New York Church Records

What’s New?

Particularly useful as vital records substitutes among the surviving New York church records are those of the Dutch Reformed, Lutheran, Anglican, and Quaker groups. For a general background about colonial New York churches, consult Ecclesiastical Records, State of New York. ¹⁾Ecclesiastical Records, State of New York, 7 vols. Albany, N.Y.: James B. Lyon, 1901–05, 1916.

For the records themselves, see Guide to Vital Statistics Records in New York State Churches (Exclusive of New York City), ²⁾Guide to Vital Statistics Records in New York State Churches (Exclusive of New York City), 2 vols. Albany, N.Y.: Historical Records Survey, 1942. and Guide to Vital Statistics Records in the City of New York, Boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Richmond. Churches. ³⁾Guide to Vital Statistics Records in the City of New York, Boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Richmond. Churches, 5 vols.New York: Historical Records Survey, 1942. There are also several volumes arranged by denomination. These guides, although dated, are still useful for learning what existed and where. An excellent modern guide is The German Churches of Metropolitan New York: A Research Guide. ⁴⁾Richard Haberstroh, The German Churches of Metropolitan New York: A Research Guide. New York: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 2000.

The largest collection of New York church records is probably that of the Daughters of the American Revolution in the State of New York Cemetery, Church, and Town Records. Scattered volumes may be found in local libraries for the area in which a particular church is located. To determine what records have been covered, consult the Revised Master Index. A card catalog at the New York State Library indexes this collection by county and there under by town, village, or other municipality.

Another large collection was commissioned by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society and is known by the name of its editor, Royden Woodward Vosburgh. Its 101 volumes cover mostly Dutch, German-Lutheran, and Presbyterian records, but not all are indexed. Besides the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, these volumes are available at the Connecticut State Library and on microfilm at the New York Public Library, the Family History Library, and in other libraries. Arthur C. M. Kelly and Jean D. Worden have published abstracted church records including some that were also done by Vosburgh. ⁵⁾See “The Vosburgh Collection of New York Church Records,” The NYG&B Newsletter 9 [1998]: 53-55.

For western and central New York there is a collection of microfilmed church records compiled by the Study Center for Early Religious Life in Western New York at Ithaca College; the study center is now defunct, but the collection is available at the Department of Manuscripts and University Archives, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-5310. A published list of the records is available.

Quakers are treated in John Cox, Jr., “Quaker Records in New York,” The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record 45 (1914): 263-69, 366-73. Some Quaker records are published such as those for New York City and Long Island in volume 3 of Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, ⁶⁾William Wade Hinshaw’s Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. 1940; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969, 1991 and Quaker History and Genealogy of the Marlborough Monthly Meeting, Ulster County, N.Y. 1804–1900+ ⁷⁾Shirley V. Anson and Laura M. Jenkins, comps., Quaker History and Genealogy of the Marlborough Monthly Meeting, Ulster County, N.Y. 1804–1900+. Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1980. . See also Loren V. Fay, ed., Quaker Census of 1828 ⁸⁾Rhinebeck, N.Y.: Kinship, 1989.. Original and full copies of New York state Quaker records from 1663, formerly in New York City, are now at the Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA 19081, and many microfilms and abstracts are at the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.⁹⁾see Suzanne McVetty, “Records of the Society of Friends (Quakers), New York Yearly Meeting,” The NYG&B Newsletter, 8 [1977]: 27-31, and the subsequent “1998 Additions to the NYG&BS Microfilm Collection,” also in the Newsletter, 9 [1998]: 50-52. A “Map of the Meetings constituting New-York Yearly Meeting of Friends,” 12, by Dr. Shadrach Ricketson, is found facing page 263 in volume 45 of The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (1914).

Many church records, mostly early and particularly for Long Island, New York City, and the Hudson River Valley, have been published in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, with a large collection of unpublished records maintained by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society and by other repositories with manuscript collections. ¹⁰⁾Source: Roger D. Joslyn, CG, FUGA, FGBS, FASG. Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.

Baptists Records for New York

• American Baptist Historical Society
  • Genealogical Research at the American Baptist Historical Society
  • New York Baptist Church Records at the Samuel Colgate Historical Library
    More than 500 volumes of original records of churches, associations, and state bodies have been placed in the American Baptist – Samuel Colgate Historical Library. These records were placed there voluntarily. Baptist polity does not have any mechanism to require a local congregation to deposit its records at this site or at any site. As a result, the records of many Baptist churches over the years have been lost. The original records deposited there are arranged alphabetically by state. Records of state bodies are placed first, then associational records. Local church records are placed next, alphabetically by city or town and name of church. The few international records which they hold are found at the end of this inventory. Their holdings include microfilmed and photo duplicated copies as well.
  • The records of American Baptists in New York and related organizations
    A basic guide to regional Baptist archives and historical resources for New York.
    • Family History Center Library Catalog
    • WorldCat

Baptists Records for New York

• Albany, New York Church Records, 1683-1700
• Dutchess County, New York Quaker Records
• Ilion, New York Baptists, 1895 and 1923
• New York City, Lutheran Church Records, 1834-54
• Staten Island, New York Church Records, 1749-1828
• Rochester Monthly Meeting, Monroe County, New York: Quaker Records
• Purchase Monthly Meeting, Westchester County, New York: Quaker Records
• Chatham & Hudson Monthly Meeting, Columbia County, New York: Quaker Records
• Chappaqua Monthly Meeting, Westchester County, New York: Quaker Records
• Wawarsing, New York Reformed Dutch Church Records
• Independent (New York City) Ministerial Register, 1892-95
• New York Baptist Annual, 1921

Allegany County NY Church Records

• Alfred
  • Rev. A Clyde Ehret Installed at Alfred New York
• Belmont Charge
  • Methodist Circuit Accounts – 1896-1903

Franklin County NY Church Records

• Chasm Falls Charge
  • Methodist Circuit Accounts – 1891-1896

Fulton County NY Church Records

• New York Births and Baptisms, Schoharie and Mohawk Valleys, 1694-1906
  This collection of birth and baptism records, compiled by Arthur and Nancy Kelly, was taken from the New York church registers and minister’s records 1694-1906, and town birth records 1846-49. It contains over 61,000 records from Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Saratoga Counties, and provides details on more than 215,000 individuals. In addition to the child’s name and date of birth or baptism, researchers may find information on parents’ names, names of sponsors, and notes included in these vital records.

Herkimer County NY Church Records

• German Flats Dutch Reformed Church
  Fonda Registers Town of Herkimer, Herkimer County, transcribed under the auspices of New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. By Royden Woodward Vosburgh Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Herkimer, a.k.a. German Flats Dutch Reformed Church, Pastor: John Spinner. Found at the Montgomery Co Dept of History and Archives, Fonda NY.
• New York Births and Baptisms, Schoharie and Mohawk Valleys, 1694-1906
  This collection of birth and baptism records, compiled by Arthur and Nancy Kelly, was taken from the New York church registers and minister’s records 1694-1906, and town birth records 1846-49. It contains over 61,000 records from Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Saratoga Counties, and provides details on more than 215,000 individuals. In addition to the child’s name and date of birth or baptism, researchers may find information on parents’ names, names of sponsors, and notes included in these vital records.

Jefferson County NY Church Records

• Funerals from the Records of Rev. J. Stewart, 1864 Only
• North Country Methodists
  Selected Preacher Records, Principally from Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties 1839 – 1907
• Evans Mills Charge (Jefferson County)
  • Methodist Circuit Accounts – 1878 – 1880
• Hammond Charge (Jefferson County)
  • Methodist Circuit Accounts – 1878 – 1880
• Oxbow (Jefferson County)
  • Presbyterian Church from approx. 1857-1912
• Plessis Charge (Jefferson County)
  • Methodist Circuit Accounts – 1882-1888

Lewis County NY Church Records

• North Country Methodists
  Selected Preacher Records, Principally from Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties 1839 – 1907

Montgomery County NY Church Records

• New York Births and Baptisms, Schoharie and Mohawk Valleys, 1694-1906
  This collection of birth and baptism records, compiled by Arthur and Nancy Kelly, was taken from the New York church registers and minister’s records 1694-1906, and town birth records 1846-49. It contains over 61,000 records from Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Saratoga Counties, and provides details on more than 215,000 individuals. In addition to the child’s name and date of birth or baptism, researchers may find information on parents’ names, names of sponsors, and notes included in these vital records.

New York County NY Church Records

• Baptisms of the First Presbyterian Church, New York City 1793- 1813
  The following baptisms were performed by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Miller, who was the collegiate pastor of the church 1793-1813. The original record is in his handwriting and was presented to the Society by Miss Margaret Miller, of Princeton, N. J., May 4, 1906.
• Marriages of the Laight Street Baptist Church, New York City 1841-1850
  The Laight Street Baptist Church was formed from the Tabernacle Baptist Church in 1842. The Rev. W. W. Everts became pastor of the Tabernacle Church in 1839 and went with the new Congregation in forming the Laight Street Church which purchased the edifice formerly occupied by Presbyterians, corner Laight and Varick Streets. The following is the record of marriages solemnized by the Rev. W. W. Everts 1841-1850.

Oneida County NY Church Records

• Historical Sketch of the Seventh Day Baptist Church at Verona, NY
  Article written by Mrs. Carrie Stark and published on September 6, 1920 in the The Sabbath Recorder.

St. Lawrence County NY Church Records

• North Country Methodists
  Selected Preacher Records, Principally from Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties 1839 – 1907
• Bucks Bridge Charge
  • Methodist Circuit Accounts – 1896-1903
• Canton
  • Methodist – Baptism, Membership, Marriage records approx. 1870-1951
• Dekalb Charge
  • Methodist Circuit Accounts – 1878 – 1880
•  Gouverneur
  • Baptist (Former) Church from approx. 1854-1979
  • Methodist Church from approx. 1870-1930
• Morristown
  • Congregational Church from approx. 1876-1939
• Norfolk
  • Episcopal Church from approx. 1811-1890
  • Methodist Church from approx. 1801-1933
• Ogdensburg
  • Ogdensburg Records Page Images (Index in progress)
• Raymondville
  • Congregational Church, from approx. 1832-1890
  • Methodist Circuit Accounts – 1870 – 1871
• Richville Charge
  • Methodist Circuit Accounts – 1881
• Russell
  • Baptist, from approx. 1809-1842
• South Canton and Pierpont Charge
  • Methodist Circuit Accounts – 1873
• Spragues Corners and Somerville Charge
  • Methodist Circuit Accounts – 1877

Saratoga County NY Church Records

• New York Births and Baptisms, Schoharie and Mohawk Valleys, 1694-1906
  This collection of birth and baptism records, compiled by Arthur and Nancy Kelly, was taken from the New York church registers and minister’s records 1694-1906, and town birth records 1846-49. It contains over 61,000 records from Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Saratoga Counties, and provides details on more than 215,000 individuals. In addition to the child’s name and date of birth or baptism, researchers may find information on parents’ names, names of sponsors, and notes included in these vital records.

Schenectady County NY Church Records

• New York Births and Baptisms, Schoharie and Mohawk Valleys, 1694-1906
  This collection of birth and baptism records, compiled by Arthur and Nancy Kelly, was taken from the New York church registers and minister’s records 1694-1906, and town birth records 1846-49. It contains over 61,000 records from Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Saratoga Counties, and provides details on more than 215,000 individuals. In addition to the child’s name and date of birth or baptism, researchers may find information on parents’ names, names of sponsors, and notes included in these vital records.

Schoharie County NY Church Records

• New York Births and Baptisms, Schoharie and Mohawk Valleys, 1694-1906
  This collection of birth and baptism records, compiled by Arthur and Nancy Kelly, was taken from the New York church registers and minister’s records 1694-1906, and town birth records 1846-49. It contains over 61,000 records from Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Saratoga Counties, and provides details on more than 215,000 individuals. In addition to the child’s name and date of birth or baptism, researchers may find information on parents’ names, names of sponsors, and notes included in these vital records.

Westchester County NY Church Records

• Baptisms ~ French Church at New Rochelle, New York 1702 ~ 1712
  The following baptisms of the French Church at New Rochelle, N. Y., were performed by Rev. Daniel Bondet, 1703-1712. The translations from the French were made by A. J. Wall from the original manuscript. The spellings of the names are printed just as they appear, and in some instances vary somewhat from the present day form.
• Marriages ~ French Church at New Rochelle, New York 1703 – 1711
  The following marriages of the French Church at New Rochelle, N. Y., were performed by Rev. Daniel Bondet, 1703-1712. The translations from the French were made by A. J. Wall from the original manuscript. The spellings of the names are printed just as they appear, and in some instances vary somewhat from the present day form.