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Genesee County, New York Genealogy

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Guide to Genesee County, New York ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Facts
County seat: Batavia
Organized: March 30, 1802
Parent County(s): Ontario
Neighboring Counties
Erie • Livingston • Monroe • Niagara • Orleans • Wyoming
See County Maps
Courthouse
New York, Genesee County Courthouse.png
Location Map
Ny-genesee.png


County Information

Description

The county was named for the Seneca Indian word Gen-nis'-hee-yo, meaning "the Beautiful Valley". The county is located in the west area of the state. [1]

County Courthouse

Genesee County Courthouse
1 West Main St
Batavia, NY 14020
Phone: 585-201-5715
Genesee County Website

The Genesee County Clerk's office has marriage, divorce, court and land records as well as the state census. The Surrogate court has probate records.

Genesee County, New York Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records[2]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1880 1908 1880 1802 1802 1805 1663
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1880. General compliance for births by 1915 and deaths by 1890.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[5]

Cities
Towns
Villages
Hamlets
American Indian Communities
Census-designated places


History Timeline

Resources

Bible Records

  • 1581-1917 New York, Family Bible Records at Ancestry ($) – index. Database is a collection of genealogically important records taken from the Bibles of colony and state residents. Reveals the Bible's original owner, brief record of descendants,and a particular event such as birth or marriage as recorded in the Bible.

Biographies

Our county and its people: a descriptive and biographical record of Genesee County, New York, v. 1
Our county and its people: a descriptive and biographical record of Genesee County, New York, v. 2

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Genesee County, New York online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See New York Cemeteries for more information.

Census Records

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1810 12,588 —
1820 58,093 361.5%
1830 52,147 −10.2%
1840 59,587 14.3%
1850 28,488 −52.2%
1860 32,189 13.0%
1870 31,606 −1.8%
1880 32,806 3.8%
1890 33,265 1.4%
1900 34,561 3.9%
1910 37,615 8.8%
1920 37,976 1.0%
1930 44,468 17.1%
1940 44,481 0.0%
1950 47,584 7.0%
1960 53,994 13.5%
1970 58,722 8.8%
1980 59,400 1.2%
1990 60,060 1.1%
2000 60,370 0.5%
2010 60,079 −0.5%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

For information and tips on using and accessing online census records, see New York Census.

Federal
U.S. Census Mortality Schedules for New York, 1850-1880:

  • Available online at Ancestry ($).
  • Deaths are included for the 12 months prior to the census, 1849-50, 1859-60, 1869-70, and 1879-80 beginning 1 June and ending 31 May of the census year.[6]
  • Basic contents of the records include: Name, sex, age, color, marital status, place of birth, month of death, occupation, and cause of death. 1870 also has parents' birthplace. 1880 lists how long a resident of the county.
  • Also on FS Library Films 1415128–42.
  • The 1890 Census is lost. For a substitute, see Genesee.
  • 1849-50, 1859-60, 1869-70, 1879-80 See Mortality Schedule information in the Federal Census section of Census for death information.

State

Source 1825 1835 1845 1855 1865 1875 1892 1905 1915 1925
Ancestry.com - - - - - Yes Yes - Yes Yes
FamilySearch Library - - - - - Yes Yes
FamilySearch Images - - - - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
New York State Library - - - - - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

New York State 1865 and 1875 Census Marriage, Mortality; and 1865 Soldier Mortality records:

  • Images available online at New York State Census, 1865 and New York State Census, 1875. Click on the link to go to the page, then click on the ‘Browse through images’ link and select your county, then select an ancestor's town and browse to the end of the population schedule until you find the Marriage, Mortality, and 1865 soldier mortality schedules.
  • Includes marriages and deaths for the 12 months prior to the census, ending 1 June of the census year.
  • Marriage entry content: Husband's name, wife's name, ages and previous marital status, month and day and place of marriage, and church or civil ceremony.
  • Death entry content: Name, age, sex, color, marital status, month and day of death, native state or country, occupation and cause of death.
  • 1865 deaths of officers and enlisted men entry content: Name, age, marital status, citizenship status, enlistment date, original regiment, original rank, regiment at death, rank at death, promotions, death date and place, manner of death, surviving associates, and burial place.
  • Also on microfilm. See the FamilySearch Library line in the above State Census Chart.
  • 1874-5 See Mortality Schedule information in the State Census section of Census for death information for 1874-5.
  • 1874-5 1875 Deaths from the Genesee County New York State Census at New Horizons Genealogical Services - free.


Church Records


List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records

Ancestors may have been involved in municipal, state, or federal court cases and actions. See also New York Court Records and United States Court Records.

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

Guardianship

Land and Property Records

Online Land Indexes and Records

Cindy Amrhein has written guides to help researchers use Genesee County land records:

  • How to Search Deeds & Mortgages
  • More to Deeds Then You Think
  • 1804-1824 Livsey, Karen E. Western New York Land Transactions, 1804-1824. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1991. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
  • 1825-1835 Livsey, Karen E. Western New York Land Transactions, 1825-1835. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1996. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Local Histories

Maps and Gazetteers

Niagara CountyOrleans CountyErie CountyWyoming CountyLivingston CountyMonroe CountyNY GENESEE.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration

Early migration routes to and from Genesee County for European settlers included:

Military Records

Civil War

Town registers. The New York town clerks kept a bound register of all soldiers from their town serving in the Civil War 1861-1865. Registers are arranged by county, and town. Some town registers are missing. The registers include an index at the start of each town.

Content. Many register entries include full name, residence, date and place of birth, parents names, marital status, date of enlistment and muster and rank, discharges, death, or promotion.

Access. The original registers are at the New York State Archives in Albany, New York. Microfilm copies are found at the FamilySearch Library (FS Library Film 1993401-37). They are also indexed and available at Ancestry.com ($). Available towns. Registers are available for: Alabama · Alexander · Batavia · Bergen · Bethany · Darien · Elba · Le Roy · Oakfield · Pavilion · Pembroke · Stafford.

Regiments. Service men in Wyoming County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county.[8]

- 2nd Regiment, New York Mounted Rifles, Company A.
- 8th Regiment, New York Cavalry, Companies H and K.
- 9th Regiment, New York Cavalry , Company A.
- 12th Independent Company, New York Infantry, Company K.
- 14th Regiment, New York Cavalry, Company F.
- 15th Regiment, New York Cavalry, Companies E and F.
- 23rd Regiment, New York Cavalry, Company A.
- 28th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company F.
- 100th Regiment, New York Infantry, Companies B and C.
- 104th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company G.
- 105th Regiment, New York Infantry, Companies D, E and K.
- 129th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company L.
- 138th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company M.
- 151st Regiment, New York Infantry, Company C.
- 179th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company C.

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

Newspapers


The Le Roy Gazette is available on Ancestry.com at [1]. Fees may apply. According to the site, the date range runs from 1826 through 1993, though not all years are available.

A searchable collection of over 16 million newspaper pages from New York, including many from Genesee County can be found at the Old New York State Historical Newspaper Pages

  • Batavia NY Batavian 1895-1897
  • Batavia NY Daily Herald 1859
  • Batavia NY Daily News 1878-1922
  • Batavia NY Genessee County Herald 1857-1861
  • Batavia NY Genessee Weekly Democrat 1857-1859
  • Batavia NY Morning Call 1881-1882
  • Batavia NY Progressive Batavian 1868-1895
  • Batavia NY Republican Advocate 1822-1876
  • Batavia NY Spirit Of The Times 1830-1868
  • Batavia NY Times 1902-1945

Obituaries

Other Records

Genesee River Valley

Periodicals

Probate Records

Probate records (wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions) for New York are held in the office of the county Surrogate Court beginning in 1787, or when the county was formed. Prior to 1787, most are housed at the New York State Archives.
Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.
Probate Petitions In 1830, state law required the Surrogate Court clerk to issue a probate petition for a deceased individual with property. This petition, unique to New York, usually lists the deceased's death date. It also lists the heirs, their relationship to the deceased, and their residence. These petitions are often found in the estate files.[9] See New York Probate Records for online resources, details, links, and more.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

School Records

Social Security Records

Tax Records

Town Records

Town records in New York may include early births, marriages, deaths, divorces, local histories, selected military records, and town meeting minutes. Vital records from 1880/1882 are kept by town and village clerks, although some (Kent’s and Putnam Valley’s) are available in the County Historian’s Office. See:

  • New York Towns, Villages, and Cities: A Guide to Genealogical Sources by Gordon L. Remington. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. FS Library Book 974.7 D27r; At various libraries (WorldCat); Alphabetical list including date founded, if a town history exists, church and cemetery sources, and if a Civil War register (TCR) exists.

Vital Records

Vital records of birth, marriage or death were first recorded at the local level in the village clerk, town clerk, or city clerk’s ledger book. In 1880, town clerks were to record the marriage and a copy was sent to the New York State Department of Health (state level). The marriages in this county were recorded by the county clerk from 1908 until 1934.[10] If you know where a birth, marriage or death took place, a copy of the certificate or record may be obtained by writing to the town, village or city clerk.

Birth

Marriage

Death

Divorce

Divorce judgment papers often include date and place of the marriage and the names and birthdates of any children. Local newspapers may publish notices of divorce actions.

  • Pre–1787 All divorces were granted by the governor or legislature and were very rare.
  • 1787–1847 All divorces were granted by the court of chancery. These records are found in the New York State Archives or for the New York City area at the New York County Clerk's office.These divorces were granted only on the grounds of adultery.
  • 1847–present All divorces are handled by the county Supreme Court where the divorce was granted. Divorce files in New York are sealed for 100 years. Contact the County Clerk for information about divorce records.

Voting Records

Research Facilities

Archives

Cornell University, Guide to Historical Resources in Genesee County, New York Repositories. ([Ithaca, New York]: New York Historical Resources Center, Olin Library, Cornell University, 1983). At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 974.792 A3g. Includes index. Includes references to some family histories and genealogies.

County Historian
History Department
3 West Main Street
Batavia, NY 14020
585-344-2550 ext 2613
Email: history@co.genesee.ny.us
Research Library Records Management
The County Historian may provide access to obituaries, vital records, church records, maps, and family files or journals. Some historians provide search services for their office records and others may refer you to local genealogists who research in the area.

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

  • FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
  • FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries

Nioga Library System
6575 Wheeler Rd
Lockport NY 14094
Phone: 716-434-6167
Website

  • Richmond Memorial Library, Batavia
  • Byron-Bergen Public Library, Bergen
  • Corfu Free Library
  • Woodward Memorial Library, Le Roy
  • Haston Memorial Library, Oakfield
  • Pavilion Public Library

Museums

Holland Land Office Museum
131 West Main Street
Batavia NY 14020-2021
716-343-4727
Email: info@hollandlandoffice.com
Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Genesee County. For state-wide genealogical and historical societies, see New York Societies.

Genesee Area Genealogy Society
Richmond Memorial Library
19 Ross Street
Batavia NY 14020
The Genesee Area Genealogists welcome those with an interest in Genesee and Wyoming counties.
Website

Holland Purchase Historical Society
Holland Land Office Museum
131 West Main Street
Batavia NY 14020-2021
716-343-4727
Website
info@hollandoffice.com
Not a research facility; contact Genesee County History department.

Central New York Genealogical Society[11]
Box 104, Calvin Station
Syracuse, New York 13205
Email: CNYSG@yahoo.com

Member queries; surname research list; online resources; six meetings/year; publication: Tree Talks (At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 974.7 B2t) quarterly with annual index.
Counties served: Albany, Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Oreleans, Oswego, Otsego, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Washington, Wayne, Warren, Wyoming, and Yates.

Western New York Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 338
Hamburg, New York 14075-0338
Email: info@wnygs.org
Directory
Website

Focus is on eight Western New York counties - Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Wyoming, Orleans, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany - which comprise the area of the original Holland Land Company purchase.

Websites

Research Guides

References

  1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Genesee, New York" in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesee_County,_New_York accessed 19 Nov 2018
  2. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Genesee County, New York. Page 488-493 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 490-492.
  3. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 489. At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  4. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002).At various libraries (WorldCat); FSC Book 973 D27e 2002.
  5. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Genesee County, New York," in "Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesee_County,_New_York, accessed 13 January 2020.
  6. ↑ Arlene Eakle, and Johni Cerni, The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1984), 103. At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27ts.
  7. ↑ Compare the more northerly route in Handybook, 849, with the more southerly route described in Wikipedia contributors, "New York State Route 5" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Route_5 (accessed 28 June 2011).
  8. ↑ Frederick Phisterer, New York in the War of the Rebellion, 3rd ed. (Albany, N.Y.: J. B. Lyon Company, 1912). Internet Archive digital copy; At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Film 1486494-96; Fiche 6083559-64; Book 974.7 M2p.
  9. ↑ Alice Eichholz, Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources, 3rd ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Pub., 2004), 479. At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27rb 2004. Henry B. Hoff, "Navigating New York Probate," American Ancestors 12 (Fall 2011): 54.
  10. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 488-493. At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  11. ↑ Central New York Genealogical Society at http://cnygs.org/ (accessed 16 July 2018).
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