Montgomery County, New York Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 at the Battle of Quebec. The County is located in the central area of the state.

Parent County
12 March 1772: Created from Albany County.

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.

Five counties set off over the years.


 * 27 January 1789: Ontario
 * 16 February 1791: Herkimer, Otsego, Tioga
 * 21 February 1816: Hamilton

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.

Church Records
Ann Mensch's Local Catholic Church and Family History &amp; Genealogical Research Guide is a free online resource that identifies the parishes of Montgomery County, years parishes were created, contact information, as well as links to online records and research tips. Montgomery County parishes fall under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Albany.


 * 1734-1735 - Register of Baptisms, Marriages, Communicants, &amp; Funerals Begun by Henry Barclay at Fort Hunter, January 26th, 1734/5: Register Book, Fort Hunter 1734. Albany, N.Y.: New York State Library, 1919. Digital version at Ancestry ($).


 * 1852, 1857 - Marriages of Rev. J.M. Van Buren and Rev. Ransford Wells, courtesy: NYGenWeb.


 * 1869-1883 - Pastoral Register of the Rev. Francis M. Kip, Jr. Funerals 1869-1883, courtesy: NYGenWeb.


 * 1870-1883 - Pastoral Register of the Rev. Francis M. Kip, Jr. Marriages, courtesy: NYGenWeb.


 * 1871-1883 - Pastoral Register of the Rev. Francis M. Kip, Jr. Baptisms, courtesy: NYGenWeb.


 * Dempster, James. Records of Marriages and Baptisms of the Rev. James Dempster. 1934. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1906-1942 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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
Schenectady Digital History Archive includes "Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs: Index to Families" includes people from Montgomery County.

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

Online



Microforms



Books



Maps

 * Maps of New York (1683-1915)
 * Atlas of Montgomery and Fulton counties, New York: from actual surveys (1868)] - Internet Archive.

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


 * Mohawk River pre-historic
 * Erie Canal 1825
 * Mohawk or Iroquois Trail

Revolutionary War
Tryon (Montgomery) County men served in the 1st New York Regiment.

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

Available towns. Registers are available for: Amsterdam· Canajoharie· Florida· Glen· Mohawk· Palatine· Root· St. Johnsville.

Regiments. Service men from Oswego County 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 Montgomery County.


 * - 1st Battalion, New York Light Artillery, Battery K.
 * - 25th Regiment, New York Cavalry, Companies B and D.
 * - 32nd Regiment, New York Infantry, Companies B and D.
 * - 43rd Regiment, New York Infantry, Company E.
 * - 115th Regiment, New York Infantry, Companies A, B, D, G, H, I and K.
 * - 134th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company I.
 * - 153rd Regiment, New York Infantry, Companies B, C, E, F and H.

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1791-1980 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Amsterdam NY Evening Recorder 1884-1974

Probate Records
Online Indexes and Abrstracts


 * 1629 - 1971 at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 1659 - 1999 New York Wills and Probate Records 1659-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1787-1835 Abstracts of Wills, Administrations and Guardianships in NY State, 1787 - 1835 at New York Ancestors ($); includes.
 * 1787-1918 - SAMPUBCO Browsable Index of testators of wills.
 * 1784-1787 - Cassidy, T.E. "Montgomery County, New York Intestates. Libers II and III Intestates (Liber I is missing), Hall of Records, N.Y. City," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 59, No. 1 (Jan. 1928):83-85. Digital version at New York Family History ($);.
 * 1787-1831 - Becker, Edith Van Heusen. "Abstracts of Wills, Montgomery County, N.Y.," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, 1787-1810 (Vol. I): Vol. 56, No. 2 (Apr. 1925):161-172; 1810-1816 (Vol. II): Vol. 56, No. 4 (Oct. 1925):380-397; 1816-1826 (Vol. III): Vol. 57, No. 2 (Apr. 1926):163-186; 1826-1831 (Vol. IV): Vol. 57, No. 3 (Jul. 1926):282-295. Digital version at New York Family History ($);.
 * 1866 - 1923 at FamilySearch.org — index and images


 * - Montgomery County: Administration records, 1896-1909; Bonds, 1890-1899; Decrees, Orders, 1802-1918; Guardianship index, 1825-1862; Letters of administration, 1788-1921; Letters of guardianship, 1825-1922; Letters of testamentary, 1864-1920; Probate records, 1874-1922; Will and Administration index, 1787-1905; Wills, 1787-1922

Probate Records on Microfilm

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


 * 1787–1905 General Index to Wills
 * 1787–1922 Wills and Administration Includes Guardianship.

Repositories
Cornell University, Guide to Historical Resources in Montgomery 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.

Archives, Libraries and Museums =
Museums


 * Walter Elwood Museum of the Mohawk Valley 366 West Main Street, Route 5 Amsterdam, New York 12010 Phone: 518-843-5151 Email: info@walterelwoodmuseum.org


 * Noteworthy Indian Museum 2 Prospect Street Amsterdam, New York 12010 Phone: 518-843-4761


 * Old Fort Johnson Phone: 518-843-0300 Email: museum@oldfortjohnson.org Located at the corner of Routes 5 and 67, two miles west of Amsterdam, New York. Small admission.

Courthouses
The Jefferson County Clerk's office has marriage, divorce, cour, land, naturalization and state census records. The Currogate Court has probate records. For further information about where the records for Montgomery County are held, see the Montgomery County Courthouse page.

Societies

 * Capital District Genealogical Society Empire State Plaza Station PO Box 2175 Albany, NY 12220-0175


 * Counties served: Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Washington.


 * $3 for non-member queries in their newsletter. Monthly meetings. They staff a genealogy support desk at the Town of Colonie Library.


 * 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; publishes 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.

Social Groups Online

 * New York Genealogy Research Community (FamilySearch on Facebook)

Birth
Birth Substitutes


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


 * 1808–1850 Fred Q.Bowman, 7000 Hudson-Mohawk Valley, (NY), Vital Records, 1808-1850 (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1997). ; . Abstracts from newspapers filed at the New York State Library in Albany.


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


 * 1885-1891 Some Montgomery County Births 1885-1891 at NYGenWeb - free.

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.


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


 * 1908–1936 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free;

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 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."


 * 1808–1850 Fred Q.Bowman, 7000 Hudson-Mohawk Valley, (NY), Vital Records, 1808-1850 (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1997). ; . Abstracts from newspapers filed at the New York State Library in Albany.


 * 1818-1834 Marriages from the Cherry Valley Gazette 1818-1834 at NYGenWeb - free.


 * 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
 * 1957-1963 - at FamilySearch — Index only

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."


 * 1808–1850 Fred Q.Bowman, 7000 Hudson-Mohawk Valley, (NY), Vital Records, 1808-1850 (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1997). ; . Abstracts from newspapers filed at the New York State Library in Albany.


 * 1847-49 1847-1849, Death Records, Montgomery County, New York at New Horizons Genealogical Services - free.


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


 * 1849-50 Deaths - 1850 Federal Census, Mortality Schedule, Montgomery County, New York at Mortality-Schedules.com - free.


 * 1849-50 The 1850 US Mortality Schedule - Montgomery County, NY at NYGenWeb - free.


 * 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.
 * 1859-60 Deaths - 1860 Federal Census, Mortality Schedule, Montgomery County, New York at Mortality-Schedules.com - free.


 * 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.


 * 1869-70 Deaths - 1870 Federal Census, Mortality Schedule, Montgomery County, New York at Mortality-Schedules.com - free.


 * 1895-1905 Deaths 1895-1905 Montgomery County, New York at NYGenWeb - free.


 * 1931 Coroner's Reports at NYGenWeb - free.


 * Miscellaneous Obits, Announcements &amp; News Articles from the Amsterdam Evening Recorder Amsterdam, NY at NYGenWeb - free.

Additional Resources

Montgomery County New York Genealogy Websites

 * Montgomery County, NY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * New York Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * New York Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * The Montgomery County NYGenWeb Project, an member of The NYGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Montgomery County NY Genealogy