Genealogy Research Topics

Getting Started | Official Records | Military Records | Regional Information

The list below describes in greater detail some of the State Library's collections and resources that may be of interest to genealogists. Many of these pages were originally developed as information sheets for onsite researchers, so they focus on materials available at the New York State Library.

Getting Started

Starting Your Family Tree provides some background information and basic suggestions for people who are just starting to research their families.
Surnames - A Pathfinder provides information on searching for family names.
Tracing your Immigrant Ancestors lists some basic tools of research in the State Library's collection that can be used to research immigrants.
Tracing African-American Family History lists some basic information resources for tracing African-American family history that can be found in the New York State Library and in other repositories.
Adoptees is a bibliography of genealogical materials specifically geared toward adoptees.
Hints for Preserving Family Collections
Genealogy Card Indexes describes the card indexes that are available at the State Library. Information in the card indexes cannot be accessed electronically.s
Databases in Local History and Genealogy describes the databases that are available to onsite researchers at the State Library.
Finding Places provides links to pages that can help you locate places in New York Stae or in other parts of the U.S.

Official Records

Vital Records explains how researchers can obtain copies of vital records such as birth and death certificates. Although the New York State Library does not hold these records, it does have an extensive collection of church and cemetery records that may be of interest to some researchers.
Census Records - New York State lists the New York State censuses that the State Library has available. For related pages, see:
- Questions from each New York State Census (1825 to 1925)
- Three microform collections of street indexes to New York City area State censuses.
Census Records - United States provides some basic information about the U.S. census and indicates which ones are available at the State Library.
New York State Wills provides information on locating wills; however, the New York State Library is not the official repository of the wills of New York State residents.

Military Records

Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) describes several record series compiled by New York State Chapters of DAR and held by the New York State Library.
Loyalist Records is a bibliography of sources that focus directly on Americans who supported the British Government during the American Revolution.
New York State Military Records is a list of resources for locating the records of those who served in the military, from the Colonial Militia and the Revolutionary War up to the Korean and Vietnamese Wars:

Pre-Civil War

Civil War and Following

Regional Information

City Directories and Selected Telephone Directories on Microfilm and Microfiche lists the directories available at the State Library. Information in the directories cannot be accessed online.
Finding Places provides links to pages that can help you locate places in New York Stae or in other parts of the U.S.
Local Histories are accounts of life and events which relate to small geographic areas such as counties or villages.
Databases in Local History and Genealogy describes the databases that are available to onsite researchers at the State Library.
The New Netherland Project's primary objective is to complete the transcription, translation, and publication of all Dutch documents in New York repositories relating to the seventeenth-century colony of New Netherland. Their web site includes links to Dutch genealogy sites.
New York State Newspapers lists newspapers available on microfilm in the New York State Library and in other libraries around the state. For genealogists, local newspapers may be an important source for information such as wedding announcements and obituaries. (For information on the Library's newspaper holdings, including those in paper format, see Access to Newspapers).

Home

Catalog