Manhattan Borough, New York Genealogy

United States New York  New York (Manhattan)

Parent County
1 November 1683: One of the original counties formally created from the Colonial lands.

Neighboring Counties
Bronx | Kings (Brooklyn) | Queens | Richmond (Staten Island) | New Jersey: Bergen | Hudson

Boundary Changes
Before 1913 New York County also included a large part of what is present-day Bronx County.

Census
For information and tips on using and accessing online census records, see New York Census.

Church Records
Dutch Reformed Church

Baptisms at the Dutch Reformed Church of New Amsterdam 1639-1730 This is the first of a series of files on the baptisms at the Reformed Dutch Church of New Amsterdam. Accent marks on names have been left out for simplicity so that the data is acceptable to all computer platforms. Unfortunately many of the records the transcriber had concerning data prior to 1639 are missing, lost, or destroyed after all these years (it is about 20 years ago that he copied most of them). So he only has six baptisms for 1639.

NYGenWeb offers a variety of resources to assist genealogists with Manhattan church records, including maps, church listings, addresses, and photos.


 * to 1899 - Records of Burials in the Dutch Church, New York. New York, USA: Reformed Dutch Church, 1899. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * 1639-1695 - Marriages of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York, 1639-1695. New York, USA: New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, 1875. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * 1639-1730 - New Amsterdam Dutch Reformed Church Baptisms 1639-1730, courtesy: Ancestral Things.
 * 1686 - 1686 Membership List, Dutch Church, courtesy: New York State Historical Literature.
 * 1688-1804 - Registers of the Births, Marriages, and Deaths of the "Eglise Françoise à la Nouvelle York": From 1688 to 1804. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1968. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * 1725-1731 - Baptisms, Lutheran Church, New York City, courtesy: Betty Fink.
 * 1731-1800 - New Amsterdam Dutch Reformed Church Baptisms 1731-1800, courtesy: Ancestral Things.
 * 1793-1855 - Gritman, Charles T. Marriage Records, Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York: Register of Marriages Performed by the Rev. Marmaduke Earle, 1793-1855: at Stamford, Connecticut, 1793-1801, at Oyster Bay Long Island, 1802-1855, at New York City, in 1811. New York, 1926. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * 1852-1864 - Marriages of the German Evangelical Reformed Church 1852-1864, courtesy: German Genealogy Group.
 * 1862-1955 - Saint Peter's Lutheran Church Records 1862-1955, New York City Available for free online. Courtesy: FamilySearch. Baptisms 1862-1871, 1884-1955; Marriages 1862-1955; Deaths 1862-1955.

Maps
1863 Map of New York City and Vicinity from the David Rumsey Collection

Migration
Early migration routes to and from New York (Manhattan) County for European settlers included:


 * Ellis Island, Castle Garden, etc.
 * the Atlantic Ocean
 * Long Island Sound
 * with connections to:
 * Mohawk River
 * with connections to Richelieu River, Chambly Canal &amp; St. Lawrence River
 * Lake Champlain Trail pre-historic
 * Champlain Canal 1823
 * Erie Canal 1825
 * King's Highway (or Boston Post Road, or New York-Philadelphia Post Road) 1664
 * Albany Post Road (or Queen's Road, or King's Road) 1669
 * Hudson River Path
 * Great Shamokin Path
 * Delaware and Raritan Canal 1834

Military
Civil War service men in Brooklyn, New York served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their city or county.


 * - 132nd Regiment, New York Infantry

Probate Records

 * 1665-1916 - SAMPUBCO Browsable index of testators of wills.

Courthouses
For information about where the records for New York County are held, see the New York County Courthouse page

Divorce
Additional Resources

Web Sites

 * The New York (Manhattan) County NYGenWeb Project, an member of The NYGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for New York County.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for New York County. (Backup site)
 * New York County Genealogy