Albany County, New York Genealogy

''This article is about an eastern upstate New York county in the United States. For other uses, including other similarly named localities, see Albany''.

United States New York  Albany

Quick Facts

 * At the time of creation it included all of the present Bennington County, Vermont, all of New York state north of the counties of Dutchess and Ulster, and theoretically stretched west to the Pacific Ocean.
 * Named for the Duke of Albany who later became

Parent County

 * Albany County was one of the original twelve counties created by the Province of New York on 1 November 1683.

Boundary Changes

 * 27 May 1717: Albany County was adjusted to gain an indefinite amount of land from Dutchess County and other non-county lands.
 * 7 October 1763: King George III, King of England, as part of his proclamation, created new province of Quebec, implicity setting the northern limit of New York at the parallel of 45 degrees north latitude, from Atlantic-St.Lawrence watershed westward to the St. Lawrence River, but it was never mapped.
 * 20 July 1764: King George III established the boundary between New Hampshire and New York along the west bank of the Connecticut River, north of Massachusetts and south of the 45th parallel. Albany County implicitly gained present-day Vermont. Disputes broke out later and the dissatified colonists organized in opposition which led to the creation of Republic of Vermont in 1777 (lasted until Vermont joined in the American Revolutionary War.)
 * 13 July 1766: Cumberland County was partitioned from Albany County, covering all northern and eastern limits of the county, including what is now Windsor County, most of Windham County and parts of Bennington and Rutland counties in Vermont.
 * 26 June 1767: Albany County regained all of Cumberland County.
 * 19 March 1768: the county was repartitioned and Cumberland County restored.
 * 16 March 1770: the county was partitioned again to create Gloucester County (which includes all of present-day Orange, Caledonia and Essex counties, most of Washington County, parts of Orleans, Lamoille, Addison and Chittenden counties in Vermont.
 * 12 March 1772: Albany County was partitioned again, into Albany, Tryon (now Montgomery) and Charlotte (now Washington) counties.
 * 24 March 1772: a partition of 50 sq miles was handed over to Cumberland County.
 * 9 March 1774: Ulster County was set off from Albany County.
 * 1 April 1775: a partition of 60 sq miles was handed over to Charlotte County who then exchanged a like parcel with Cumberland County.
 * 15 January 1777: 300 square miles was lost to the Republic of Vermont.
 * 26 January 1781: Bennington County, Vermont attempted to annex a portion of Albany County (today's portions of Washington and Rensselaer counties) to form "The West Union." The Confederation (before there was the US Constitution) arbitrated this annexation, and condemned it, with Vermont ceasing the attempts on 23 February 1783.
 * 4 Apr 1786: Columbia County was set off.
 * 7 March 1788: New York refusing to recognize the independence of Vermont, with Cumberland County eliminated, tried to adjust the line that separated Cumberland County from Albany in present-day Vermont, but to no effect.
 * 7 February 1791: Rensselaer and Saratoga counties were set off. On the same day, town of Cambridge was transferred to Washington County.
 * 1 January 1795: Schoharie County was set off.
 * 5 April 1798: Ulster County took 90 sq miles to add to it.
 * 25 March 1800: Greene County set off.
 * 3 March 1808: Havre Island turned over to Saratoga County with no net loss of land.
 * 7 March 1809: Schenectady County set off. From this day Albany County exists in its present shape.

Places/Localities
The preceding list of places includes incorporated cities and towns, unincorporated towns and communities, and place names that may have been used in family histories. Some have well-organized records and even have web sites. Some are simply social communities with no official records, but which may be referenced in small-town newspapers. The list is provided to help researchers identify localities within the county. As records or histories of these localities are identified, a page will be added for each of these place names.

Archives and Libraries
Most historical records for Albany County are at the Hall of Records.


 * Albany County Hall of Records 95 Tivoli Street Albany, NY 12207 Phone: 518-436-3663 Fax: 518-436-3678

Some helps for finding Albany County records are:


 * Historical Records, a complete listing of the historical records at the Albany County Hall of Records
 * Guide to Historical Resources in Albany County, New York, Repositories
 * Guide to Records in the New York State Archives
 * Inventory of the County Archives of New York, no. 01, Albany County (Albany) 
 * A Sketch of the Life of Horatio Seymour, 1810-1886, with a Detailed Account of his Administration as Governor of the State of New York During the War of 1861-1865 FHLC
 * World Our Fathers Made: a Survey of the Records of Local Governments in the County of Albany, New York, During the Constitutional Era, 1783-1815

Bible Records

 * Bible and family records

Biography

 * Bi-centennial history of Albany, history of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609-1886: with portraits, biographies and illustrations
 * The heroes of Albany: a memorial of the patriot-martyrs of the city and county of Albany, who sacrificed their lives during the late war in defense of our nation, 1861-1865. With a view of what was done in the county to sustain the United States government; and also brief histories of the Albany regiments ▲
 * Landmarks of Albany County, New York
 * Biographies of Albany County people - list of more than 1400 short bios of people from the county; via Albany Hill Towns wiki

Business Records and Commerce

 * Fifty years of service, 1874-1924 (Albany Co. Savings Bank)

Cemeteries
The Diocesan Cemetery Office for Albany County is at St Agnes Cemetery, Menands. Phone (518) 463-0134.

Albany County Jewish Cemeteries http://jewishdata.com/ ($)

1900-2002


 * Jewish People's Cemetery

1850- 2001


 * Temple Israel, Sons of Abraham, Ohav Sholom Cemetery

1894-2002

Federal
1890: Loss of 1890 Census records

History

 * Helderberg Hilltowns - this wiki site contains a vast amount of history and information about Rensselaerville, Berne, Knox, and Westerlo towns in Albany County. It's collaborative so anyone can sign up to add more information.

Land and Property
Freeholders List for the city and county of Albany for 1720. No further information is available except the name and place.

The Albany County Clerk allows Online Access to Deeds and Mortgages from 1980 to the present.

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


 * Hudson River pre-historic
 * Lake Champlain pre-historic
 * Champlain Canal 1823
 * Erie Canal 1825
 * Chambly Canal 1843
 * Richelieu River pre-historic
 * Saint Lawrence River prehistoric
 * Lake Champlain Trail pre-historic
 * Albany Post Road
 * Hudson River Path
 * Mohawk or Iroquois Trail
 * Forbidden Path or Catskill Turnpike
 * Greenwood Road
 * Old Connecticut Path

Civil War
Service men in Albany County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed companies formed in Albany County:

- 2nd Regiment, New York Infantry, Company H

- 3rd Regiment, New York Infantry

- 7th Veteran Regiment, New York Infantry

- 9th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 17th Veteran Regiment, New York Infantry

- 18th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 20th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 22nd Regiment, New York Infantry

- 30th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 34th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 43rd Regiment, New York Infantry

- 44th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 61st Regiment, New York Infantry

- 62nd Regiment, New York Infantry

- 63rd Regiment, New York Infantry

- 91st Regiment, New York Infantry

- 93rd Regiment, New York Infantry

-104th Regiment, New York Infantry

-113th Regiment, New York Infantry

-138th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 148th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 175th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 177th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 179th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 184th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 186th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 188th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 189th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 192nd Regiment, New York Infantry

- 194th Regiment, New York Infantry

Naturalization and Citizenship
The Albany County Clerk's Office has placed an index to Naturalization Records on line. The index is for naturalizations that took place in Albany County only. Records start in the year 1821 and run through 1991, when the federal government took over the recording process from local governments. Index may provide the following information:


 * Name
 * Period
 * Nation of Origin
 * U S Residence
 * Date
 * Petition No.
 * Book
 * Page

Probate Records
Index to wills and to letters of administration: index to wills from 1780 to Dec. 1, 1895 New York, Albany - Probate records – Indexes Family History Archive

Family History Center
Albany New York  411 Loudon Rd Loudonville, Albany, New York, United States

Phone: 518-463-2566 Hours: T,Th 10am-8pm, W 10am-2pm Closed: Closed the last two weeks of the year.

Note: These are not mailing addresses. Due to limited staff, Family History Centers are unable to respond to mail inquiries.

Websites

 * The Albany County NYGenWeb Project, an member of The NYGenWeb Project
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project (backup site)
 * Albany Hill Towns Wiki
 * FamilySearch.org catalog for Albany County