Cooperstown, Otsego County, New York Genealogy

United States

New York

Otsego County

Cooperstown

Quick Facts

Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego.

The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York. Most of the village lies inside the Town of Otsego, but part is inside the Town of Middlefield.

The village was part of the Cooper Patent, which Judge William Cooper purchased in 1785 from Colonel George Croghan. The land amounted to 10,000 acres (40 km2). Judge Cooper was the father of renowned American author James Fenimore Cooper, author of The Leatherstocking Tales.

The Village of Cooperstown was established in 1786, laid out by surveyor William Ellison. The village was established while still part of Montgomery County. It was incorporated (as the "Village of Otsego") on April 3, 1807. The name was legally changed to "Village of Cooperstown" in 1812. Cooperstown is one of only twelve villages in New York still incorporated under a charter, the other villages having incorporated or re-incorporated under the provisions of Village Law.

Village Hall

http://www.cooperstownny.org/

Village of Cooperstown
P. O. Box 346
Cooperstown, NY 13326
Attn: Village Clerk

Resources

Biography

• William Cooper's town : power and persuasion on the frontier of the early American republic FS Library

Centennial celebrations, etc.

• To commemorate the foundation of the village of Cooperstown and its corporate existence of one hundred years : this memorial celebration was held August 4th-10th, 1907 FS Library

Church History and Records

• Barber, Gertrude A. Records of Christ Church at Cooperstown, Otsego County, N.Y. 1933. Digital version at Ancestry ($). Baptisms, marriages, deaths.

Methodist Episcopal

• Early Cooperstown and the Methodist Episcopal Church FS Library

Presbyterian

• 1800s First Presbyterian Church Baptisms, Cooperstownat NYGenWeb

• 1800-1863 First Presbyterian Church Marriages, Cooperstownat NYGenWeb

• 1800-1864 First Presbyterian Church Deaths, Cooperstownat NYGenWeb

• 1800-1870 First Presbyterian Church Member List 1800-1870, Cooperstownat NYGenWeb

• Records of the First Presbyterian Church of Cherry Valley FS Library
  baptisms, 1799-1849
  marriages, 1809-1847
  session records, 1804
  elders of the church, 1804-1840
  members of the church 1804-1820
  members received, 1807-1839
  members dismissed, suspended, excommunicated, 1812-1840
  copy of marriages kept by Miss Eliza Davis, 1878-1883
  deaths, 1822-1849
  copies of death records, 1850-1898
  and abstracts from the minutes of the trustees, 1785-1814
• Computer printout of Cooperstown, Presbyterian Church FS Library
• Presbyterian Church, Cooperstowncomputer printout; births or christenings, 1800-1863 FS Library
• Presbyterian Church, Cooperstowncomputer printout; marriages, 1800-1863 FS Library

Directories

• Cooperstown (New York) city directories FS Library
• Oneonta (New York) city directories (including Cooperstown) FS Library
• Oneonta, including Oneonta Plains, East End, South Side and West Oneonta and Cooperstown, New York, directory : including Laurens, Mt. Vision, Hartwick, Milford, Portlandville, Colliers and Hartwick Seminary, containing a general directory of the citizens, classified business directory FS Library

History

• A centennial offering: being a brief history of Cooperstown with a biographical sketch of James Fenimore Cooper FS Library
• The chronicles of Cooperstown Worldcat | FS Library
• A condensed history of Cooperstown: with a biographical sketch of J. Fenimore Cooper FS Library
• Cooperstown FS Library
• Gleams from the Glimmerglass Worldcat #1 | Worldcat #2 | FS Library
• A history of Cooperstown: including "The Chronicles of Cooperstown" by James Fenimore Cooper; "The History of Cooperstown, 1839-1886" by Samuel M. Shaw; [and] "This History of Cooperstown, 1886-1929" by Walter R. Littell FS Library
• The story of Cooperstown: with seventy illustrations from photographs FS Library

Newspapers

• New York Newspapers Online at Old Fulton New York Post Cards - index & images

• Cooperstown NY Otsego Farmer 1885-1962
• Cooperstown NY The Glimmerglass 1909-1937

Vital records

Newspapers

• Otsego County, NY: Newspaper Records, 1808-1831, searchable database at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). A volume compiled by Gertrude A. Barber in 1933 containing records abstracted from the following nineteenth-century newspapers.
  The Cooperstown Federalist was published from 1809 to 1817. The Watch Tower began publishing in 1813 in Cherry Valley before moving to Cooperstown the following year. It ceased operations in 1831.
  • Death Notices from the Cooperstown Federalist, 1808-09
  • Marriage Notices from the Cooperstown Federalist, 1808-12
  • Death Notices from the Watch Tower, 1828-31
  • Marriage Notices from the Watch Tower, 1828-1831

• Death notices copied from the "Cooperstown federalist": from 1808-1809; Death notices copied from "Watch tower": from 1828-1831, deaths pp. 1-11; Marriage notices copied from "Cooperstown federalist": from 1808-1812; Marriage notices copied from "Watch tower": from 1828-1831, marriages pp. 12-26 FS Library

Societies, Libraries and Museums

• New York State Historical Association
  Wikipedia: New York State Historical Association
• National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
  Wikipedia: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
• Farmers' Museum
  Wikipedia: Farmers' Museum

Websites

• Cooperstown Genealogy

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.