Putnam County, New York

Boundary Changes

No subsequent set offs or border changes since 12 June 1812.

Record Loss

Putnam County New York Genealogy 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 Bible.
  

Biography

Business Records and Commerce

Cemeteries

Cemetery records often reveal birth, death, relationship, military, and religious information.

Census

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.^[3]
• 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 FHL Films 1415128–42 which can be ordered through any Family History Center.

State

Church Records

Church records are good substitutes for birth, marriage, and death information and are most often found on a local city/town or county level.  Published and manuscript church records can be found at public, university, and private libraries.

For a brief general history of denominations and a guide to finding various New York denomination's records, see New York Church Records Wiki page.

Additional Church Records

Additional church records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Putnam County, New York Church Records  in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).

Court Records

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

Crime and Criminals

Directories

Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups

Gazetteers

Genealogy

• Rootsweb message board for Putnam County, New York has many information threads about families that resided in that county. There is a search engine that allows you to search by surname and topic.
  

History

Land and Property

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See New York Land and Property for more details, especially about the papers generated in New York State by large speculative land companies.

Original land records in Putnam County, New York began in [?dateyear?]. These records are housed at the [?repository?] in [?town?].

Online

Microforms

Books

Additional land records can sometimes be found using these catalogs:

• WorldCat using the search phase: Putnam County, New York deeds. (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog.)
• Family History Library Catalog using the search phrase: 1, New York - Land and Property. (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search.)

Additional resources

Additional resources for Putnam County, New York land records may be found in the Putnam County, New York – Land Records topic page of the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC). Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. Copies of books found in the FHLC may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the Family History Library Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

Maps

Migration

Early migration routes to and from Putnam County for European settlers included:^[4]

• Albany Post Road (or Queen's Road, or King's Road) 1669

Military

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 Family History Library (FHL Film 1993401-37) and can be ordered for viewing at your local Family History Center. They are also indexed and available at Ancestry.com ($).

Available towns. Registers are available for: Carmel · Kent · Patterson · Philipstown · Putnam Valley · Southeast .

Regiments. Service men in Putname County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county.^[5]

- 135th Regiment, New York Infantry

Naturalization and Citizenship

• 1824–1941 New York, Southern District Index to Petitions for Naturalization, 1828-1941 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index.
  

• 1917-1950 New York, Southern District Naturalization Index, 1917-1950 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index.
  

Indexes

• 1792-1989 Index to Petitions for Naturalization filed in New York City, 1792-1989 at Ancestry ($). This database is based on NARA's Soundex Index to Petitions for Naturalization filed in Federal, State, and Local Courts located in New York City, 1792-1989. All 5 boroughs are included.

The Family History Library has also acquired this comprehensive index for the years 1792 through 1906 on microfilm: FHL Film 1419807 (1st of 294 films). The courts this index covers are:

• City Court of Brooklyn, 1836-1894
• Kings County Court, 1806-1906
• New York City Marine Court, 1806-1849
• New York County Common Pleas Court, 1792-1895
• New York County Superior Court, 1828-1895
• New York City and County Supreme Court, 1868-1906
• Queens County Court, 1799-1906
• Queens County Surrogate Court, 1888-1898
• Richmond County Court, 1869-1906
• U.S. Circuit Court Southern District, 1846-1876
• U.S. District Court Eastern District, (Kings, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties), 1865-1906
• U.S. District Court Southern Court Southern District, (New York, Bronx and also Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Richmond, Rockland, Sullivan and Westchester counties), 1824-1906^[6]

Newspapers

• Putnam Courier Newspaper 1849-1939 www.localarchives.org/mahopac/Courier_Years_1840s.aspx

• A listing of Putnam County Newspapers with publication history www.nysl.nysed.gov/nysnp/all/440.htm

• A web with with hundreds of searchable digital images of newspapers.  Enter the name of the newspaper you are searching as the first part of your search criteria. The site is www.fultonhistory.com/Fulton_New_form.html

Old Fulton NY Post Cards has the largest online collection of 400 New York 1795-2007 newspapers. The instructions for this quirky site are needed to get the most out of it.

• Search engine for all 400 newspapers.
• List of 400 newspapers 1795-2007 at this site.

• Wiki instructions for finding ancestors in Old Fulton NY Post Cards newspapers.
• Site's FAQ instructions about how to do searches.

Old Fulton NY Post Cards has the following Putnam County, New York newspaper images:

• Carmel NY Putnam Country Courier 1849-1988
• Carmel NY Putnam Country Republican 1882-1946
• Cold Springs NY Recorder 1866-1934

Obituaries

Periodicals

Poorhouses, Poor Law, Etc.

Probate Records

Probate records including original estates and wills for New York are held in the office of the Putnam County, New York County Surrogate Court beginning in 1787, or when the county was formed. Prior to 1787, most are housed at the New York State Archives. See New York Probate Records for more information about using probate records.
Content:  Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.
Record types:  Wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distribution.

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. ^{[7] [8]}

References

1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 491. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
2. ↑ Handybook, 478.
3. ↑ Arlene Eakle, and Johni Cerni, The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1984), 103. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27ts.
4. ↑ Handybook, 847-61.
5. ↑ 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); FHL Film 1486494-96; Fiche 6083559-64; Book 974.7 M2p.
6. ↑ Family History Library Catalog, FamilySearch, accessed 6 December 2011, http://www.familysearch.org.
7. ↑ Alice Eichholz, Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources, 3rd ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Pub., 2004), 479. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27rb 2004.
8. ↑ Henry B. Hoff, "Navigating New York Probate," American Ancestors 12 (Fall 2011): 57.

These petitions are often found in the estate files and can be obtained from the Putnam County Surrogate Court.

Online Abstracts and Indexes

• 1787-1835 Abstracts of Wills, Administrations and Guardianships in NY State, 1787 - 1835 at New York Ancestors ($); includes Putnam County, New York.^[1]
  
• 1812-1865 - SAMPUBCO Browsable index of testators of wills.
  

Probate Records on Microfilm

• 1812–1936 Probate Records: Index, 1812–1970; Wills, 1812–1901; Letters Testamentary 1830–1904; Letters of administration, 1812–1905; Guardianship 1812–1936. FHL Film 838101 (24 films)

Additional Probate Indexes and Abstracts

Additional probate indexes or abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Putnam County, New York probate wills in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).

Repositories

Cornell University, Guide to Historical Resources in Putnam County, New York Repositories. ([Ithaca, New York]: New York Historical Resources Center, Olin Library, Cornell University, 1987). At various libraries; FHL Book 974.732 A3g and fiche 6067187. Includes index. Includes sources for family history and genealogy.

Archives, Libraries and Museums

COUNTY ARCHIVES

Putnam County Office
40 Gleneida Avenue, 3rd Floor
Carmel, New York 10512
PHONE: (845) 808-1001
FAX: (845) 808 -1901

Records in the county archives incude:

• Tax records (including bonds and surities)
  
• Census records
  
• Coroners records
  
• Land records
  
• Criminal records
  
• Civil cases
  
• Marriage records 1908-1935
  
• Military records
  
• Naturalizations
  
• Some town records
  
• Records of the poor
  

COUNTY CLERK

Putnam County Clerk's Office
40 Gleneida Avenue, Room 100
Carmel, NY 10512

COUNTY HISTORIAN

County Historian's Office
68 Marvin Ave
Brewster NY 10509-1515
Telephone: 845-808-1420
FAX: 845-278-4865
E-mail: historian@putnamcountyny.gov

The Office of the Putnam County Historian! seeks to preserve, interpret, and promote the history of the county and the region. Since 1953, the County Historian has been collecting historical records, maps, books, photographs, and periodicals. They have compiled (and update annually) a Handbook for Putnam County History and Genealogy, which is available for purchase. It contains a bibliography of resources that are available here in Putnam County, including other libraries and repositories, local government historians, and historical societies and museums.

PUBLIC LIBRARIES

There are some eight public libraries in Putnam County New York. They belong to the Mid-Hudson Library System that serves the communities of Columbia, Duchess, Greene, Putnam, and Ulster Counties. They share a catalog that includes a sizeable collection of genealogical materials. The shared catalog is found on the library systems main page. For information on the individual libraries in Putnam County, click here.

Historian

Courthouses

The Putnam County Clerk's office has divorce, probate, court and land records. For further information about where the records for Putnam County are held, see the Putnam County Courthouse page.

Family History Centers

Family History Centers (FHCs) are branches of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and are located all over the world. Their goal is to provide resources for family history research.

The main FHC for Putnam County, New York is the Yorktown New York Family History Center. For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the FHC directory.

Societies

Putnam County Historical Society & Foundry Museum
63 Chestnut Street
Cold Spring, NY 10516-2613
Phone: 845-265-4010

Has information on local citizans.

Social Groups Online

• New York Genealogy Research Community (FamilySearch on Facebook)

Taxation

Town Records

Town records in New York may include early births, marriages, deaths, divorces, local histories, selected military records, and town meeting minutes. For further details, try the links to individual town Wiki pages found in Places. See also:

• Gordon L. Remington, New York Towns, Villages, and Cities: A Guide to Genealogical Sources (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002). NEHGS online edition; At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 974.7 D27r. 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. 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.

See the heading Places on this wiki page for links to local community wiki pages and their available records. See New York Vital Records for a discussion about beginning dates and availability of vital records in New York.

Use substitute records for birth, marriage, and death information. These substitute records include Bible Records, Cemeteries, Church Records, Newspapers, and Probate Records.

Birth

Early births were recorded on the town level and the years vary by town. (List of towns) The New York State Department of Health (state level) began recording births in 1881. Births were not recorded on the county level.

Birth Substitutes

• 1640–1962 New York Births and Christenings, 1640-1962 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index.
  

• See Town Clerks' Registers of Men who Served in the Civil War in the Civil War section of Military for birth information.
  

Marriage

Early marriages were sometimes recorded on the town level and the years vary by town. (List of towns) In 1880, town clerks were to record the marriage and a copy was sent to the New York State Department of Health (state level). Town clerks continue to record marriages. Marriages were recorded by the Putnam County clerk starting in 1908 and go until 1935.

• 1664–1784 New York. Secretary of State, Names of Persons for Whom Marriage Licenses Were Issued By the Secretary of the Province of New York, Previous to 1784 (Albany, New York: Weed, Parsons and Co., 1860). At Cornell University digital library-free; Internet Archive - free; Ancestry edition($); At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Film 514675 Item 1 or 930131 Item 2. Marriage bonds issued in the State of New York prior to 1784, and the earliest record dating 1664.
  

• 1908–1935 New York, County Marriages 1908–1935 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; FHL film 931881(first of 6 films).
  

Marriage Substitutes

• 1686-1980 New York Marriages, 1686–1890 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.
  

• 1777–1834 Fred Q. Bowman,10,000 Vital Records of Eastern New York, 1777-1834 (Baltimore,MD: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1987). Ancestry($); World Vital Records($); At various libraries; FHL Book 974.7 V2bfq. Abstracted from newspaper marriage and death columns.
  

• 1800–1855 New York Marriage Notices at Ancestry– ($); Index. This database is a collection of marriage notices published in newspapers around the state. Contains name of bride and groom, marriage date, marriage location, residence, and newspaper found in.
  

• 1801–1880 Barber Collection- Newspaper Marriages at Ancestry– ($); Index. Information extracted from the "Brooklyn Eagle" and the "New York Evening Post."
  

• 1856–1863 Index to Marriages and Deaths in the New York Herald at Ancestry– ($); Index. These newspaper notices refer to people up and down the East Coast as well as midwesterners and persons from as far west as the State of California. Also browseable.
  

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.

Death

Early deaths were recorded on the town level and the years vary by town. (List of towns) The New York State Department of Health (state level) began recording deaths in 1881. Deaths were not recorded on the county level.

Death Substitutes

• 1777–1834 Fred Q. Bowman,10,000 Vital Records of Eastern New York, 1777-1834 (Baltimore,MD: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1987). Ancestry($); World Vital Records($); At various libraries; FHL Book 974.7 V2bfq. Abstracted from newspaper marriage and death columns.
  

• 1795–1952 New York Deaths and Burials, 1795-1952 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. The entries are primarily from the IGI along with some entries derived from compiled and original records such as Family Records, Church Records, and Civil Registration. There may be entries that cite a specific source.
  

• 1801–1890 Barber Collection- Newspaper Deaths at Ancestry– ($); Index. Information extracted from the "Brooklyn Eagle" and the "New York Evening Post."
  

• 1849-50, 1859-60, 1869-70, 1879-80 See Mortality Schedule information in the Federal Census section of Census for death information.
  

• 1856–1863 Index to Marriages and Deaths in the New York Herald at Ancestry– ($); Index. These newspaper notices refer to people up and down the East Coast as well as midwesterners and persons from as far west as the State of California. Also browseable.
  

• See Town Clerks' Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War in the Civil War section of Military for death information.
  

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Putnam County births, marriages and deaths may be found in the New York, Putnam– Vital Records topic page of the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC). Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. Copies of books found in the FHLC may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the Family History Library Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

Voting Registers

Putnam County New York Places

Putnam County New York Genealogy Websites

• The Putnam County NYGenWeb Project, an member of The NYGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.

Putnam County New York Genealogy References

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