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The NY Freedom of Information Law and How It Can Help NY Researchers |
Some time ago my predecessor, Debby Masterson, received a letter from a woman in California which brought to Debby's attention the fact that Rensselaer County Courthouse employees are sometimes less than co-operative when it comes to filling the request for copies of documents by those of us doing genealogical research in Rensselaer County by mail. She cited an incident in which she requested a photocopy of a specific naturalization record. She provided the date, volume number, page number and document number that she wished photocopied. She was told by return mail that they don't do genealogical research and that she was welcome to conduct her own search between the hours of 8:30-4:30 Monday through Friday - a difficult task from California! She asked what the Rensselaer County GenWeb could do to help. At that time Debby placed a notice on the page seeking someone who would be willing to photocopy documents for those of us who don't live in the area, promising that researchers would be willing to pay them for their time, photocopy charges and postage. Some time later, Debby was able to announce with pride, "I'm pleased to say that we have a volunteer!" If you don't live in the Rensselaer County area and need a photocopy of a document housed at the Rensselaer County Courthouse, you can contact Harold C. Teal, Sr., P. O. Box 10, Grafton, NY 12082. NOTE: Mr. Teal's name is provided here as a courtesy ONLY and is in no way a guarantee of satisfactory results. Please contact him directly at the e-mail or post office box address provided.
If you have been denied a copy of a record from a county clerk, you DO have recourse, unless the requested record is specifically covered under the Personal Privacy Protection Law.
Certain sections in the Freedom of Information Law, often called the FOI Law, apply to researchers seeking records from county governments in New York State. The Freedom of Information of Law is contained in the Public Officers Law, Laws 1909, Chap. 51. To view the actual law, click here. Sections that pertain to genealogical requests are in italics.
To facilitate requests to county governments, we include here two sample letters provided by the Committee on Open Government: A Sample Request Letter, and a Sample Appeal Letter. Although we as genealogists are not required to submit a Freedom of Information request, using the included letter when requesting information will negate any excuses county employees may concoct to deny our requests. They are required by law to comply with our requests or give a valid reason for denial. I strongly urge you to use these letters. If your request is still denied, you are requested to contact The Committee for Open Government at the following address:
Department of State
162 Washington Avenue
Albany, New York, NY 12231
I for one would like to THANK Debby Masterson for the excellent work she did to deal with this problem! And I also hope that YOU will keep me informed of your successes or failures in your attempts to obtain the records of your ancestors through the provisions of the FOI Law.
Send comments or suggestions to:
Lin Van Buren
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