New York Law and Legislation: Difference between revisions

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*'''1769-1775''' ''The Colonial laws of New York from the year 1664 to the revolution...''; v.5. 1769-1775 '''''Online at:''''' {{FSC|543960|item|disp=FamilySearch Catalog}}(*),
*'''1769-1775''' ''The Colonial laws of New York from the year 1664 to the revolution...''; v.5. 1769-1775 '''''Online at:''''' {{FSC|543960|item|disp=FamilySearch Catalog}}(*),


== Laws for Recording Birth and Death Records ==
== Introduction ==
===Colonial Period, 1607-1775 ===
Among the laws of the Colony of New York set down in 1664 (following the capture of New York from the Dutch) was the requirement that "The Minister or Town Clark of every parrish shall well and truly and plainly Record all Births Marriages and Burials that shall happen within his Respective parrish, in a Book to be provided by the Churchwardener for that purpose." <ref>''The Colonial Laws of New York from the Year 1664 to the Revolution,'' (Albany, NY: James B. Lyon, State Printer, 1894), p. 19. Digital version at [https://archive.org/details/coloniallawsnew01johngoog Google Books]. </ref>Though most communities in New York interpreted this law to mean that the churches were responsible for keeping vital records, there were some marriages licenses recorded by civil authorities. (See Records of Marriages below.)
 
===After American Revolution, 1775===
After the American Revolution, any attempt by civil authorities to record vital events in the State of New York stopped.
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'''1847:''' A meeting of the National Medical Convention in Philadelphia held in 1847 changed all that when a resolution was passed to encourage statewide registration of births, marriages, and deaths via legislation from the individual states. New York jumped on board with the resolution and passed a law (Chapter 152) requiring the registration of vital events. Unfortunately, the resulting law was convoluted. The trustees of each school district (there were over 10,000 school districts in New York at the time) were required to review the records of the local midwives and doctors and compile births, marriages and deaths and report them to the local town or city clerk. The town and city clerks were to compile and submit a report to the county clerk who then reported to the Secretary State. The Secretary of State was then required to submit a report to the State Legislature. <ref>The Historical Records Survey, ''Guide to Public Vital Records in New York State (Including New York City),'' (Albany, NY: Works Projects Administration, 1942), v. 1, pp. vii-viii.</ref>
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'''After 1849:''' Several laws were passed in the New York State Legislature requiring the creation of birth, marriage, and death records by municipalities in the state. Compliance stopped a few years after.
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'''1850:''' On December 19, 1850 the Secretary of State wrote to all County Clerks:<br>"Dear Sir, I have concluded not to forward the blanks for the Report of Births, Marriages and Deaths, until the law is so amended as to enable me to receive full and correct reports from the entire state. Therefore all action under the law will be, for the present, suspended." Although most action under this law seems to have stopped at the end of 1850, the actual law stayed on the books until 1885. In Chapter 270 of that year's laws, paragraph 9 repealed "Chapter one hundred fifty-two of the laws of 1847."
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'''1864:''' Another attempt by the state to collect death records was begun in 1864 in which the assessor of each town or ward was directed to accumulate the data. (Chapter 380) This law was repealed in 1865. (Chapter 723)
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'''1880-1881:''' In 1880, New York created a State Board of Health which was given the responsibility of overseeing the registration of vital statistics. The State Board of Health established a Vital Records division. New York then passed a law that required births, marriages, and deaths be reported to the town, village, or city clerk within three days of their occurrence. The local clerks were then to create a copy of each vital record and forward the originals to the State Board of Health. An 1888 addendum established penalties for those who failed to report vital events. Because Albany, Buffalo, Yonkers, New York, and Brooklyn were already keeping their own vital records when the 1880 Law was passed, they were considered exempt.<ref>''Guide to Public Vital Records in New York State (Including New York City),'' (Albany, NY: Works Projects Administration, 1942), v. 1, pp. xi.</ref>
:*Compliance with the law was incomplete until 1913 or even later, resulting with incomplete records.<ref>[https://www.archives.nysed.gov/research/birth-marriage-death-records Birth, Marriage, and Death Records] at New York State Archives</ref>
:*In some areas of Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley, some births, marriages, and deaths were recorded in town records as early as about 1665. For example, Amenia, Dutchess County, has vital records beginning in 1749. <br>


== Published Resources ==
== Published Resources ==

Revision as of 14:39, 15 November 2024

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Online Resources[edit | edit source]

  • American Law Sources online
  • Historic New York Statutes at The Advancing Genealogist – Links to “digitized law books include colonial laws, session laws, and private acts,”
  • New York Law Indexes and Extras at The Advancing Genealogist – Links to general Indexes to the laws of New York, 1777-1907, and related resources.
  • Historic New York Case Law at The Advancing Genealogist - Links to digitized books of the digests of statutes and reports for New State courts, giving brief information on most cases that appeared before the New York court.
  • “Laws of the State of New York” – Links to historical laws of the state and colony of New York, available on an Internet Archive copy of Manhattan Past.
  • “Empire State Laws” at Judy G. Russell’s, blog, The Legal Genealogist.
  • 1769-1775 The Colonial laws of New York from the year 1664 to the revolution...; v.5. 1769-1775 Online at: FamilySearch Catalog(*),

Introduction[edit | edit source]

Published Resources[edit | edit source]

Published New York session laws (laws enacted by both houses of the state legislature) are valuable for information about such things as changing town and county boundaries, militia enrollment, land confiscation, taxation, census laws, naturalizations, divorces, and poor relief.

New York state laws have been published. To find information on persons mentioned in laws and legislation, see Charles Z. Lincoln, editor. The Colonial Laws of New York from the Year 1664 to the Revolution, Five Volumes. and index (New York, New York: AMS Press, 1894–96; on 3 FS Library films 1421794,1421800,1421793).
The volumes are in chronological order, and each volume has an index at the end. Use them to determine residence.

  • The 3rd film is online and includes laws 1769 to 1785. Book begins on image 528, Index begins on image 971 of 1786 images

References[edit | edit source]



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