New York County Pages
Many New York family records can be found online and at large state level archives and libraries in New York City and Albany. Many millions of records aren't yet available online, though, and many of these are awaiting your discovery at the local level at county courthouses, historical societies, churches, town clerks' offices, cemeteries, and elsewhere in New York. To find these and other records, click on the links below to find more information about the specific counties where your ancestors lived in New York. You'll find information on these pages that will lead you to the specific documentation you're searching for.
It is important to keep in mind when doing research that the names and boundaries of certain counties in New York have changed over the past few hundred years. Your ancestors may have lived on a certain farm in one county and when borders were redrawn records relating to your family history might have been located in another area entirely. When searching for land, court, tax, and other records it is also a good idea to search for these records in adjacent counties. Following is a complete list of New York's 62 counties along with their formation dates, county seats, and names of parent counties.
It is important to keep in mind when doing research that the names and boundaries of certain counties in New York have changed over the past few hundred years. Your ancestors may have lived on a certain farm in one county and when borders were redrawn records relating to your family history might have been located in another area entirely. When searching for land, court, tax, and other records it is also a good idea to search for these records in adjacent counties. Following is a complete list of New York's 62 counties along with their formation dates, county seats, and names of parent counties.
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County
Albany County Allegany County Bronx County Broome County Cattaraugus County Cayuga County Chautauqua County Chemung County Chenango County Clinton County Columbia County Cortland County Delaware County Dutchess County Erie County Essex County Franklin County Fulton County Genesee County Greene County Hamilton County Herkimer County Jefferson County Kings County Lewis County Livingston County Madison County Monroe County Montgomery County Nassau County New York County Niagara County Oneida County Onondaga County Ontario County Orange County Orleans County Oswego County Otsego County Putnam County Queens County Rensselaer County Richmond County Rockland County St. Lawrence County Schenectady County Schoharie County Schuyler County Seneca County Steuben County Suffolk County Sullivan County Tioga County Tompkins County Ulster County Warren County Washington County Wayne County Westchester County Wyoming County Yates County |
Formation Date
1683 1806 1914 1806 1808 1799 1808 1836 1798 1788 1786 1808 1797 1683 1821 1799 1808 1838 1802 1800 1816 1791 1805 1683 1805 1821 1806 1821 1772 1899 1683 1808 1798 1794 1789 1683 1824 1816 1791 1812 1683 1791 1683 1798 1802 1809 1795 1854 1804 1796 1683 1809 1791 1817 1683 1813 1772 1823 1683 1841 1823 |
County Seat
Albany Belmont Bronx Binghamton Little Valley Auburn Mayville Elmira Norwich Plattsburgh Hudson Cortland Delhi Poughkeepsie Buffalo Elizabethtown Malone Johnstown Batavia Catskill Lake Pleasant Herkimer Watertown Brooklyn Lowville Geneseo Wampsville Rochester Fonda Mineola New York Lockport Utica Syracuse Canandaigua Goshen Albion Oswego, Pulaski Cooperstown Carmel Jamaica Troy St. George New City Canton Schenectady Schoharie Watkins Glen Ovid, Waterloo Bath Riverhead Monticello Owego Ithaca Kingston Lake George Hudson Falls Lyons White Plains Warsaw Penn Yan |
Parent County
Original county Genesee County New York County Tioga County Genesee County Onondaga County Genesee County Tioga County Herkimer, Tioga Washington County Albany County Onondaga County Ulster, Otsego Original county Niagara County Clinton County Clinton County Montgomery County Ontario County Ulster, Albany Montgomery County Montgomery County Oneida County Original county Oneida County Genesee, Ontario Chenango County Genesee, Ontario Albany County Queens County Original county Genesee County Herkimer County Herkimer County Montgomery County Original county Genesee County Oneida, Onondaga Montgomery County Dutchess County Original county Albany County Original county Orange County Clinton, Herkimer, Montgomery Albany County Albany, Otsego Tompkins, Steuben, Chemung Cayuga County Ontario County Original county Ulster County Montgomery County Cayuga, Seneca Original county Washington County Albany, Charlotte Ontario, Seneca Original county Genesee County Ontario, Steuben |