Cortland County was created in April 8, 1808 and formed from Onondaga County . Cortland County was named for Pierre Van Cortlandt, the first lieutenant governor of New York and the County Seat is Cortland. See also Extended History for more historical details.
The Cortland County Courthouse is located at County Office Bldg., 60 Central Ave., Cortland , NY 13045; 607-753-5095 and the Official County Website is located at http://www.cortland-co.org/.
Cortland County Municipalities: Cincinnatus (town), Cortland West, Cortland (city), Cortlandville (town), Cuyler (town), Freetown (town), Harford (town), Homer (town), Homer (village), Lapeer (town), Marathon (town), Marathon (village), McGraw (village), Munsons Corners, Preble (town), Scott (town), Solon (town), Taylor (town), Truxton (town), Virgil (town), Willet (town) . Town Clerks are responsible for vast amounts of local information from deeds, property transfers, and genealogical materials. Research on place and road names, the history of property transfers and much more are available through your Town Clerk. They are a tremendous resources.
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
In Cortland County, you have to write to the Town, City, or Village Clerk where the Birth or Death occurred to obtain information. To obtain Marriage record information, you have to write to the Town or City Clerk where the couple purchased their Marriage License. They did not start keeping records until 1882.
Cortland County Clerk has Land & Court Records from 1808 and is located at
Courthouse, 60 Central Ave.,
Cortland, NY 13045; Phone: (607) 753-5021,
Fax: (607) 758-5500 . The county clerk is the keeper of most civil and criminal trial court records for Supreme Court and County Court, naturalizations, marriages (1908–35), censuses (Some county clerks' offices hold duplicate copies of some of the State censuses taken periodically between 1825 and 1925 and copies of the federal census), as well as deeds and mortgages.
Land conveyances (deeds and mortgages) are recorded in the county clerks' offices or in the New York City Register's Office. Recording of deeds became mandatory statewide in 1840. Before that many deeds were not recorded. Marriages Prior to 1784 couples intending to marry were required to obtain licenses from and file bonds with the provincial secretary, if the impending marriage was not announced in a church. These Marriage Bonds were mostly destroyed in the 1911 Capitol fire. Published abstracts are available in Names of persons for whom marriage licenses were issued by the secretary of the province of New York, previous to 1784. (Albany: 1860; repr. with supplements 1984); and in New York Marriage Bonds, 1753-1783, comp. Kenneth Scott (New York: 1972).
Naturalization records are created by the Federal and State courts. State court naturalization records generally remain in custody of the county clerks. Older Federal court naturalization records have been transferred to the National Archives. Photocopies of naturalization documents and indexes for New York City for the period 1792-1906 (both Federal and State courts) are held by the National Archives--Northeast Region, 201 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014.
Cortland County Surrogate Court Clerk has Probate Records from 1808 and is located at Courthouse, 46 Greenbush Str, Suite #301,
Cortland, New York 13045-2725; 607-753-5001,
FAX: 607-758-5531 . The Surrogate's Court in each county generally has records dating back to the establishment of the county or 1787, whichever was later. Record keeping was systematized by an 1830 statute. Surrogate's Courts maintain records of wills, letters testamentary, letters of administration, orders and decrees, and appointments of guardians; and filed papers, including original wills, petitions for probate (gives date of death and lists next of kin), performance bonds, property inventories (seldom found after ca. 1900), administrator's or executor's accountings, etc. Surrogate's Courts create comprehensive indexes to records and files.
In recent decades many courts have ceased recording documents in books and substituted microfilm recording. Some courts have disposed of old property inventories, which have no continuing legal value. Most Surrogate's Court records are retained permanently because they may document title to real property or the legal status of individuals. Surrogate's Court records statewide occupy over 200,000 cubic feet, with over half a million record retrievals yearly. The court is authorized to charge substantial fees for records searches conducted by court staff. Prior to that time most estates were handled in New York City, the capital until 1797. Before 1787, some wills were recorded in the counties and occasionally in town records.
Cortland County Historian is located at 46 Greenbush Street, Suite 101, Cortland, NY 13045.In New York State, every municipality (town, city, village, county) must have an appointed historian. Most of the towns have their own historians as well and each can be contacted. A county historian may be appointed for each county, check for availability.
Below is a list of online resources for Cortland County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Cortland County Court Records by clicking the link below:
New York Wills, 1626-1836: This database is a collection of New York citizens' wills from 1626 to 1836 that were recorded in the office of the clerk of the court of appeals, of the county clerk of Albany and of the secretary of state.
New York Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search New York Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
The New York State Department of Health does not file records of births and deaths that occurred in New York City and marriage licenses that were obtained in New York City. To obtain information about genealogy services available for New York City records, please visit the New York City Municipal Archives web page.
New York State Dept of Health, Vital Records Section, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12237; (518) 474-3077, (518) 474-3038 Information, Fax: (518) 432-6286, Vital records registration started in New York State outside of New York City in 1881. Please allow up to approximately 7-8 weeks for processing of all type of certificates when ordered through the mail. Generally, the New York State Department of Health provides uncertified copies of the following types of records for genealogy research purposes:
Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates: Birth, Marriage & Death records maintained by New York State Dept of Health, since 1881 through the present. Genealogy copies are available for Birth records if on file for at least 75 years and the person whose name is on the certificate is known to be deceased.
Genealogy copies are available for Marriage & Death records if on file for at least 50 years and the person whose name is on the certificate is known to be deceased.
Cost: The cost of a birth or death record is $22.00. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $22.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 7-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Divorce Certificates:
Divorce Certificates from Jan 1963. If the records are not available at the State office, they should be available from the County Clerk in the county where the divorce was granted. Since 1847 divorce actions in New York have been handled in the supreme court for the county in which the divorce was heard. New York divorce files, however, are sealed for one hundred years. In colonial times, petitions for divorce had to be made to the governor or legislature, and only a few were granted. The court of chancery granted divorces from 1787 to 1847. These older records are in the State Archives.
Divorce records dating prior to July 1, 1847, are filed either at the New York State Archives (upstate counties) or the New York County Clerk's Office, 31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007; phone (212) 374-4376 (downstate counties).
Cost: $30 - Fee is for verification only.
Processing Time: 7-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Exceptions: The New York State Department of Health does not file records of birth, death and marriage from the Cities of Albany, Buffalo and Yonkers prior to January 1, 1914. To obtain records from these municipalities contact the Local Registrar for birth and death record requests or the City Clerk for marriage record requests. The addresses follow:
For birth and death record requests Order Online or submit request to the Local Registrar of the appropriate city:
City of Albany, Room 254M, City Hall, Albany, NY 12207
City of Buffalo, Room 1308, 65 Niagara Square, Buffalo, NY 14202
City of Yonkers, Room 107, City Hall, Yonkers, NY 10701
For marriage record requests Order Online or submit request to the City Clerk of the appropriate city:
City Clerk, City of Albany, Room 202, City Hall, Albany, NY 12207
City Clerk, City of Buffalo, Room 1308, 65 Niagara Square, Buffalo, NY 14202
City Clerk, City of Yonkers, Room 107, City Hall, Yonkers, NY 10701
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Order In Person: The Vital Records Office provides eligible applicants with copies of birth and death certificates for births and deaths in New York State outside of New York City (1881-present), marriage licenses obtained in New York State outside of New York City (1880-present) and dissolution of marriage certificates for all of New York State (1963-present). The certificates may be ordered by coming into this office at 800 North Pearl Street,
2nd Floor - Room 200,
Menands, NY 12204. The Vital Records customer service lobby is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, excluding holidays. Order By Mail: Mail a check or money order (no cash) payable to the "New York Vital Records " along with the necessary information to the following address: New York State Department of Health,
Vital Records Section,
Genealogy Unit,
P.O. Box 2602,
Albany, NY 12220-2602. Please include return address on envelope and application form (Birth Certificate, Death Certificate, Marriage Certificate or Divorce Certificate.
Below is a list of online resources for Cortland County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Cortland County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical West Virginia newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Click Here to Search New York Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Cortland County, New York are 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Cortland County, New York are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880.There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms
Below is a list of online resources for Cortland County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Cortland County Census Records by clicking the link below:
New York Census, 1790-1890: This collection contains the following indexes: 1790 Federal Census Index; 1800 Federal Census Index; 1810 Federal Census Index; 1815 Port Arrivals Index; 1820 Federal Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1870 Federal Census Index; 1890 Veterans Schedule; 1890 Naval Veterans Schedule; Early Census Index.
New York State Census Collection: This database is an index to, with corresponding images of, parts of the 1880, 1892, and 1905 censuses.
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Arkansas and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for New York showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for New York showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps.
Below is a list of online resources for Cortland County Maps. Email us with websites containing Cortland County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search New York Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
New Yorkers have participated in military efforts since the colonial era. Military records shed light on the lives of soldiers, the struggles of the forces, as well as war's impact on the home front. They offer researchers a unique view of our past.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Cortland County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Cortland County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 from the State of New York (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of New York (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
New York Civil War Records (1861-65): This database gives records of Civil War infantrymen from southeastern New York (79th and 80th infantry units).
New York Military Equipment Claims, War of 1812: This database is an index of claims presented to the State of New York for payment of expenses for military clothing and equipment provided by volunteers during the war.
Scattered town and precinct tax records for a few years in the 1770s and 1780s and nearly complete lists for the whole state, 1799-1804, are at the New York State Archives, although for the latter period the surviving 1804 rolls cover only delinquent taxes of nonresidents. New York City tax records are at the Municipal Archives. Some early assessment rolls have been published in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, such as those for New York City, 1730, in volume 95; New Rochelle, 1767, in volume 107; and Ulster County, 1709-21, in volume 62. See also volumes 43-44 of the New-York Historical Society's Collections for New York City assessments 1695-99. A few counties such as Ontario have retained their early tax records, but most do not have them until about 1850 or even later. Many old tax lists are to be found in manuscript collections. Dutchess County is fortunate to have a long series of eighteenth century tax records.
Some of the 1798 U.S. Direct Tax records survive for New York.
Below is a list of online resources for Cortland County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Cortland County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Cortland County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Cortland County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
New York State Archives and Records Administration, The State Education Department, Cultural Education Center, 11th Floor;
Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12230; (518) 474-8955, [EMAIL] Referred to here as the New York State Archives for brevity, it was the last such archives to be established in the United States. It houses land and court records, military and tax records, New York state vital records indexes, pre-settlement survey maps, and legislative records.
New York State Library, Cultural Education Center, 7th Floor, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12230; The state library has a large collection of published and manuscript material on New York, including genealogies and local histories, federal and state censuses, city directories, and periodicals. It is also one of the two depositories for the State of New York DAR collection.
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society,
122 East 58th Street, New York, New York 10022-1939; 212-755-8532, Fax: 212-754-4218; A private society, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society publishes the NYG&B Newsletter and a quarterly, The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. Its library holds much New York State and related material, both for New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. For New York there are censuses, federal and state; a large manuscript collection of church, cemetery, Bible, and other records; and an extensive amount of published family and local histories. Nonmembers can use the library for a small fee, but only members have access to the stacks, manuscripts, and microforms. The library provides a list of area researchers.
New York Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search New York Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
Many church records, mostly early and particularly for Long Island, New York City, and the Hudson River Valley, have been published in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record with a large collection of unpublished records maintained by the New York. Particularly useful as vital records substitutes among the surviving New York church records are those of the Dutch Reformed, Lutheran, Anglican, and Quaker groups.
The largest number of New York cemetery records (the bulk of which are actually transcriptions of cemetery marker inscriptions) is found in the multivolume collection of the Daughters of the American Revolution in the State of New York, Church, and Town Records, located at the New York State Library, the New York Public Library, and the DAR Library in Washington, D.C. Scattered volumes are found in other libraries including many local libraries in the area in which a particular cemetery is located.
Below is a list of online resources for Cortland County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Cortland County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of New York obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a New York newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from New York .
Click Here to Search New York Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Cortland County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Cortland County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, New York, and Virgina.
New York Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
On April 8, 1808, four and a half townships were taken from the County of Onondaga and erected as the new County of Cortland. The name was derived from that of the first Lieutenant-Governor of the State, General Pierre Van Courtlandt. The boundaries of the new County differed little from those of the present which are: On the north by Onondaga County; on the east by Madison and Chenango; on the south by Broome and Tioga; and on the west by Tompkins and Cayuga. It is about 26 miles in extent from north to south and 2o from east to west, having an area of 485 square miles.
The surface of the County is made up of hilly ranges, broad, level plains, and an elevated plateau in the northern section with a ridge on the extreme north side which is the dividing point of the waters which flow to Lake Ontario and those which go to join the Susquehanna River. The highest peak in the County is Mt. Topping. The Truxton and Owego hills average about 2,000 feet above sea level, and the plateau about a thousand feet less. There is much good arable land in Cortland, with the more fertile, and first used, soils Iying in the valleys. After the great forests of hardwoods had been reduced, farming became the great industry and still stands at the head of the occupations of the County.
The Tioughnioga is the main stream of the district, being the entry way in the early days and the main highway over which the products of the land were exported and the needed supplies brought in. As early as 1814 it was established by the Legislature as a public highway. To its waters came the settlers from all around, and scows and boats were loaded at Port Watson (now in the village of Cortland) and floated down the Chenango, thence to the Susquehanna to the Pennsylvania ports on this stream. The Indian seems to have loved the Tioughnioga, but for its fish and canoe waters, rather than for a home. Perhaps this was because the two tribes in this region could not trust each other. Tradition has it that the Lenapes had a town on the river near the present site of Homer, which was destroyed by the tricky Mingoes. The lakes, the Otselic Valley, the little streams which are found in all parts of CortIand not only drew the pioneer, but in these later days have attracted the summer visitor and the region is full of hotels and country homes of those who make the County their annual vacation place.
The settlement of Cortland County was relatively late, for there were no permanent residents before 1791. Joseph Beebe, his wife, and Amos Todd, his brother, built the first homes on the Tioughnioga in that year just north of Homer. The streams farther south had many small settlements by this time, but once a knowledge of this up-river section became wide spread among the incoming immigrants, the increase of settlers was rapid. John Miller came to the site of the city of Cortland the next year; Joseph Chaplin to Marathon in the same year, in 1792, Thaddeus Rockwell in 1793. By 1797 there were more than a hundred people in the valley and by 1810 the population of the town of Homer was given as just short of three thousand.
Growth was manifested in other lines. In 1798 the first school was opened with Joshua Ballard as teacher, this school to be promptly followed by others in other sections. In Homer, in 1801, two church organizations were formed; there had been religious services held since 1794. A medical society was created in 1808. Meanwhile industries were being established, a gristmill in 1798 being the first, but a sawmill soon followed. Maple sugar, whiskey, gypsum, potash, were some of the industrial products shipped from the County before there was one.
Cortland County was erected in 1808, and the organization perfected that summer. In 1810 came the fight for the honor of being appointed the shiretown, with the village of Cortland the winner. Ephraim Fish represented the County as its first member of the Assembly. John Keep held the first court. The first County building was erected on Court House hill, a wooden structure with a steeple. The year was 1812 and the cost $l,600. The County was putting off its swaddling clothes and taking on the airs of a precocious child. It had arrived.
The War of 1812 had the same retarding effect upon the expansion of the district that it had on all the up-State counties of that day. Cortland ceased playing the child and became a mature man. There was little real set back but it was a period of settling down and finding itself. During this time a jail was built (1818) and a County clerk's office erected; Road conditions were improved. The old State road of 1794 passed through the towns of Willett, Virgil and Marathon, to which was joined Cortland town in 1806. Then followed a decade of turnpikes, with stage routes established between the larger places. The Cortland to Syracuse stage road finished in 1850, had passenger coaches on it which would take one from one place to the other in six hours. New industries came to the County in these years. In 1815 the first practical nail making machinery in the State was installed by William Smith in the rear of his sawmill. This was a self feeding device that received the metal at one side and turned out perfect cut nails, all marked with an S, at the other. Sheep had been brought to the region and wool carding and weaving (knitting) had come into use in 1824. Paper mills were started about the same time; pottery in 1829, of clay brought from New Jersey by way of the rivers. An agricultural implement factory was established in 1832.
Nearly all of these developments were in the towns of Cortland and Homer.
A great impetus was given to the industrial life and growth of the County by the establishment of new and better systems of transportation. The turnpikes had, in a measure, displaced the Tioughnioga, and the river had been abandoned as a freight highway. The opening of the Erie Canal to the north in I829 hindered rather than helped Cortland, but the railroad in 1854, the Binghamton, Cortland and Syracuse, was medium of enlarged opportunity and growth. Other railroads soon followed, giving greater ease of access to the inhabitants of the outer regions, as well as to those within the snug County to wider markets. Until the railroad period, the growth within Cortland had been that of the slow establishment of clearing lands, starting industries, creation of schools and churches, in other words, the establishment of the foundations on which might safely be built the future prosperity. When the railroad came Cortland saw the most phenomenal expansion, in all respects, of its history.
(Albany: 1860; repr. with supplements 1984); and in New York Marriage Bonds, 1753-1783, comp. Kenneth Scott (New York: 1972).
