrat (1910-1914), Lowville Journal and Republican (1860-1955), Lowville Leader (1943-1953), Lowville Leader and Lyons-Leyden Ledger (1953-1954), Lowville Times (1876-1884), and Lowville Times Lewis County Independent (1884-1891).

Birth

 * 1881-1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1881-1942 New York, Birth Index, 1881-1942 at Ancestry — index, ($)


 * 1881-1942 Reclaim the Records: New York State Birth Index at Archive.org - images of index

Birth Substitutes


 * 1640–1962 at FamilySearch – free; Index.


 * 1848–1851 Birth Card Index


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

Marriage

 * 1639-1962 New York, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $


 * 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.


 * 1805–1901 Marriages, Adoptions, misc. county records


 * 1847–1848 and 1908–1936 at FamilySearch — index and images


 * 1881-1964 Reclaim the Records: New York State Marriage Index at Archive.org - images of index


 * 1908–1934 at FamilySearch – free; Index.

Marriage Substitutes


 * 1686-1980 at FamilySearch – 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."


 * 1831-1859 Crawford, Anna E. Marriage and Death Dates from the Black River Gazette of 1831-32 and the Northern Journal of 1838-45, 1847-53, 1855-59. Lowville, N.Y., 1986. Digital version at Ancestry ($).


 * 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 browsable.


 * 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 Indexes
 * 1824-1962 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1880-1956 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1880-1956 New York, Death Index, 1880-1956 at Ancestry — ($), index only
 * 1880-1956 Reclaim the Records: New York State Death Index at Archive.org - images of index
 * 1957-1963 at FamilySearch — Index only

Death Substitutes


 * 1795–1952 at FamilySearch – 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."


 * 1831-1859 Crawford, Anna E. Marriage and Death Dates from the Black River Gazette of 1831-32 and the Northern Journal of 1838-45, 1847-53, 1855-59. Lowville, N.Y., 1986. Digital version at Ancestry ($).


 * 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 browsable.


 * 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

Lewis County New York Genealogy Websites

 * Lewis County, NY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * New York Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * The Lewis County NYGenWeb Project, an member of The NYGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Lewis County.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Lewis County. (Backup site)
 * Lewis County NY Genealogy