Schuyler County, New York Genealogy

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

Parent Counties
Schuyler County was created 17 April 1854 from parts of Tompkins, Steuben, and Chemung counties.

Neighboring Counties
Chemung· Seneca· Steuben· Tompkins· Yates

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.

Record Loss
For a list of record loss in New York Counties see: New York Counties with Burned Courthouses

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.

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

Church Records
A variety of local church records from the Baptist and Methodist faiths is available online at NYGenWeb.


 * Cornell University's Study Center for Early Religious Life in Western New York has an online guide to Schuyler County church records in their library.
 * 1863-1900 Presbyterian Church Sugar Hill, Organization 1863 -- Members 1864 -- Minutes (preparatory) 1864-1865 (includes baptisms) -- Members 1866 -- Minutes (preparatory) 1866-1869, 1871-1884 (includes baptisms) -- Members 1884 -- Minutes (preparatory and session) 1884-1900 -- Subscription list 1862

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1906-1942 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Gazetteers
Watkins Glen, New York with view of Seneca Lake.

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.

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)

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


 * 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 the 1750s; toll booths opened by 1804.
 * Forbidden Path, 1767 from Athens, Pennsylvania to Salamanca, New York
 * Lehigh and Lackawanna Paths 1766 from Unadilla, New York to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that is, from the Catskill Turnpike  to the Great Valley Road.
 * Ulster and Delaware Turnpike1802 from Salisbury, Connecticut to Bainbridge, New York

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

Available towns. Registers are available for: Cayuta· Hector· Montour· Reading.

Regiments. Service men in Schuyler County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county.


 * - 23rd Regiment, New York Infantry, Company I.
 * - 89th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company A.
 * - 100th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company B.
 * - 107th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company H.
 * - 141st Regiment, New York Infantry, Companies A and B.
 * - 161st Regiment, New York Infantry, Companies B, E and G.
 * - 175th Regiment, New York Infantry, Companies D and E.
 * - 179th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company C.
 * - 194th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company B.

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1791-1980 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1907-1966 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index.

Probate Records

 * 1854-1861 - SAMPUBCO Browsable index of testators of wills.
 * 1800s-1900s - NYGenWeb offers several probate resources: Index to Will Book 4; Old "Lost" Wills of Schuyler area; Misc. Wills; Guardianship Orders Books 1 and 2; Misc. Guardianship Records.


 * - Schuyler County: Administration bonds 1874-1910; Decrees, Minutes, Orders 1879-1907; Dower records 1859-1880; Final settlements 1858-1898; General index 1855-1970; Judicial settlements 1880-1917; Letters of administration 1859-1903; Letters of guardianship 1855-1905; Letters of testamentary 1855-1903; Minutes 1860-1871; Real estate records 1895-1916; Wills 1829-1901

Online Probate Indexes


 * 1629 - 1971 at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 1659 - 1999 New York Wills and Probate Records 1659-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1866 - 1923 at FamilySearch.org — index and images

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


 * 1855–1970 General Index, Probate Records
 * 1829–1917 Probate Records: Administration bonds 1874-1910; Decrees, Minutes, Orders 1879-1907; Judicial settlements 1880-1917; Letters of administration 1859-1903; Letters of guardianship 1855-1905; Letters of testamentary 1855-1903; Minutes 1860-1871; Real estate records; Wills 1829-1901.

Repositories
Cornell University, Guide to Historical Resources in Schuyler County, New York Repositories. ([Ithaca, New York]: New York Historical Resources Center, Olin Library, Cornell University, 1984). ; . Includes index. Includes references to some family histories and genealogies.

Archives, Libraries and Museums
Libraries

Watkins Glen Public Library 610 S. Decatur Street Watkins Glen, New York 14891 Phone: 607-535-2346 Email: watkins@stls.org Hours: 11 am - 5 pm and 7 - 9 pm Monday - Friday Saturday 10 am - 2 pm Sunday 2 - 4 pm

Museum

Schuyler County Historical Society Museum 108 N. Catharine Street (Rt. 14) P.O. Box 651 Montour Falls, New York 14865 Phone: 607-535-9741 Email: info@schuylerhistory.org

Courthouses
The Schuyler County Clerk's office has divorce, court and land record as well as the state census. The Surrogate Court has probate records. For further information about where the records for Schuyler County are held, see the Schuyler County Courthouses page.

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 Family History Centers for Schuyler County are Elmira New York Family History Center and Ithaca New York Family History Center. For additional Family History Centers, search this online FHC directory.

Societies
Schuyler County Historical Society, NY 108 N. Catharine Street P.O. Box 651 Montour Falls, NY 14865 Phone: 607-535-9741 Email: info@schuylerhistory.org


 * The collection is held at the museum and "The research room has copied records of births, marriages, and deaths in Schuyler County, family records, past editions of The Review, the Watkins Express, the Havana Journal, and school yearbooks. Members may use the facility at no charge; for non-members the cost is $5 per hour. Copies of material are $ .25 each for all. The charge for our staff to do your research is $ 10 per hour. Requests for information must be done in writing and sent to our mailing address. Enclose a $10 check or money order with your request which will be sent back to you if nothing is found."

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.


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

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


 * 1908-1917 Index of Marriages Schuyler Co., NY 1 Jan 1908 - 11 Apr 1917 at RootsWeb - free.


 * 1908–1935 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."


 * 1827-1840s Misc. Records from Trumansburg Newspapers 1827, 1840, 1844-46 Schuyler Co., NY Area at RootsWeb - free.


 * 1853–1879 Isaac Easterbrook, Account Book of the Reverend Isaac Easterbrook (198-). . Consists of a record of the marriages and funerals of the Rev. Isaac Easterbrook in southern Seneca County, Schuyler County and nearby areas 1853-1879 with some account of the activities of this minister and fees paid him.


 * 1853-1900 Mary Smith Jackson. Marriage Death Notices from Schuyler Co., NY Newspapers, 1853-1900. 1993. Free index at RootsWeb. Includes Havana Journal (1853-1887), Watkins Express (1871-1900), Watkins Democrat (1878-1900), and Watkins Review (1869-1900) - 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 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.

Death
Death Indexes
 * 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."


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


 * 1853–1879 Isaac Easterbrook, Account Book of the Reverend Isaac Easterbrook (198-). . Consists of a record of the marriages and funerals of the Rev. Isaac Easterbrook in southern Seneca County, Schuyler County and nearby areas 1853-1879 with some account of the activities of this minister and fees paid him.


 * 1853-1900 Mary Smith Jackson, Marriage Death Notices from Schuyler Co., NY Newspapers, 1853-1900. 1993. Free index at RootsWeb. Includes Havana Journal (1853-1887), Watkins Express (1871-1900), and Watkins Review (1869-1900).


 * 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.


 * 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.

Additional Resources

Schuyler County New York Genealogy Websites

 * Schuyler County, NY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * New York Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * New York Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Schuyler County Genealogy