Albany, Albany County, New York Genealogy

United States New York  Albany County  Albany

Biography

 * Albany illustrated: illustrated souvenir of Albany and vicinity, commerce, trade and industries, historical, descriptive and biographical sketches, with views and portraits (Ann Arbor, Michigan : University Microfilms, 1987. Microreproduction of original published: [Albany?] : The Argus Co., [1892?]). HeritageQuest Online edition; ;
 * Geschichte der Deutschen in Albany und Troy: nebst kurzen biographien von beamten und hervorragenden buergern: illustrirtes handbuch wissenswerthen inhaltes (Biographical sketches of officals and prominent German people in Albany and Troy) (Ann Arbor, Michigan : University Microfilms, 1987. Microreproduction of original published: [Albany?] : Albany Taeglicher Herold, [1897?]). ;.
 * David Addison Harsha, Noted living Albanians and state officials: a series of biographical sketches (Tucson, Arizona : W.C. Cox Co., 1974. Microreproduction of original published: Albany, N.Y. : Weed, Parsons, and Co., 1891). ;.

Business Records and Commerce

 * Albany Savings Bank, 1820-1899 (FHL)
 * Albany Savings Bank, 1820-1920: one hundred years of faithful service, June 10th, 1920 (FHL)
 * History and development of the Albany Home Building Co., Albany, N.Y.: December, 1912 (FHL)
 * Home Savings Bank of the city of Albany: its history and achievements, 1872-1922, fifty years of faithful stewardship, May 4, 1922 (FHL)
 * Industrial Albany: manufacturing and distributing advantages (FHL)

Cemeteries

 * Albany City cemeteries, 1941 (FHL)
 * Burial records, First Dutch Reformed Church, 1934 (FHL)
 * Burials in Albany: p.56-58, 1710-1736 (First Reformed Church) (FHL)
 * Cemetery records, Albany (St. John's Evangelical Lutheran &amp; Evangelical Protestant Church) and New Woodstock, New York, 1962 (FHL)
 * Proceedings of the Common Council, and the various religious corporations of the city of Albany, relative to the State Street burial grounds, 1867 (FHL)

Albany Rural


 * The Albany Rural Cemetery: its beauties, its memories, 1893 (FHL)
 * Albany Rural Cemetery: proprietors and lot location, 1874-1879 (FHL)
 * Individual interment records (card file), 1965 (FHL)
 * Menands, New York, Albany Rural Cemetery Burial Cards, 1791-2011
 * New York Gravestone Photo Project
 * map: USGS GNIS FID 942240
 * map: Hometown Locator

Beth Emmeth (Jewish)


 * Old Beth Emmeth Cemetery, Old Retreat Rd, 1985 (FHL)
 * Cemetery office (518)436-9761
 * New York Gravestone Photo Project
 * map: USGS GNIS FID 943766
 * map: Hometown Locator

Eagle Hill aka St. Paul's German Lutheran


 * New York Gravestone Photo Project
 * Findagrave.com

Graceland


 * Cemetery records, Graceland burial grounds (FHL)
 * New York Gravestone Photo Project
 * map: USGS GNIS FID 951452
 * map: Hometown Locator

Memory's Garden


 * Cemetery office (518) 869-9506
 * Genealogy on Memory Gardens website
 * Findagrave.com

Census
1860


 * The matched mortality and population schedules of 1860 census of Albany city and county, New York, pub. 1987

1910


 * Albany, New York 1910 census enumeration district maps

1920


 * 1920 census map for Albany, New York (FHL)

Centennial Celebrations, etc
See also Church Directories, History and Records


 * Albany's tercentenary: America's oldest city, 1624-1924, historical narrative souvenir (FHL)
 * Albany, a cradle of America: founded 1614, chartered 1686 (FHL)
 * The capital centenary: report of the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the state capital in Albany : January 3, 1797-January 6, 1897 (FHL)

Church Records
See Albany, New York Church Records Wiki page.

Town Histories
Go to Archive.org to find published materials for this town.

, Oldest surviving European settlement from the original thirteen British colonies.

Indian names: Pem-po-tu-wuth-ut (Mohegan), Sche-negh-ta-da (Iroquois)

Former town names: Castle Island (1540), Fort Nassau (1614), Fort Orange (1624), Beverwyck (1652)

1664: When English took the area, the name was changed to Albany in honor of the, later James II, King of England.

1674: The Dutch took Albany from the English.

1675: The English retook Albany as the result of Third Anglo-Dutch War.

22 July 1686: Formally chartered as a city.

1797: Albany became the state capital.

Several published histories are available online:


 * Munsell, J. Collections on the History of Albany, from its Discovery to the Present Time: with Notices of its Public Institutions, and Biographical Sketches of Citizens Deceased (Albany, New York: 1867) Google Books digital copy, Other Libraries


 * Albany Chronicles: A History of the City Arranged Chronologically from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Illustrated with Many Historical Pictures of Rarity and Reproductions of the Robert C. Pruyn Collection of the Mayors of Albany. Albany, N.Y.: J.B. Lyon Company, Printers, 1906.

Jewish Records

 * Congregation Beth Emeth, Albany, New York, 1838-1938, 5598-5698 (FHL)

Migration
Migration routes for early European settlers to and from included:


 * Hudson River a navigable river stretching from north of Albany then flowing south to empty into the Atlantic Ocean at New York City
 * Albany Post Road from New York City to Albany,_New_York 1669
 * Alford and Egremont (MA) Turnpike 1812
 * Ancram (NY) Turnpike 1805, also sometimes called the Catskill Road, from Salisbury, Connecticut to Catskill, New York
 * Catskill Road 1750s from Springfield, Massachusetts to Catskill, New York
 * Catskill Turnpike  (aka Susquehannah Turnpike ) from Catskill, NY to Unadilla, NY; route travelled by Europeans by 1792; toll booths opened by 1804.
 * Columbia (NY) Turnpike 1799
 * Great Barrington and Aford (MA) Turnpike 1812
 * Greenwood Road 1799 from Hartford, Connecticut to Albany,_New_York
 * Hampden and Berkshire (MA) Turnpike 1826
 * Hillsdale and Chatham Turnpike 1805 from Alford, Massachusetts to Albany,_New_York
 * Housatonic River (MA) Turnpike 1809
 * Massachusetts 10th Turnpike 1800
 * Massachusetts 12th Turnpike 1812
 * Mohawk or Iroquois Trail  1722 from Boston, Massachusetts to Fort Oswego, New York
 * Rensselaer and Columbia (NY) Turnpike 1799


 * pre-historic
 * pre-historic
 * Champlain Canal 1823
 * Erie Canal 1825
 * Chambly Canal 1843
 * pre-historic
 * prehistoric
 * Lake Champlain Trail pre-historic

Newspapers

 * Albany NY Evening Journal 1830-1936

Archives, Libraries, and Museums
Historic Albany Foundation 89 Lexington Avenue Albany, NY 12208 Phone: 518-465-0876 Email: sholland@historic-albany.org Facebook: Historic Albany Foundation Historic Albany Foundation is a private, not-for-profit membership organization working to promote the preservation and appreciation of the built environment in and around the city of Albany.

Historic Cherry Hill 523½ South Pearl Street Albany, NY 12202 Phone: 518–434–4791 Email: info@historiccherryhill.org Collection: The Van Rensselaer-Rankin family amassed several lifetimes and several households worth of personal papers and possessions during their 176 years of occupancy at Cherry Hill. In April of 1963 when Emily Rankin, the last surviving family member, passed away, the house and its contents became the Historic Cherry Hill Collection -- a completely intact assemblage of one family's material possessions spanning five generations and over three hundred years of American history. Although the collection was amassed over a long period with the dual motives of accumulating family history and throwing away as little as possible, the resulting collection contains some very rare and fine examples of American material culture. In addition, the family kept their own meticulous records regarding the history and provenance of individual objects as well as records of changes they made including furniture movement, placement, restoration, and decoration. Often, objects have a web of associated tangential material such as notes, photographs, letters, family lore and old parts that were removed and replaced but never disposed of. They have 5,000 books, 30,000 manuscripts, and many photographs.

New York State Library Cultural Education Center Empire State Plaza Albany, NY 12230 Phone: 518-474-5161 Fax: 518-474-5786 All periods and aspects of New York state history from colonial times to present; printed family histories with emphasis on NY, PA, NJ, and New England, DAR, Loyalist records, census, periodicals, probate, military, church and vital records.


 * Melinda Yates, Gateway to America: genealogical research in the New York State Library, 2nd ed. (Albany, N.Y.: University of the state of New York, State Education Dept., New York State Library, 1982). ;.
 * New York State Library card catalog file of vital records in the History and Genealogy section ([Albany, New York : New York State Library, Photoduplication Department, 1979?]). ; . Microfiche of hand and typewritten cards.
 * New York State Library (Albany, New York), Surname card index ([Albany, New York: New York State Library, Photoduplication Unit, 1979?]). . Surname catalog of the American History and Genealogy section of the New York State Library.

SUNY at Albany M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives UAlbany Science Library LE–352 1400 Washington Avenue Albany, New York 12222 Phone: 518–437-3935 Email: bkeough@uamail.albany.edu Collection: Online listing.

Additional Guides


 * Estelle M. Guzik, Genealogical resources in the New York metropolitan area (New York, N.Y.: Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois, 1989). ; . Also includes Albany. Emphasis on Jewish sources.
 * Duncan O. McCollum, Guide to records relating to the Revolutionary War in the New York State Archives (Albany, NY: University of the State of New York, State Education Dept., Office of Cultural Education, State Archives and Records Administration, 1994). New York State Library/Archives/Museum Catalog online .pdf edition; ; . Government administration, claims and payments, land bounties, forfeited estates, pensions, finance, and correspondence.

City Clerk
 Albany City Clerk Room 202 City Hall 24 Eagle Street Albany, NY 12209 Phone: 518–434–5090 Email: cityclerk@ci.albany.ny.us

Within the Office of City Clerk, there is the Vital Statistics Registrar:

Albany Vital Statistics Registrar City Hall, Room 254M Albany, NY 12207 Phone: 518–434-5045 Vital Statistics provides birth and death records for those events that occur in the City of Albany. The records begin with September 1, 1870 and all records are maintained under guidelines and requirements of the New York State Department of Health. The Registrar and other employees of Vital Statistics deal with relatives, funeral homes, hospitals, social services agencies and others in providing accurate and legal documents. For prices and additional information, visit the website.

City Historian
Albany City Historian Tony Opalka 21 McKinley Street Albany, NY 12206 Phone: 518–459-3994 topalka1@nycap.rr.com The City Historian recommends visiting the History of Colonial Albany website for information and then contacting him with further questions.

Societies
Albany South End Historical Society 20 Second Avenue Albany, New York 12202 Phone: (518)463-0249 Collection: Materials relating to the City of Albany, especially the South End of the city. These include City Directories, maps, photos, artifacts and manuscripts. Information on prominent houses and South End residents is also collected.

The Dutch Settlers Society of Albany 608 25th Street Watervliet, NY 12189 Email: cheryleM29@aol.com Founded in 1924, the Dutch Settlers Society of Albany strives to perpetuate the memory of the individuals who settled in the greater Albany area during the Dutch colonial period of 1624–1664. The Society is charged with collecting and preserving information pertaining to the early history of Albany (Fort Orange, later Beverwijck) including genealogical records of the settlers and their descendants. Recent years of their Newsletters are online.

Vital Records

 * 1832 - Stifel, Carolyn G. "Cholera Records, July and August 1832, Albany," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 138, No. 2 (Apr. 2007):133-137; Vol. 138, No. 3 (Jul. 2007):220-224. Digital version at New York Family History ($);.