Franklin County, New York Genealogy

United States New York  Franklin County

Parent County

 * Created 11 March 1808 from western part of Clinton County.

Neighboring Counties
Clinton· Essex· Hamilton· St. Lawrence· Quebec counties:Châteauguay· Huntingdon

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

Church Records

 * 1839-1846 - Early U.S. French Catholic Church Records, Hogansburg, courtesy: Ancestry ($).
 * 1843-1852 - Early Marriage and Baptisms Records, St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Hogansburg, NY, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.
 * 1843-1907, 1913-1949 - Early U.S. French Catholic Church Records, Coopersville, courtesy: Ancestry ($).

Genealogy
Rootsweb message boardfor Franklin County 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
Franklin County is part of Macomb's Purchase of 1791.

Land and Property

 * 1739-1802 - Landholders of Northeastern New York 1739-1802, courtesy: Ancestry ($); World Vital Records ($)

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


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

Military
Civil War

Available towns. Registers are available for: Bangor, Bellmont, Bombay, Brandon, Brighton, Burke, Chateaugay, Constable, Dickinson, Duane, Fort Covington, Franklin, Harrietstown, Malone, Moira, Santa Clara, Tupper Lake, Waverly, Westville.

Regiments. Service men in Franklin 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 Franklin County:


 * - 98th Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 142nd Regiment, New York Infantry
 * - 164th Regiment, New York Infantry

Newspapers

 * Northern New York Historical Newspapers Search Franklin Co. historical newspapers ranging from the years 1849 - 2002.

Periodicals
Central New York Genealogical Society has indexed Tree Talks periodicals according to counties, surnames, and given names. Use this index onlineto search for ancestors who lived in the Franklin County area.

Probate Records

 * Copies of Originals:


 * 1809–1905 Wills and index


 * 1839–1927 Probate records; including daybook, decrees, guardianships, letters, orders, sales, and bonds.


 * Abstracts:


 * 1809–1919 W. David Samuelson, Franklin County, New York Will Testators Index, 1809–1919 (Salt Lake City, Utah: Sampubco, 1994). SAMPUBCO Browsable Index of testators of wills; ;.

Archives, Libraries and Museums
Clinton Essex Franklin Library Systemconsists of 34 public libraries in the counties of Clinton, Essex, and Franklin. Each library has access to genealogical databases - especially newspaper sites. Many are accessible with your library card from home. A list of the libraries in this system and their website and contact information is found here.

Akwesasne Library and Cultural Center 321 St. Rt. 37 Hogansburg, NY 13655 Fax: 518-358-2649 Phone: 518-358-2240 Has a large Native American collection which contains information on native people throughout the United States and Canada, has local history books and newspapers and a large collection of photographs.

Chateaugay Memorial Library 4 John Street P.O. Box 10 Chateaugay, NY 12920 Phone: 518-497-0400 Has the records of Chateaugay from 1881–1995 on microfilm, scrapbooks, pamphlets, clippings, archival records, pictures, and cemetery records.

Chateaugay Historical Society 191 East Main Street P.O. Box 123 Chateaugay, NY 12920 Phone: 518-497-6685 Open April to October on Wednesdays and Saturdays Has local church vitals, cemetery listings, family genealogies, historical photographs and documents relating to town history.

Franklin County Historical and Museum Society 51 Milwaukee Street P.O. Box 388 Malone, New York 12953 Phone: 518-483-2750 Donation requested of $10 per visit Collection includes: Cemetery information, census records, town directories and phone books, family folders with individual genealogies, obituaries, pre-1900 newspapers, school yearbooks, town and county histories, early assessment rolls, and vital records.

Saranac Lake Free Library 109 Main Street Saranac Lake, NY 12983 Phone: 518-891-4190 Has federal data for Essex, Franklin, Clinton, and St. Lawrence counties fro 1850-1920. Also has state census data for 1855-1925. The Adirondack Research Center is found in the basement of the library. It houses many Adirondack historical materials, including books of cemetery inscriptions for southern Franklin County. One microfilm reader is available. Some church records and an obituary index for the Tri-Lakes area.

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

Family History Centers
Family History Centers (FHCs) are branches of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and are located all over the world. Their goal is to provide resources to assist in the study of genealogy.

The closest FHC in Franklin county is the Potsdam New York Family History Center. For additional Family History Centers, search this online FHC directory.

Societies
The Adirondack Genealogical – Historical Society - they have an obituary database extracted from the Adirondack Daily Enterprise and will search for you by phone. They also have some church records, census records on Franklin and surrounding counties, local directories, and cemetery information up to 2000. Phone: 518-891-0807.

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.

Birth
Birth Substitutes


 * 1640–1962 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index.
 * See Town Clerks' Registers of Men who Served in the Civil War in Franklin County 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.
 * 1881–1934 Watson H. Harwood and Austin M. Gowan, Dr. Watson H. Harwood's Records of Births He Attended in Area of Chasm Falls, Owls Head, and Mountain View in Towns of Malone, Brandon, and Duane in the State of New York, Franklin County from 1881-1934 (Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1980).

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.
 * 1908–1935 Marriage records and index.

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."
 * 1804–1850 Fred Q. Bowman, 8000 More Vital Records of Eastern New York State, 1804-1850 (Rhinebeck, New York: Kinship Books, 1991). ; . Abstracts of newspaper marriage and death columns.
 * 1810–1908 Virginia Anne Croissant Wolfe and others, Marriages of Franklin County, New York: Vital Records Copied From Original Malone Palladium Newspapers ([S.l. : V. Wolfe], 1985)..
 * 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.
 * 1874-5 See Marriage Schedule information in the State Census section of Census for marriage information for 1874-5.


 * 1874–5 Judy Mott Strong, Ruth Obenauer, and John M. Austin,Vital Records Extracted from the 1875 State Census of Franklin County, New York ([S.l.: J.M. Austin], 2000). ;.

Death
Death Substitutes


 * 1804–1850 Fred Q. Bowman, 8000 More Vital Records of Eastern New York State, 1804-1850 (Rhinebeck, New York: Kinship Books, 1991). ; . Abstracts of newspaper marriage and death columns.


 * 1847–1880 Virginia Anne Croissant Wolfe and others,Deaths of Franklin County, New York: Frontier Palladium and Malone Palladium, 1849-1880; Malone Town Records, 1847 and 1848; St. Mark's Episcopal Church Burials, 1849-1874 ([S.l.: V. Wolfe], 1985)..


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


 * See Town Clerks' Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War in Franklin County in the Civil War section of Military for death information.


 * 1874-5 See Mortality Schedule information in the State Census section of Census for death information for 1874-5.

Additional Resources

Websites

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