Dutchess County, New York Genealogical Records Information

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Dutchess County History and Information

Dutchess County Facts

Dutchess County was created in November 1, 1683 and formed as an Original County. Dutchess County was named for Lady Anne Hyde, the Duchess of York and wife of the future King James II of England and the County Seat is Poughkeepsie. Almost uninhabited until 1701, Dutchess County was administered by Ulster County from that time until at least 1713. Some older records, including marriages, 1908-35, state and federal censuses, tax records 1854-1954, and the "Ancient Documents" Series are at the County Records Center and Archives. See also Extended History for more historical details.

The Dutchess County Courthouse is located at County Office Bldg., 22 Market St., Poughkeepsie , NY 12601; 845-486-2100 and the Official County Website is located at http://www.co.dutchess.ny.us/.

Dutchess County Borders Columbia County (North), Berkshire County, Massachusetts (Northeast), Litchfield County, Connecticut (East), Fairfield County, Connecticut (Southeast), Putnam County (South), Orange County (Southwest), Ulster County (West) .

Dutchess County Municipalities: Cities include Beacon, Poughkeepsie. Towns include Amenia, Beekman, Clinton, Dover, East Fishkill, Fishkill, Hyde Park, LaGrange, Milan, North East, Pawling, Pine Plains, Pleasant Valley, Poughkeepsie, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Stanford, Union Vale, Wappinger, Washington. Villages include Fishkill, Millbrook, Millerton, Pawling, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Tivoli, Wappingers Falls. Communities include Amenia, Annadale-on-Hudson, Arlington, Brinckerhoff, Crown Heights, Dover Plains, Fairview, Haviland, Hillside Lake, Hopewell Junction, Myers Corner, New Hamburg, Pine Plains, Red Oaks Mill, Rhinecliff, Salt Point, Shekomeko, Spackenkill, Staatsburg, Wassaic . Town Clerks are responsible for vast amounts of local information from deeds, property transfers, and genealogical materials. Research on place and road names, the history of property transfers and much more are available through your Town Clerk. They are a tremendous resources.

Dutchess County, New York History Books at Amazon.com
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

There are free downloadable and printable forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms, U.K. Census Extraction Forms, Research Calendar, Ancestral Chart, Research Extract, Correspondence Record , Family Group Sheet , Source Summary Form.

Dutchess County Court Records

See Also New York Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

Dutchess County Clerk has Land & Court Records from 1718 and is located at County Office Building, 22 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601; (845) 486-2132, Fax: (845) 486-2138 .
The county clerk is the keeper of most civil and criminal trial court records for Supreme Court and County Court, naturalizations, marriages (1908–35), censuses (Some county clerks' offices hold duplicate copies of some of the State censuses taken periodically between 1825 and 1925 and copies of the federal census), as well as deeds and mortgages.

Land conveyances (deeds and mortgages) are recorded in the county clerks' offices or in the New York City Register's Office. Recording of deeds became mandatory statewide in 1840. Before that many deeds were not recorded.
Marriages Prior to 1784 couples intending to marry were required to obtain licenses from and file bonds with the provincial secretary, if the impending marriage was not announced in a church. These Marriage Bonds were mostly destroyed in the 1911 Capitol fire. Published abstracts are available in Names of persons for whom marriage licenses were issued by the secretary of the province of New York, previous to 1784. (Albany: 1860; repr. with supplements 1984); and in New York Marriage Bonds, 1753-1783, comp. Kenneth Scott (New York: 1972).
Naturalization records are created by the Federal and State courts. State court naturalization records generally remain in custody of the county clerks. Older Federal court naturalization records have been transferred to the National Archives. Photocopies of naturalization documents and indexes for New York City for the period 1792-1906 (both Federal and State courts) are held by the National Archives--Northeast Region, 201 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014.

Dutchess County Surrogate Court Clerk has Probate Records from 1752 and is located at 10 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601; Ph: (845) 486-2235 .
The Surrogate's Court in each county generally has records dating back to the establishment of the county or 1787, whichever was later. Record keeping was systematized by an 1830 statute. Surrogate's Courts maintain records of wills, letters testamentary, letters of administration, orders and decrees, and appointments of guardians; and filed papers, including original wills, petitions for probate (gives date of death and lists next of kin), performance bonds, property inventories (seldom found after ca. 1900), administrator's or executor's accountings, etc. Surrogate's Courts create comprehensive indexes to records and files.

In recent decades many courts have ceased recording documents in books and substituted microfilm recording. Some courts have disposed of old property inventories, which have no continuing legal value. Most Surrogate's Court records are retained permanently because they may document title to real property or the legal status of individuals. Surrogate's Court records statewide occupy over 200,000 cubic feet, with over half a million record retrievals yearly. The court is authorized to charge substantial fees for records searches conducted by court staff. Prior to that time most estates were handled in New York City, the capital until 1797. Before 1787, some wills were recorded in the counties and occasionally in town records.

Click Here to Search New York Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Dutchess County Historian is located at 170 Washington St., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 .In New York State, every municipality (town, city, village, county) must have an appointed historian. Most of the towns have their own historians as well and each can be contacted. A county historian may be appointed for each county, check for availability.

Below is a list of online resources for Dutchess County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Dutchess County Court Records by clicking the link below:

New York Wills, 1626-1836: This database is a collection of New York citizens' wills from 1626 to 1836 that were recorded in the office of the clerk of the court of appeals, of the county clerk of Albany and of the secretary of state.
Soundex Index to Petitions for Naturalizations Filed in Federal, State, and Local Courts in New York City, 1792-1906: NARA M1674. The Soundex index to naturalization petitions filed in federal, state, and local courts in New York City, including New York, Kings, Queens and Richmond counties, 1792-1906.
Index to the Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Jul 1865-Sep 1906: NARA M1164. A card index to naturalization petitions filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York from July 1865 through September 1906
Index to the Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1906-Nov 1925: NARA M1164. A card index to naturalization petitions filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York from October 1907 through November 1925.
Index to the Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1865-1957: NARA M1164. A card index to naturalization petitions filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York from November 1925 through December 1957.
Alphabetical Index to Declarations of Intention of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1917-1950: NARA M1675. Alphabetical Index to Declarations of Intention of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1917-1950
Alphabetical Index to Petitions for Naturalization of the US District Court [and Circuit Court] for the Southern District of New York, 1824-1941: NARA M1676. Alphabetical Index to Petitions for Naturalization of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1824-1941.
Alphabetical Index to Petitions for Naturalizations of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, 1907-1966: NARA M1677. Alphabetical Index to Petitions for Naturalizations of the US District Court for the Western District of New York, 1907-1966
Dutchess County, New York Court Books at Amazon.com
New York Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.

Dutchess County Vital Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

Scattered town and precinct tax records for a few years in the 1770s and 1780s and nearly complete lists for the whole state, 1799-1804, are at the New York State Archives, although for the latter period the surviving 1804 rolls cover only delinquent taxes of nonresidents. New York City tax records are at the Municipal Archives. Some early assessment rolls have been published in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, such as those for New York City, 1730, in volume 95; New Rochelle, 1767, in volume 107; and Ulster County, 1709-21, in volume 62. See also volumes 43-44 of the New-York Historical Society's Collections for New York City assessments 1695-99. A few counties such as Ontario have retained their early tax records, but most do not have them until about 1850 or even later. Many old tax lists are to be found in manuscript collections. Dutchess County is fortunate to have a long series of eighteenth century tax records. Some of the 1798 U.S. Direct Tax records survive for New York.

Below is a list of online resources for Dutchess County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Dutchess County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

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Dutchess County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other New York Genealogical Addresses

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Dutchess County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Dutchess County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Dutchess County Records Management , 170 Washington Street , Poughkeepsie, NY 12601; (845) 486-3677
Dutchess Co Historical Society, 549 Main Str, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601; Phone: (845) 471-1630, [EMAIL]
Local New York Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
New York State Archives and Records Administration, The State Education Department, Cultural Education Center, 11th Floor; Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12230; (518) 474-8955, [EMAIL]
Referred to here as the New York State Archives for brevity, it was the last such archives to be established in the United States. It houses land and court records, military and tax records, New York state vital records indexes, pre-settlement survey maps, and legislative records.
New York State Library, Cultural Education Center, 7th Floor, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12230; The state library has a large collection of published and manuscript material on New York, including genealogies and local histories, federal and state censuses, city directories, and periodicals. It is also one of the two depositories for the State of New York DAR collection.
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 122 East 58^th Street, New York, New York 10022-1939; 212-755-8532, Fax: 212-754-4218; A private society, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society publishes the NYG&B Newsletter and a quarterly, The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. Its library holds much New York State and related material, both for New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. For New York there are censuses, federal and state; a large manuscript collection of church, cemetery, Bible, and other records; and an extensive amount of published family and local histories. Nonmembers can use the library for a small fee, but only members have access to the stacks, manuscripts, and microforms. The library provides a list of area researchers.
New York State Historical Association, West Lake Road, P.O. Box 800, Cooperstown, New York, 13326-0800
National Archives--Northeast Region, 201 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014.
New York Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
New York Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com

Dutchess County Church & Cemeteries

Click Here to Search New York Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Dutchess County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Dutchess County Tombstone Transcription Project.

Many church records, mostly early and particularly for Long Island, New York City, and the Hudson River Valley, have been published in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record with a large collection of unpublished records maintained by the New York. Particularly useful as vital records substitutes among the surviving New York church records are those of the Dutch Reformed, Lutheran, Anglican, and Quaker groups.

The largest number of New York cemetery records (the bulk of which are actually transcriptions of cemetery marker inscriptions) is found in the multivolume collection of the Daughters of the American Revolution in the State of New York, Church, and Town Records, located at the New York State Library, the New York Public Library, and the DAR Library in Washington, D.C. Scattered volumes are found in other libraries including many local libraries in the area in which a particular cemetery is located.

Below is a list of online resources for Dutchess County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Dutchess County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Click Here to Search New York Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Dutchess County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Dutchess County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Dutchess County, New York Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

When, in 1682, Colonel Thomas Dongan was appointed Governor of the Province of New York, he was instructed to form a council of not more than ten of the "most eminent Inhabitants" who were to assist him in the making of "fit" laws. One of the first acts authorized by this council was the erection of twelve "countyes," of which Dutchess was one (November 1, 1683). The boundaries of Dutchess, as then defined, included the present County of Putnam, set off in 1812 and the towns of Clermont and Germantown, now in Columbia County. Dutchess, with an area of 810 square miles, is situated on the Hudson about midway between Albany and New York City. Its terrain is hilly, but with much that is splendidly fitted for cultivation. A large number of streams drain the surface, and it was the latent water power of these streams that brought about its early settlement. The southern end of the County almost reaches the Highlands of the Hudson, while on its eastern border are the Taconic (Taghkanic) Mountains. Slate is plentiful, and was once quarried in quantity. Marble and lime stone, several minerals of minor value, and a varied and fertile soil, make up the natural resources of the region. The Hudson was for a century the main means of transportation, and one of the early railroads had its tracks through the western part of the County. The agriculture of the district has always been diversified, following the natural changes in demand for its products. There has been much of the acreage of the section taken by men of wealth for the creation of large estates. Horticulture has been prominent along the river valley, apples and small fruits doing exceedingly well. The larger part of the County is interested in dairying, in which its proximity to great markets gives it a marked advantage. Manufactures play a large part in the prosperity of Dutchess, Poughkeepsie being the center, with the smaller towns along the river having many local specialties.

There had been a very early establishment of trading posts on the island of Manhattan, Fort Orange (Albany) and at Rondout Creek, Esopus (Kingston) which decided the location of the first settlements in the State. But when immigrants began coming in greater numbers, water powers such as those provided by the Fishkill, Wappingers, Fall Kill, Crumb's Elbow and other creeks in the area that is now Dutchess, together with the fine fertile valleys of these streams, led a number to start homes in this region. The Indian titles had, for the most part, been extinguished just before the erection of the County. Nicholas Emigh is credited with being the pioneer, the date of his settlement at the mouth of Fishkill Creek being in doubt, but he was certainly there in 1685. To his wife was born the first white child of the County. The settlements at Poughkeepsie were nearly contemporaneous with those at Fishkill, probably by Peter Lasinck, ancestor of a numerous family which spells its name in many forms, Lansing and Lawson being more usual. There were too few inhabitants of Dutchess at its erection for it to be represented separately in the General Assembly, so that it was provisionally attached to Ulster until 1713. This fact had made it difficult to trace the early settlers of Dutchess. There was no large development of this region until after 1720.

Along the Hudson, the first settlements were predominatingly Dutch, with a few Huguenots, fugitives from European persecution. The eastern part of the County was filled by people of New England, all that side of the State being claimed by the New England colonies. Quakers came in the southern part of Dutchess at an early date, while many of the Irish soldiers who had been stationed along various parts of the Harlem Valley homesteaded after the Revolution. It is said that in early times there were more creeds and denominations with churches in Dutchess than there were races, which is but another indication that Dutchess was one of the most cosmopolitan counties in the colonies.

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