Stephen A. Schwarzman Building > Collections & Reading Rooms > The Irma and Paul Milstein Division
Genealogical Research at The New York Public Library
Decorative genealogical chart, origin
unknown
The New York Public Library's Irma and Paul
Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy
is one of the largest genealogical and local history collections open to the
public in this country, and, as such, it is one of the most heavily used
divisions in the Library. What follows is a selective list of resources
available to family historians at The New York Public Library.
Unless noted otherwise, all sources cited are located in the Milstein
Division (Room 121). Most of the microform titles are self-service in the
Milstein Division Microform Room (Room 119).
Library Catalogs
Because most Library materials are held in "closed stacks," and
must be retrieved for researchers by Library staff, access is provided
through New York Public Library catalogs:
- CATNYP, the Library's online computer
catalog includes all of the books and periodicals in the Milstein
Division. CATNYP includes both
current and retrospective holdings.
- The Dictionary
Catalog of the Local History & Genealogy Division, 18 volume
book catalog, is arranged by author, subject and sometimes title, and
includes materials acquired and cataloged from the founding of The
Library through 1971 only.
Handbooks and Guides
The Division acquires a wide variety of "how-to" manuals. Some
of the most useful are:
- Crandall, Ralph J. Shaking Your Family Tree; A Basic Guide to Tracing Your Family's Genealogy. Boston, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001.
- The Handybook for Genealogists. Logan, Utah, Everton Publishers, 2006.
- Genealogical Resources in New York, ed. by Estelle M. Guzik. New York, Jewish Genealogical Society, 2003.
- Red book: American state, county, and town sources. Ed. by Alice Eichholz. Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004.
- Schaefer, Christina K. Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States. Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing, c1997.
- The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Provo, Utah, Ancestry, 2006.
Selected
Electronic Resources
All the public reading rooms in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building offer access to computers featuring a Selected Electronic
Resources menu. Library licensed subscription databases and notable free
Internet sites are listed under the topics GENEALOGY and HISTORY. Among the databases we subscribe to for on-site use by the public are: Ancestry Library Edition, HeritageQuest Online, ProQuest Historical Newspapers: New York Times (1851-2003), Chicago Defender (1905-1975), Chicago Tribune (1849-1985), Los Angeles Times (1881-1985), Washington Post (1877-1990), and the New York Tribune (1900-1910), Early American Newspapers, 1690-1876, Times of London, 1785-1985, 19th Century Masterfile, New England Ancestors, New York County Histories Online, and Burke’s Peerage and Gentry Online, Origins Network (British and Irish Genealogy).
New York City Vital Records Indexes
These indexes enable researchers to obtain copies of vital records from
the New York City
Municipal Archives and Department of
Health.
- Index to NYC Births,
1888-1982 (Manhattan/Bronx 1888-1982; all boroughs, 1898-1982)
(microfiche and books)
- Manhattan
Alphabetical Death Index Cards, 1868-1890 (microfilm)
- Brooklyn, Kings
County Index to Deaths, 1848-1898 (microfilm)
- Richmond County Index
to Deaths, 1847-1897 (microfilm)
- Index to NYC Deaths,
1888-1982 (all boroughs, 1898-
) (microfilm and books)
- Index to NYC
Marriages (Grooms), 1888-1937 (all boroughs, 1898- ) (microfilm)
- Index to Marriages
(Brides), 1869-1937 (Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Richmond) (microfilm)
Online databases:
Census Records
Online databases:
- Ancestry
Library Edition has digitized the historic population schedules and
provides name indexes (many of them every name indexes) to all of the
U.S. Federal censuses and many for the UK. Access to Ancestry Library Edition is available on-site at all NYPL locations.
- HeritageQuest
Online has digitized the historic population schedules and provides
head of household indexes to U.S. Federal censuses: 1790-1820, 1860,
1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment), 1900-1920. Access to HeritageQuest Online
is available on-site at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
Also available on microfilm are the following U.S. Federal Census Records
and available soundex indexes in the Milstein Division Microform Room (Room
119):
- New York, New Jersey,
Connecticut, 1790-1880
- New York, New Jersey,
Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880
- New York 1900
- New York, New Jersey,
Connecticut, Puerto Rico, 1910
- New York, Puerto
Rico, 1920, 1930
Book indexes to federal census 1790-1880, and 1910 are available in
Room 121.
The microfilm version of Federal census records for all states, 1790-1900,
may be consulted at the Schomburg Center for
Research in Black Culture of The New York Public Library.
The National
Archives, Northeast Branch, located at 201 Varick St. in Manhattan also
has the complete census through 1930
New York State Census
Microfilm:
- 1855
Majority of state counties, but among those lacking: Queens, Suffolk, Westchester
- 1865/1875 Kings and Richmond Counties
- 1892
Kings County
- 1905
New York (Bronx), Kings, Westchester
- 1915/1925 New York, Bronx, Kings, Queens, Richmond,
Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester
Ancestry
Library Edition is digitizing & indexing the New York State
Censuses!
1890 “Police” Census
- New
York City (Manhattan and West Bronx only), in the Milstein Division
Microfilm Room (Room 119)
New Jersey State Census
- New
Jersey State Census, 1855, 1865/75, 1885, 1895, 1905 in the Milstein
Division Microfilm Room (Room 119)
Passenger Lists and Indexes
Online
databases:
- Ancestry
Library Edition’s Immigration Collection features digitized Port of
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 indexed by personal name. Includes indexes to several other ports such as Boston (1891-1943), Philadelphia (1883-1945) and Baltimore (1820-1948). Access to Ancestry Library
Edition is available on-site at all
NYPL locations.
Printed indexes available in the Milstein Reading Room
(Room 121):
- Filby, P. William. Passenger
and Immigration Lists Index. Detroit, Gale, 1981. (3 vols.) and
Supplements, 1982- (in progress)
- The Famine
Immigrants: Lists of Irish Immigrants Arriving at the Port of New York,
1846-1851. Baltimore, Genealogical Pub., 1983- 7 vols.
- Germans to
America: Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports, 1850- (in
progress) Wilmington, Scholarly Resources, c1988-
- Italians to
America: Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports, 1880-1899.
Wilmington, Scholarly Resources, 1992-
- Migration from
the Russian Empire: Lists of Passengers Arriving at the Port of New
York, 1875-1891. Baltimore, Genealogical Pub. Co., c1995-
Microfilms in the Milstein Microform Room (Room 119):
- Index to Passenger
Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, NY 1820-1846
- Index to Passenger
Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, NY 1897-June 30, 1902.
- Index (Soundex) to
Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, NY July 1902-1943.
- Passenger Lists of
Vessels Arriving at New York, NY 1820-1910.
- Registers of Vessels
Arriving at the Port of New York from Foreign Ports, 1789-1919.
- Passenger Lists of
Vessels Arriving at Baltimore, Sept. 20, 1820-March 30, 1837.
- Index to Passenger
Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Mass., 1902-June 30, 1906.
- Index to Passenger
Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Mass., July 1, 1906-1920.
- Copies of Lists of
Passengers Arriving at Miscellaneous Ports on the Atlantic and Gulf
Ports and at Ports on the Great Lakes, 1820-1873.
- St. Albans District
Manifest Records of Aliens Arriving from Foreign Contiguous Territory:
Arrivals at Canadian Border Ports, Jan. 1895-June 30, 1924. Soundex index (M1461) series covering 1895-1924.
- Registers and Indexes
for Passport Applications, 1810-1906.
- Index to Passport
Applications, 1850-1852, 1860-1880, 1881, 1906-1923.
- Passenger lists
& index of the Holland-America Line, 1900-1940.
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Naturalization Petitions Indexes
Online
databases:
- Ancestry
Library Edition’s Immigration Collection has New York County Supreme
Court Naturalization Petition Index, 1907-1924
- Ancestry
Library Edition’s Immigration Collection has New York Petitions
for Naturalization, 1792-1906, 1920-1934 (incomplete). Contains an index
to the petitions for naturalization filed in various federal, state and
local courts in New York City.
Access to Ancestry Library
Edition is available on-site at all
NYPL locations.
- Naturalization index to records at the
Kings County Clerk's Office, 1907-1924
- Naturalization
Indexes for Greater New York
Indexes to naturalization records of the Eastern
District (Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau, Suffolk) 1865-1957, the
Southern District (Manhattan & Bronx) 1907-1959, Bronx County Supreme
Court 1914-1952, Queens County Supreme Court 1906-1957, Nassau County 1899-1989, Suffolk County 1865-1981, and
Military Naturalizations for the New York Tri-State Area.
Also
available on microfilm in the Milstein Division Microform Room (Room 119):
- Index (Soundex) to
Naturalization Petitions, 1792-1906 (New York, Kings, Queens, and
Richmond Counties). Searchable
online in Ancestry Library Edition!
- Alphabetical Index
to Petitions for Naturalization of the U. S. District Court for the
Eastern District of New York, 1865-1957 (Kings, Queens)
- Naturalization
Certificates, 1794-1906 (Queens)
- Index to
Naturalizations, 1906-1941 (Queens)
- Record of
Declarations of Intention, 1906-1926 (Queens)
- Declarations Index
1914-1952 & Petitions Index, 1914-1932 (Bronx)
U.S. Military Sources
Online databases:
- HeritageQuest
Online has digitized selected genealogical records from an estimated
80,000 Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application
Files.
- Ancestry Library Edition gives access to a
variety of military and pension records including Civil War Service Records & Pension
Indexes, WW I Draft Registrations, WW II Enlistments and “Old Men’s” draft registrations..
Also available on microfilm in the Milstein Division Microform Room (Room
119) are indexes to military service and pension records in the National
Archives:
- Revolutionary War
Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files
- Index to War of 1812
Pension Application Files
- Index to Mexican War
Pension Application Files
- Index to Compiled
Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the War of 1812
- Index to Compiled
Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the Indian Wars
- Index to Compiled
Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the Mexican War
- Index to Compiled
Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the
Spanish-American War
- Index to Compiled
Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the Philippine
Insurrection
- Index to Compiled
Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in
Organizations from the State of: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont
- General Index to
Pension Files, 1861-1934 [Civil War]
- World War I
Selective Service Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918: New York
City
D.A.R. and Loyalist Sources
The Library is a depository for New York State D.A.R. Genealogical Records
Committee publications of New York Bible, cemetery, and vital records. We
hold one of the most extensive collections of American Loyalist Claims.
Irish Sources
- Origins Network - Irish, British and Scottish genealogy information online, featuring the Griffith's Valuation of Ireland. Access to Origins Network is available on-site at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
- Tithe Applotment
Books, 1823-1832 (microfiche)
- Griffith's Valuation,
1848-1864 (microfiche) – Searchable online in Origins Network.
- Family Tree Maker
Index toTithe Applotment Books on
CD-ROM
- All-Ireland Heritage
Microfiche Indexes to Griffith's Valuation of Ireland
- Emigrant
Savings Bank Records 1841-1945 - Searchable online in Ancestry
Library Edition’s Immigration Collection. Access to Ancestry Library Edition is available on-site
at all NYPL locations.
African American Sources
- Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874 in
HeritageQuest Online You can search for information
about ancestors in the Registers of Signatures of Depositors in Branches
of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865 - 1874. Access to HeritageQuest
Online is available on-site at the Humanities & Social
Sciences Library.
- African American Newspapers: The 19th Century available on-site at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
- Chicago Defender (1905-1975) Online available on-site at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
- U.S. Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1861-1865 searchable online in Ancestry Library Edition at all NYPL locations.
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Regional Records
- Barbour Collection
of Connecticut Vital Records to 1850
- Charles R. Hale
Collection, 1750-1865 [CT marriage & death notices & tombstone
inscriptions]
- Massachusetts Vital
Records Microfiche Series
- New England
Ancestors Database available on-site at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Includes many of the Massachusetts Vital Records.
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Newspapers and Indexes
Full-text historical backfiles searchable online. Except for Brooklyn Eagle and Chronicling America, all are
available on-site at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
- New York Times, 1851-2003
- New York Tribune, 1900-1910
- Wall Street Journal, 1889-1988
- Chicago Defender, 1905-1975
- Chicago Tribune, 1849-1985
- Los Angeles Times, 1881-1985
- Washington Post, 1877-1990
- America’s Historical Newspapers, 1690-1922
- Times of London, 1785-1985
- Brooklyn Eagle Online, 1841-1902
- Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
Print and online indexes:
- The New York
Times Obituaries Index: 1858-1978. New York, New York Times,
1970-80.
- Personal Name
Index to "The New York Times Index," 1851-1989. 34 v.
- New York Tribune Index, 1875-1906 in 19th Century Masterfile Database
The following are searchable online through Ancestry Library Edition and New England Ancestors available on-site at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
- Deaths Taken
from the Brooklyn Eagle, 1841-1880
- Marriages
taken from the Brooklyn Eagle, 1841-1880
- New York
Evening Post: Deaths, 1801-1890
- New York
Evening Post: Marriages, 1801-1890
Guide to New
York City Newspapers available at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
City and Telephone Directories
New York City directories of residents through 1933/34, when they ceased
publication. Extensive collection of directories of other U.S. cities as well
as backfiles of telephone directories are available in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building Microform Room (Room 100).
Family Histories
The Library's large collection of family histories,
acquired by purchase and gifts, are accessed in CATNYP under the standard form of the
family's surname (e.g. Roosevelt family).
Online databases:
- HeritageQuest
Online gives full-text access to 25,000 genealogies & local
histories, and includes PERSI, an index to genealogical and local
history periodicals.
- New
York County Histories Online includes full-text histories of
Brooklyn, Queens, Richmond, Westchester, Suffolk, Rockland, Putnam,
Orange, & Sullivan Counties
- Family History Archive
- GoogleBooks
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Periodicals
The Library subscribes to hundreds of genealogical journals, including New
York Genealogical and Biographical Record, New England Historical and
Genealogical Register, Genealogical Helper, Genealogist's Magazine as well as
certain family newsletters. Periodical title holdings can be found in CATNYP. However, citations to
articles within periodicals are rarely in CATNYP. Instead, try the
printed Dictionary Catalog of the Local History & Genealogy Division
which does include periodical indexing for the pre-1972 period. Online
access to genealogy and local history periodical index (PERSI)
available through the HeritageQuest database, which is available on-site
at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
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Photographic Collections
- Photographic Views
of New York City, 1870s-1970s. 54,000 photographs indexed by
address, subject and building name. Available online through the NYPL Digital
Gallery.
- Eugene Armbruster
Collection of Long Island Photographs, 1890s-1930s. Indexed by village
name, family name and subject.
- Lloyd Acker
Collection of New York City Photographs, 1935-1975. Indexed by address.
- William Williams
Collection. Views of Ellis Island.
- Lewis W. Hine
Collection. Immigration photographs.
- Milstein Division
Postcard Collection.
Summary
This has been a very selective list of materials available to family
historians in The New York Public Library. Additional sources will be
encountered by visitors to the The
Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and
Genealogy. Other divisions of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
which contain resources useful to those engaged in genealogical research are
the Manuscripts and Archives
Division, the Dorot Jewish
Division, the Map Division, and the Microforms Division.
For a listing of Free Internet Resources for Genealogy, click here.
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