Cortland County, New York Genealogy

United States New York  Cortland County

Parent County
Created 8 April 1808 from Onondaga County.

Neighboring Counties
Broome· Cayuga· Chenango· Madison· Onondaga· Tompkins· Tioga

Boundary Changes
No changes.

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

Church Records

 * 1918 - Directory, Homer Ave. Methodist Episcopal Church, Cortland, New York, courtesy: NYGenWeb.
 * 1918 - Directory - Homer Ave. Methodist Episcopal Church, Cortland, New York, courtesy: NYGenWeb.

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

History
Eastern New Yorkers and New Englanders, wanting new land to farm, welcomed the opening of this frontier. The first white settlement in the county was made in 1791 by Amos Todd, Joseph Beebe and Rhoda Todd Beebe, emigrants from Connecticut who paddled up the Tioughnioga River from Windsor, to live near the head of navigation in the Town of Homer. Following them came a flood of settlers who, in 1808, petitioned the State Legislature for county status. Thus, Cortland County was created from the southern half of Onondaga County as part of the Boston Ten Towns on April 8, 1808.


 * Hermon Camp Goodwin, Pioneer History of Cortland County (New York : A.B. Burdick, 1859). Google Books online copy; ;.
 * Index to Pioneer History of Cortland County; Berkshire Family History Association
 * WorldCat
 * Family History Library Catalog

Land and Property

 * The Military Tract: A Bit of Early History of Cortland County, New York, courtesy: NYGenWeb.
 * Bounty Land Deeds in Cortland Co., courtesy: NYGenWeb.

Military
Civil War

Available towns. Registers are available for: Cincinnatus· Harford· Scott· Solon· Taylor· Virgil· Willet.

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


 * - 114th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 157th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 175th Regiment, New York Infantry

Probate Records

 * 1832-1908 - SAMPUBCO - Browsable index of testators of wills.

Archives, Libraries and Museums
Cortland Free Library 32 Church St. Cortland, NY 13045 Phone: (607) 753-1042 Hours: Mon-Thur 9:30am-8pm; Fri 9:30am-5:30pm; Sat 9:30am-4:30pm

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

Societies
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.

Cortland County Historical Society 25 Homer Avenue Cortland, NY 13045 Phone: (607) 756-6071


 * The Kellogg Memorial Research Library houses maps, census data, city and county directories, cemetery records, genealogies, histories, military records, photographic files and other resources to assist with research.

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.

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.

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


 * 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– ($); Index. This database is a collection of marriage notices published in newspapers around the state. Contains name of bride and groon, marriage date, marriage location, residence, and newspaper found in.
 * 1801–1880 Barber Collection- Newspaper Marriages at Ancestry– ($); 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, 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."


 * 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.


 * 1849-50, 1859-60, 1869-70, 1879-80 See Mortality Schedule information in the Federal Census section of Census 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.

Divorce
Additional Resources

Websites

 * The Cortland County NYGenWeb Project, an member of The NYGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Cortland County.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Cortland County. (Mirror site)
 * Wikipedia entry for Cortland County