Greene County, New York Genealogical Records Information

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Greene County History and Information

Greene County Facts

Greene County was created in March 25, 1800 and formed from Ulster and Albany Counties. Greene County was named for Nathanael Greene, a general in the American Revolutionary War and the County Seat is Catskill. See also Extended History for more historical details.

The Greene County Courthouse is located at 288-292 Main Street, PO Box 467, Catskill , NY 12414; 518-943-3080 and the Official County Website is located at http://www.greenegovernment.com/.

Greene County Borders Albany County (North), Rensselaer County (Northeast), Columbia County (East), Ulster County (Southwest), Delaware County (West), Schoharie County (Northwest) .

Greene County Municipalities: Ashland (town), Athens (town), Athens (village), Cairo (town), Catskill (village), Catskill (town), Coxsackie (village), Coxsackie (town), Durham (town), Greenville (town), Halcott (town), Hunter (town), Hunter (village), Jefferson Heights, Jewett (town), Leeds, Lexington (town), New Baltimore (town), Palenville, Prattsville (town), Tannersville (village), Windham (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.

Greene County, New York History Books at Amazon.com
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

There are free downloadable and printable forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms, U.K. Census Extraction Forms, Research Calendar, Ancestral Chart, Research Extract, Correspondence Record , Family Group Sheet , Source Summary Form.

Greene County Court Records

See Also New York Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

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.

Greene County Clerk has Land & Court Records from 1800 and is located at 320 Main Street, Catskill, New York 12414; 518-943-2230 .
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.

Greene County Surrogate Court Clerk has Probate Records from 1803 and is located at Courthouse, 320 Main Street, Catskill, N.Y. 12414; (518) 943-2484 .
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.

Click Here to Search New York Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Greene County Historian is located at 138 Beecher Road, Coxsackie, NY 12051
“ Minorities" R.D. #1, Box 76, Athens, NY 12015 .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 Greene County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Greene 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.
Soundex Index to Petitions for Naturalizations Filed in Federal, State, and Local Courts in New York City, 1792-1906: NARA M1674. The Soundex index to naturalization petitions filed in federal, state, and local courts in New York City, including New York, Kings, Queens and Richmond counties, 1792-1906.
Index to the Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Jul 1865-Sep 1906: NARA M1164. A card index to naturalization petitions filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York from July 1865 through September 1906
Index to the Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1906-Nov 1925: NARA M1164. A card index to naturalization petitions filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York from October 1907 through November 1925.
Index to the Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1865-1957: NARA M1164. A card index to naturalization petitions filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York from November 1925 through December 1957.
>Alphabetical Index to Declarations of Intention of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1917-1950: NARA M1675. Alphabetical Index to Declarations of Intention of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1917-1950
Alphabetical Index to Petitions for Naturalization of the US District Court [and Circuit Court] for the Southern District of New York, 1824-1941: NARA M1676. Alphabetical Index to Petitions for Naturalization of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1824-1941.
Alphabetical Index to Petitions for Naturalizations of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, 1907-1966: NARA M1677. Alphabetical Index to Petitions for Naturalizations of the US District Court for the Western District of New York, 1907-1966
Greene County, New York Court Books at Amazon.com
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.

Greene County Vital Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

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 Greene County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Greene County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

Greene County, New York Tax Books at Amazon.com

Greene County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other New York Genealogical Addresses

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 Greene County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Greene County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

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Local New York Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
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 58^th 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 State Historical Association, West Lake Road, P.O. Box 800, Cooperstown, New York, 13326-0800
National Archives--Northeast Region, 201 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014.
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.
New York Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com

Greene County Church & Cemeteries

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.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Greene County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Greene County Tombstone Transcription Project.

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 Greene County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Greene 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 .
FOR DEFINITIONS OF ALL CEMETERY TERMS SEE THE GENEALOGY ENCYCLOPEDIA
Greene County, New York Cemetery Books at Amazon.com
Greene County, New York Church Books at Amazon.com

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

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 Greene County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Greene County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Old Postcards of Greene County
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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.
Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Greene County, New York Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

Formed from Albany and Ulster March 25, 1800, Greene County comprises the most of that famous mountain resort area, known as the Catskills. It is on the west bank of the Hudson, about thirty miles south of Albany, and has an area of 686 square miles. The relatively low bank of the river rises through a set of hills with an abrupt ascent to the mountains. Here the Catskills reach heights of 3,000 to nearly 4,000 feet above the sea level, and on their east and north sides are almost precipitous and cliff-like in their descents. The western slopes are more gentle in their rolling uplands, and it is in this part of the County that agriculture has attained some importance. Much of the soil is so rocky that when Horace Greeley was addressing the farmers of the County, and was interrupted with a question as to what one could do on land in which a plow could not be used, he answered simply, "Raise sheep."

The mountains have clefts through which the streams make their ways, known as "cloves," many of them having cliffs a thousand feet high, with a swirling brook or creek racing its way down the mountainside in splendid cascades. These "cloves" were the original roads of the Indians through the Onteoras, the "Mountains of the Sky," as they called the Catskills. And it was through these same gaps that the pioneers of the region made their way. Today the various cloves are one of the most interesting features of the mountains, and the attraction to thousands who every summer flock to the hills.

Besides agriculture, which in Greene takes the form of hay, milk, fruit and vegetable growing, there are few industries. Probably there is no County in the State that has had more disruptions of its industrial life. Before the opening of the Erie Canal a great part of the commerce of the western part of the State poured through Greene. The old Indian trails became the thoroughfares by which the products of the region reaching even to Lake Erie were brought to the Hudson. Catskill village was not only a great grain market, but the flour mills at the falls of the Catskill Creek were the most important in New York. Canals and railroads confined the trade of Greene County to those living in it. When new methods of tanning were put into use, just after the War of 1812 tanners bought great tracts of hemlock in the Catskills and built extensive leather making plants. It is said that Greene County made more leather in the few years before 1835 than was produced by all the rest of the State. But the trees were destroyed and when the needed bark was no longer to be gotten, tanning moved into adjoining counties or went West. The busy, well-populated villages of that day dwindled in size almost as rapidly as they grew. Only the influx of tourists and summer visitors of recent times have kept many of the hamlets from utterly disappearing. One great benefit came from the tanning and lumbering operations of the early days. The land denuded of its forest growth was to a greater extent than usual put under cultivation, so that even where the soil has been abandoned to a second growth of trees, the new forests are the better for the period of farming.

When the region now enclosed by the boundaries of Greene County had its first settler is not surely known. Areas of its surface were bought by the Dutchmen from the Indians from time to time, but there was little effort on their part to people the tracts. A statement by Jonathan W. Hasbrouk says that Brandt Van Schechtenhorst purchased from an Indian squaw chief a piece of land at Katskill April 19, 1649, and shortly after induced families to locate on it. There are evidences that there were a number of residents of the County, principally Dutch, before the Revolution, but that disturbance also disturbed them, and there seems to have been a general exodus at that time. The "Hardenburgh Patent," granted by Queen Anne in 1708, covered almost all of the County west of the mountains, and litigation over its lines did much to retard immigration into the region. Stephen Day, of Connecticut, secured a large tract of the Hardenburgh land at some early date, which led to the coming of quite a group from this State, who in a measure took the place of the displaced Dutch.

Lack of the means of traveling about the region naturally held the growth of the district in check. Fortunately there were enough private individuals with faith enough in the section to form companies and build roads, or "turnpikes," and it was the private turnpike, rather than the State road, that opened up this hilly area. The Susquehanna, Little Delaware, Coxsackie, and a dozen others, were all put into commission in the third of a century following the year 1811. Stage routes were established, and one of these, started by Erastus Beach, in 1823, was the first to make it easy for the tourist to enter the Catskills. Of railroads there have always been plenty in Greene-upon paper-but the actual length of tracks in the County is probably not seventy-five miles.

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