Genealogy Resources
This guide to genealogical research provides citations and links to resources available to Roeliff Jansen Community Library patrons. Resources listed here are either available for free online, accessible through your library account, or are free to New York State residents. There are a number of useful subscription databases, most notably Ancestry.com, to which the library does not subscribe, but they are not included in this guide.
The guide is organized by record type—vital records, military records, etc. Some larger databases, such as FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com New York, include a wide variety of record types. Those databases are described under the Genealogy Databases and Websites tab. The other tabs list more specialized resources. These tabs include records for print and online books, links to databases, research guides, and genealogical organizations that can provide more help.
The number of genealogical sites on the Internet is vast and growing. The resources in this guide are among the more authoritative and provide a great starting place for your search.
Here you will find books to get you started, available either through the Mid-Hudson Library System or free online. The emphasis is on general and New York State resources.
Links to print resources are to records in the Mid-Hudson catalog. Call numbers are not provided here since the same title may have different call numbers at different libraries. Links to online resources are to e-books available to Roe Jan patrons with their library card or to resources available for free online.
Berry, K. D. (2018). Family tree toolkit: A comprehensive guide to uncovering your ancestry and researching genealogy. Skyhorse Publishing.
Kenyatta Berry is the host of Genealogy Roadshow, and in this book she provides an easy-to-follow guide to beginning your genealogical quest. It provides information on where to find various records, what to do with the information, and how to tell your story. There are chapters on different kinds of records as well as on researching specific ethnic and racial groups.
Print
Online: hoopla
Bettinger, B. T. (2019). The family tree guide to DNA testing and genetic genealogy (2nd edition). Family Tree.
This book from one of the top experts in genetic genealogy teaches about available DNA tests, how to choose the right one for your specific questions, and how to interpret your results. It also examines third-party tools that can help you analyze your results, and even discusses how adoptees and others who know little about their ancestry can benefit from DNA testing.
Dunn, M. (2015). A beginners guide to online genealogy: Learn how to trace your family history and discover your roots. Adams Media.
This guide is particularly helpful in introducing beginners to basic online records, showing them where to find them and how to use them. Dunn provides tips on using free databases and genealogy apps, as well as on search strategies and on how to connect with other family members.
Eichholz, A. (Ed.). (2004). Red book: American state, county, and town sources (3rd edition). Ancestry Publishing.
Organized state by state, this book takes an approach to finding records focused on localities. It contains information on records for every county in the United States, including vital records, state and territorial census reports, as well as useful maps.
Print
Online: RootsWeb
Remington, G. L. (2002). New York State towns, villages, and cities: A guide to genealogical sources. New England Historic Genealogical Society.
This book can help genealogists find published and transcribed records for the state’s nearly 1700 municipalities. Tables provide basic information on each of New York’s towns, villages, and cities, including whether a history of that place has been published.
Print (in library use only, Adriance and Rhinebeck)
Online: Internet Archive
Szucs, L. D., & Luebking, S. H. (Eds.). (2006). The source: A guidebook to American genealogy (3rd edition). Ancestry Publishing.
This book, first published in 1984, is a standard reference book for genealogy and family history. When first published, the American Library Association awarded it the “Best Reference” award. Sometimes referred to as “the genealogist’s bible,” it is helpful for beginning and experienced researchers alike. Ancestry.com digitized the book in 2010 and made it available in a wiki format and it remains one of the foundational sources on Ancestry.com.
Print
Online: RootsWeb
Find other resources in the Mid-Hudson Library System Catalog. (This search is on the subject terms: Genealogy–Handbooks, manuals, etc.). Use facets on the left to further limit your search, or construct your own search.
You can also find resources specifically on New York State genealogy. (This search is on the subject term New York (State)–Genealogy–Handbooks, manuals, etc.). Another useful search is for the subject New York (State)–Genealogy–Directories. The facets and suggestions on the left can help refine or widen your search.
Find more e-books on Genealogy & Heraldry on hoopla.
Take free online courses on getting started on genealogy research through your library. All you need is a library account! You can also check out our recent webinar presented by the Columbia County Libraries Association below on Genealogy Basics, led by Holly MacCammon.
Universal Class: Genealogy 101
This 13-lesson class takes about 9 hours and presents tips and strategies for beginning the process of constructing your family tree. It describes the various records and sources available for finding information, as well as basic genealogy terms and tools and steps that you can take to permanently preserve your family’s records and history. Search for “genealogy” after setting up your account with your library card.
Great Courses: Discovering Your Roots: An Introduction to Genealogy
This 15-episode series helps you discover which resources you should use and trust, how you should make your way through tangles of public records, and more—from interviewing your family members to finding resources online and at your library. Individual episodes look at military and homestead records, immigration and naturalization records, shipping records, and county and state records. This series also teaches how to put what you find into a larger context. Total 473 minutes.
Included here are resources that can be accessed for free by Roeliff Jansen Community Library patrons and/or New York State residents.
FamilySearch.org
FamilySearch.org’s Family History Library is the largest genealogy collection in the world. Here you can find digitized primary sources, books, and more. Users can search records, images, genealogies, and FamilySearch’s catalog of books and microfilm. Users can browse collections of records, search by place, or construct much more refined searches for their ancestors. Many records have been digitized and can be viewed by clicking the camera icon. The site contains a useful Community Help page as well as tips for effective searching. More online records are available when accessing FamilySearch.org from an Affiliate Library. The closest Affiliate Library is the Berkshire Athenaeum in Pittsfield.
National Archives, Resources for Genealogists
You cannot search for specific names on this site, but there are many tools and resources for those doing genealogical research, including videos and research topics pages on using specific kinds of records, online tutorials and guides, and information on how to access National Archives records such as census, immigration, military, and naturalization records. There is even a link to an extensive collection of genealogy videos on the NARA YouTube channel. Researchers can also download useful charts and forms to organize their research. The History Hub allows researchers to ask questions and search answers to questions others have posed.
New York State Archives Genealogy Resources
The NYS Archives contains many records of interest to genealogists, including indexes to vital records, records of war service, land records, and court records. The website does have some digitized collections, though these are not designed for genealogists and searching for relevant material is difficult. More useful is the name index, which searches naturalization, military, land, prison, and court records. The actual records are not available on this site.
Ancestry.com New York
While the full Ancestry.com database is only available through a paid subscription, New York State residents have free access to Ancestry.com New York. You can access records provided by New York repositories that have formed partnerships with Ancestry.com to digitize family history records and make them available online for free. Types of records include military and veterans records, prison records, state censuses, and more. Users can search by name or browse specific collections. NYS residents can set up a free account. The site provides helpful search tips.
NYGenWeb
NYGenWeb is a member of the USGenWeb Project, established by a group of genealogists to share free online resources for genealogical research. It contains a variety of unique county and state resources including photos, maps, transcriptions, historical documents, helpful links, and much more. Information is organized by county. This is a volunteer managed site and richness of resources varies by county.
New York Public Library Genealogy Databases and Research Guides
Residents of New York State can access many resources at the New York Public Library with a digital NYPL library card. Numerous databases are available through the Database tab on this page. Some are only accessible on site, but many others–those with the house icon–are available to anyone with a digital card and still others–those with the globe icon–are available to anyone. Off-site access to some databases has been temporarily expanded due to the pandemic. (Those with the NYPL logo are only accessible on site.) Popular databases include: Ancestry.com Library Edition, America’s Historical Newspapers, and Newspapers.com. The Guides tab provides links to 12 different guides for specific types of genealogical research.
Genealogy by Holly (Specific to Columbia County, NY)
Many vital records can be found in the databases listed under the Genealogy Databases and Websites tab, including FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com New York. This list contains more specialized resources.
New York State Department of Health, Genealogy Records & Resources
The New York State Department of Health maintains birth, marriage, and death records. Vital records registration outside of New York City started in 1881. The Department of Health can provide uncertified copies of theses records for genealogy research purposes. They are not available online but information on obtaining copies can be found here.
Center for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics
The CDC maintains a page with information on where to write to obtain birth, death, marriage, and divorce records in all 50 states, five territories, New York City, and Washington, DC.
US Social Security Death Index
FamilySearch.org includes a name index to deaths recorded by the Social Security Administration beginning in 1962. Currently it includes records up to February 28, 2014. A How to Use This Collection link explains what is contained in this collection and how best to search it.
Find a Grave
This site allows you to search for a grave by name, place, and year of birth and death. This community-created site also allows users to contribute memorials. Many records include obituaries as well as birth and death dates and location of grave site.
FamilySearch.org Overview of Vital Records
This helpful page is not a database of records, but an overview of what vital records are, why they are important, and where you can find them. It includes helpful links to relevant collections with FamilySearch.org as well as to other databases and to state-specific information, including New York
US Census records can be found in many databases, many of them subscription based. Some have also been transcribed, though researches should check images of the originals when possible since transcriptions can contain errors. New York State also conducted several censuses.
US Census: FamilySearch.org
FamilySearch.org has digitized images of US population census records f0r 1790 through 1940. Some years also include indexes. The 1890 census was largely destroyed, but there are some fragments for New York State. From this page you can link to each decennial census, then either search it by name or browse the images by selecting the Browse images link at the bottom of the page. To browse, select your state of interest, then your county, then town or district. Census records can also be accessed HERE by using the facets on the left to narrow to Collection type Censuses & Lists and the desired location and year. Be sure to check out the How to Use This Collection link on each search page–there you will find information on how best to search and what you can expect to find in each census.
New York State Census: FamilySearch.org
New York State conducted its own census beginning in 1825, and then every 10 years until 1875, then in 1892, then every 10 years from 1905 to 1925. FamilySearch.org has digitized images of the 1855-1905 censuses, which also include marriage, death, and other schedules in addition to population schedules. Some county records are missing for each census. FamilySearch.org has indexes to the 1915 and 1925 censuses, with links to the images on Ancestry.com. From this page you can link to each census, then either search it by name or browse the images, when available, by selecting the Browse images link at the bottom of the page. Be sure to check out the How to Use This Collection link on each search page–there you will find information on how best to search and what you can expect to find in each census.
New York State Census: Ancestry.com New York
Ancestry.com New York provides images of the 1892, 1915, and 1925 New York State censuses. NYS residents can set up a free account. The site provides helpful search tips.
Roeliff Jansen Community Library, Local Newspaper Database
This database includes papers from the Roe Jan area, including the Independent (1987-1995), the Roe Jan Independent (1973-1987), the Columbia County Independent (1992-1993), the Hillsdale Harbinger (1887-1943), and the Hillsdale Herald (1880-1887). Users can build queries to search all words, specific phrase, any words, or to exclude certain words, and can search date, limited to specific dates or ranges. They can also browse by year or title. Results display as brief transcripts which link to full page images and the entire issue.
Hudson River Valley Heritage Historical Newspapers
This database provides access to papers in New York’s Hudson Valley, and includes 53,246 issues comprising 559,522 pages and 1,306,498 articles. Information on the history of each newspaper can also be found. Users can browse by newspaper title, date, county, or tags, as well as by contributing institution. And advanced search allows users to limit their search to specific titles and dates or date ranges, and to specify where to look–in the article title, full text, comments, or tags. The site contains a useful HELP section.
New York State Historic Newspapers
The New York Historic Newspaper project, created and administered by the Northern New York Library Network in partnership with the Empire State Library Network, contains papers from throughout the state from the 18th century to the 21st century. Users can search the entire collection or by county or city, browse or search specific titles, limit by date range, and search words or specific phrases as well as words in proximity. The HELP page includes videos on how to search as well as answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
Library of Congress, Chronicling America
Chronicling America is a free database of historic US newspapers, from 1777 to 1963, and provides searchable images of millions of historic American newspaper pages. The site is produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress. Users can limit searches by state and date range. A more advanced search option allows users to search specific papers, limit by language, search specific pages, and build searches using phrases and proximity of words. The site contains a HELP section.
America’s News New York State Edition
NewsBank’s America’s News New York State package features regional and local news content in a variety of formats. Local papers include the Register Star, Chatham Courier, and Times Union. Designed more for study of current news sources, the earliest content dates from the early 1970s. Researchers can search the entire database or limit to a single source, geographical area, or date or date range. They can also search all text or narrow to search only titles or bylines, sections, headlines, lead paragraphs, and other field. Results appear as either image of full text, depending on the source.
Property records include records such as deeds, mortgages, tax records, and maps. Many of these sorts of records can be found at county clerks offices. Some property records such as tax records and probate records can also be found in the databases listed under the Genealogy Databases and Websites tab, including FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com New York. This list contains more specialized resources.
Columbia County, New York, Office of the County Clerk
The Columbia County Clerk’s Office has legal records dating back to the early 19th century, some of which have been scanned and can be searched online, an many more that require a visit to Hudson. Records includes deeds, mortgages, satisfactions, and more. Many documents from the early 1970s to the present have been scanned and can be searched online. Users can search names and and limit to specific date ranges and document types.
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
This collection of more than 150,000 digitized maps focuses on rare 16th through 21st century maps of North and South America, as well as maps of the rest of the world. It includes atlases, globes, wall maps, school geographies, pocket maps, books of exploration, and more. A Search the Collection box in the upper right allows users to do a basic search on place names, but a drop down menu provides the option to construct a more advanced search, for specific terms, phrases, date ranges, and fields (including country, county, and city). Filters on the left allow users to further narrow their search results.
Library of Congress Sanborn Map Collection
The Library of Congress’s Sanborn fire insurance map collection consists of large-scale maps, dating from 1867 to the present and depicting the commercial, industrial, and residential sections of 12,000 cities and towns in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. To search the collection, select the Collection Items tab. Here you can search the entire collection with the search bar. You can also narrow to the town of interest by using the facets on the left–select Available Online, and the state of interest. You can then narrow to county and/or town. You can also narrow by date range.
Many immigration and naturalization records can be found in the databases listed under the Genealogy Databases and Websites tab, including FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com New York. This list contains more specialized resources.
Port of New York Passenger Search Database
The Passenger Search database of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation allows you to search for passengers who arrived at the Port of New York from 1820 to 1957, searching nearly 65 million passenger records and ship manifests, which contain information collected at debarkation points. A helpful Genealogy Primer page provides tips on searching the site and how-to videos. You can search by last name alone (with the option for close or exact matches) or narrow with first names, gender, marital status, approximate or exact dates of birth and arrival, ethnicity, ship name, ports of departure or arrival, birthplace, and traveling companions. To access your search results you will need to create a free account.
FamilySearch.org US Immigration Online Genealogy Records
This overview page provides links to United States immigration databases and collections that include passenger lists and manifests, some links to ship images, and border crossing records. This list is organized by ports, ethnic groups, and state. Many links are to FamilySearch.org and other free resources, though a number are also to paid sites. A useful companion blog provides a research guide to US immigration records.
Military records can be found in the databases listed under the Genealogy Databases and Websites tab, including FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com New York. This list contains more specialized resources.
Library of Congress Veterans History Project
The Veterans History Project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans, from WWI through the current day. Accounts include memoirs, interviews, correspondence, diaries, photos, and more. Researchers can either browse the collection by name or use the search page to limit by conflict, branch, gender, and type of material. They can also limit to digitized material. If material is not digitized, the Library of Congress provides instructions on how to obtain the records.
National Archives and Records Administration Military Records
Here you can research by branch or conflict. An Overview provides information on the kinds of military records available at the National Archives and a special Genealogy page help those using military records for genealogical research. Most popular are the Veteran’s Service Records. Most records are not digitized, but NARA provides information on how to obtain records and also links to other sites with relevant records. This site takes a bit of browsing, but has a wealth of information.
National Park Service Soldiers and Sailors Database
This NPS database contains information about the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War and includes histories of Union and Confederate regiments and selected lists of prisoner-of-war records and cemetery records. The database contains an index of those who served, with only rudimentary information from the service records (including name, rank and unit in which they served). The full service records are housed at the National Archives. Begin your search by selecting one of the boxes (soldiers, sailors, regiments, etc.) and then enter search terms. You can narrow your search using the facets on the left.
US Department of Veterans Affairs Nationwide Gravesite Locator
This site allows researchers to search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries, and for veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker. You can search the last name of your ancestor in all cemeteries or specific ones. Your can also limit your search by providing full name and birth and death dates.
FamilySearch.org Military Records
FamilySearch.org’s overview of military records provides helpful information on the military records in its collection, with links to those collections, as well as links to other sources, including Ancestry.com and the National Archives. A special page on New York includes links to New York records, many on Ancestry.com.
A number of other organizations, local and regional, can help you in your search.
Roeliff Jansen Historical Society
This small historical society located in Copake Falls collects and preserves the history of the Roe Jan area, including the towns of Ancram, Copake, Gallatin, Hillsdale, and Taghkanic. It houses a small collection of photographs, fine art, textiles, books, letters, newspapers, and official documents of various kinds.
Columbia County Historical Society
Located in Kinderhook, the CCHS is home to the Barbara P. Rielly Memorial Library. It contains a number of resources helpful to genealogists, including family surname files for over 1500 surnames, indexes to deaths, marriages, and a few births from county newspapers, c1800 – c1930, over 200 family genealogies, both published and unpublished, transcriptions of over 75 church records and over 200 cemetery records, and a number of reference books on local and family history.
Berkshire Athenaeum
The Berkshire Athenaeum–the Pittsfield public library–is a FamilySearch.org affiliate and has a Local History & Genealogy department, open by appointment. The Athenaeum’s Local History Collections are the largest and most comprehensive in the western part of Massachusetts, and include a broad range of primary and secondary source materials relating to the history of Pittsfield, Berkshire County, and adjacent areas of New York, Massachusetts, and the other New England States. The Athenaeum has a number of print and online sources, including number of subscription databases, available on site, as well as National Archives microfilm.
New York Genealogical & Biographical Society
New York State’s largest and oldest genealogical organization makes a wide variety of online resources available to members. You can browse individual collections or search all collections by name and limit to the specific record types. The website also includes a number of very helpful research guides on a variety of topics.