Colonial New York Church Records 1639-1787

New Netherland and Beyond
New Netherland 1621-1664 Colonial New York 1664-1788

Colonial New York Church Records Locator
1639-1787
Many early churches merged and reformed into a new denomination. Some churches are no longer in existence and others may have merged again after the Revolution. It would be wise to check all churches in the area you are searching, as many people traveled to other denominations when no minister was available for their local church.

Albany Area

Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Montgomery, Fulton, Herkimer, Otsego and Delaware County

New York City
and Long Island

Manhattan; Kings, includes Brooklyn; Queens-Nassau; Richmond; Bronx; Suffolk

Southeastern Area
(NY, NJ)
Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, Ulster, Sullivan and Westchester counties for New York;
Bergen and Hudson counties for New Jersey to 1686.

Charlotte County
(Vermont)
Includes Washington County, New York;

Vermont counties: Bennington, Franklin, Rutland, and Windsor.

Church Records
The collected information in this survey includes churches that have recorded Baptisms and/or Marriages from the colonial period. For the most part, the survey does not include dates for church histories, and other records such as confirmations or burials. The records cited include publications in the form of books, manuscripts and some archival holdings. There are many church records not listed here, especially for New York City. Repositories such as the Latter Day Saints Library in Utah, are more extensive and should not be overlooked as a source for other records. Churches still in existence may have their own archived collections.

Who published what and how to find it!
["Check your local Library" an over used term without direction.]

In the column heading "Library Key" within the tables listed above, you will find information on who published what church records. Some records are not available for general circulation, and you may have to visit the library or organization who holds the unpublished archives. If your local library does not have the publication, try an inter-library loan request. In lieu of visiting libraries with reserved records, you may be able to access some materials through The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYGBS), and their publications.

AUTHORS

A.C. Kelly
Arthur C. M. Kelly, compiler, publisher and owner of the Kinship Book Store, has published many of the church records listed. You can visit his online catalog at Kinship for the title to locate the publication in your local library or to purchase them.

R.W. Vosburg
The Royden W. Vosburg Collection of Church Records, with the exception of the New York City Area, was made available on microfilm by the NYGBS to Libraries throughout the U.S. You'll have to contact the library in your area to check if they have the collection. Many of the Genealogical Libraries that house the film series also include an index to the churches transcribed. You can read more about The Vosburg Collection of Church Records at the NYGBS Website. Some libraries may have the original collection published in book form.

SOCIETIES

The Holland Society Yearbooks and Publications (HS Publ.) are available at some libraries as reprints. Information on the Holland Society Publications can be found at The Holland Society Website.

Manuscripts held by the Holland Society, the (NYGBS) and the Long Island Historical Society (LIHS) do not circulate. Other libraries may have the same collections available on microfilm. The Societies have been omitted from the "Library Key", unless the material offers more information or when no other source is available.

LIBRARIES

FHC
The largest resource for church records is available at The Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) in the State of Utah. Microfilm can be requested from any of their branch Family History Centers.
The FHC is omitted from the "Library Key" when the records have been published by other sources.

NYSL and GSL
The New York State Library (NYSL) and the Gardner Sage Library (GSL) in New Jersey are the depositories for many unpublished church records. You will have to physically visit these libraries to access the manuscripts. Other libraries may have the same collections available on microfilm.
These libraries are omitted from the "Library Key" when the records have been published by other sources.

Gardner Sage Library
New Brunswick Theological Seminary
17 Seminary Place
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901

New York State Library
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230

About Books
Many of the older books have been reprinted by the Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland and are in libraries throughout the U.S. You can visit their website to see what is available for purchase.

You can also purchase books at:
Hope Farm Press in New York State
Higginson Books in Salem, MA
Heritage Books, Westminster, MD or other book stores.
You may find used books on occasion at Ebay, check the "other" category for genealogy books in addition to the U.S. history category.

And last but not least:
You can contact the Volunteer Lookups at Rootsweb to do a surname search in books they own.

¹For additional information on where to find church records, consult the WPA Publications:
The Works Progress Administration, Historical Records Survey, Guide to Vital Statistics Records of Churches in New York State (exclusive of New York City). Albany, NY, ©1942 2 vol.
The New York City WPA publications are divided into books for each of the 5 boroughs - Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Richmond and Manhattan.
In addition, the WPA published inventories by denomination.