For more than 400 years, trade has flourished in and brought immigrants to what is now known as Manhattan, New York City’s iconic borough. First under Dutch rule and then British until 1783, it drew people from throughout Europe and imported slaves from Africa. Over time, millions of immigrants from throughout the world would settle in New York City or travel beyond its borders to put down roots across the United States. Dating from the seventieth century, Long Island and Westchester County were primarily rural communities originally settled by the Dutch and later the English along with slaves and freemen from Africa. They remained primarily rural until the twentieth century.
The multitude of records created as wave after wave of immigrants arrived in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County can be found in repositories throughout this geographic area. Research in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County provides an exhaustive list of where researchers can find records, including court, immigrant, land, military, and voter records as well as vital records and federal, state, and local censuses. Also, included in this guidebook is information about important repositories, including state and city archives, public and private libraries, and societies. The author includes a section on five of New York’s most populous ethnic groups: African Americans, Germans, Irish, Italians, and Jews. Readers also will find information about gazetteers, newspapers, periodicals, and much more. The guidebook is an invaluable aid to family historians whose ancestors once hailed from New York’s southernmost counties.
Published by NGS, Research in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County is one volume in the Research in the States series edited by Barbara Vines Little, CG, FNGS, FUGA, FVGS. It is available for purchase in the NGS online store in both PDF and print versions.
Laura Murphy DeGrazia, CG, FGBS is a native New Yorker and nationally recognized genealogist. She is a former president of Board for Certification of Genealogists and editor of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society’s NYG&B Record.