Cortland County, New York Genealogy

United States New York  Cortland County

County Courthouse
Cortland County Clerk 46 Greenbush Street, Suite #105 Cortland, NY 13045

Historical Facts



 * Named in honor of the Pierre Van Cortlandt family - Pierre, Sr. having been the first lieutenant governor of the state. (source:Wikipedia)
 * 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.

Parent County

 * Created 8 April 1808 from Onondaga County.

Boundary Changes

 * no changes

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890

Local Histories

 * Pioneer History of Cortland County; Hermon Camp Goodwin, pub. 1859
 * Google Books
 * WorldCat
 * Family History Library Catalog
 * Index to Pioneer History of Cortland County; Berkshire Family History Association
 * WorldCat
 * Family History Library Catalog

Military
Civil War service men in Cortland County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county.


 * See: 114th New York Regiment Infantry, 157th Regiment, New York Infantry

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Cortland New York Family History Center

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)
 * Family History Library catalog for Cortland County
 * Wikipedia entry for Cortland County