Onondaga County, New York Genealogical Records Information

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Onondaga County History and Information

Onondaga County Facts

Onondaga County was created in 1794 and formed from Herkimer County . Onondaga County was named for the Onondaga Native American tribe and the County Seat is Syracuse. See also Extended History for more historical details.

The Onondaga County Courthouse is located at 421 Montgomery St., Syracuse , NY 13202; 315-435-3516 and the Official County Website is located at http://www.ongov.net/.

Onondaga County Borders Oswego County (North), Madison County (East), Cortland County (South), Cayuga County (West) .

Onondaga County Municipalities: Cities include Syracuse. Towns include Camillus, Cicero, Clay, DeWitt, Elbridge, Fabius, Geddes, LaFayette, Lysander, Manlius, Marcellus, Onondaga, Otisco, Pompey, Salina, Skaneateles, Spafford, Tully, Van Buren. Villages include Baldwinsville, Camillus, East Syracuse, Elbridge, Fabius, Fayetteville, Jordan, Liverpool, Manlius, Marcellus, Minoa, North Syracuse, Skaneateles, Solvay, Tully. Principal hamlets include Amber, Amboy, Apulia, Apulia Station, Borodino, Brewerton, Bridgeport, Cardiff, Cedarvale, Cicero, Clay, Clintonville, Collingwood, Delphi, Delphi Falls, DeWitt, Fairmount, Galeville, Geddes, Hart Lot, Hinsdale, Howlett Hill, Indian Village, Jamesville, Kirkville, LaFayette, Long Branch, Lysander, Marcellus Falls, Marietta, Mattydale, Memphis, Mottville, Navarino, Nedrow, Onondaga Hill, Oran, Otisco, Plainville, Pompey, Pompey Center, Rose Hill, Skaneateles Falls, South Onondaga, South Spafford, Southwood, Spafford, Split Rock, State Fair Grounds, Taunton, Thorn Hill, Van Buren, Vesper, Warners, Watervale . 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.

Onondaga 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.

Onondaga 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.

Onondaga County Clerk has Land & Court Records from 1784 and is located at 401 Montgomery St., Syracuse, NY 13202; Phone: (315) 435-2227, Fax: (315) 435-3455 .
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.

Onondaga County Surrogate Court Clerk has Probate Records from 1796 and is located at County Courthouse, 401 Montgomery Street, Syracuse, New York 12302; (315) 671-2100 .
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.

Onondaga County Historian is located at 31 Montgomery, Syracuse, NY 13202.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 Onondaga County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Onondaga 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
Onondaga 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.

Onondaga 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 Onondaga County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Onondaga County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

Onondaga County, New York Tax Books at Amazon.com

Onondaga 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 Onondaga County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Onondaga County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Onondaga County Birth & Death, 421 Montgomery St # 20, Syracuse, NY 13202; (315) 435-3241 \
Your request must clearly state "For Genealogical Purposes Only." Fee for Search Time: $10.00 per hour or fractional part of an hour for each search. Fee for Uncertified Copy or Abstract: $1.00 per copy.
Onondaga Historical Association, 321 Montgomery St., Syracuse, NY. 13202; 315-428-1864, Fax:315-471-2133
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

Onondaga 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 Onondaga County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Onondaga 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 Onondaga County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Onondaga County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of New York obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a New York newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from New York .
FOR DEFINITIONS OF ALL CEMETERY TERMS SEE THE GENEALOGY ENCYCLOPEDIA
Onondaga County, New York Cemetery Books at Amazon.com
Onondaga County, New York Church Books at Amazon.com

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 Onondaga County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Onondaga County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Onondaga County, New York Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

ln few States have the Indian names been so perpetuated as they were by the early settlers of New York. The very word Onondaga takes one back centuries to that time when all of the territory was under the dominion of the red race. The Onondagas were one of the powerful tribes in New York. Although they had only fourteen of the fifty chiefs that ruled the Confederation, the vote in council was by nations, each having one. Their great advantage lay in the fact that they had the great council fire of the Five Nations, to which came all envoys, Indian or white.

It was through this necessity of coming to make peace or to seek favors that the white man so early became acquainted with the country now within the borders of Onondaga County. As early as 1648 the location of this tribe of Indians was known and described; a dozen years before this both the Dutch and French had dealings with them; Champlain is supposed to have attacked an Onondaga village in 1615, but this is doubtful, although he passed through the present County on his way to an Oneida town. The Frenchman, Radisson, in 1652, captured and adopted by the Mohawks, was the first white man to stay for a time in this region, he to be followed shortly by many of his nationality, Jesuit priests and soldiers. The first chapel was erected within the limits of the town of Pompey, November 11, 1655, and the first colony, French, settled on Lake Onondaga one week later of the same year. Frontenac invaded and burned Onondaga in 1696.

So much for early dates. While there were many who settled here before the Revolution, the great development of the County area did not begin until after that great event. In concluding peace with this new nation, the English made no provision for their Indian allies. In 1784 the great council at Fort Stanwix was held and an endeavor made to placate the tribes was unsuccessful. But two years later a treaty was made at the same place whereby the Onondagas ceded to the State of New York all their lands except certain reservations.

Although having no legal title to the land they preempted, men like Asa Danforth had established themselves and family in 1788. Others soon followed. On September 16, 1776, Congress had promised bounties for 88 battalions. In 1783 New York added the promise of lands to their troops. This was the genesis of the "Military tract," a land grant constantly referred to in State history. On January 1, 1791, drawing for the lots laid out in this tract began, and the land was quickly disposed of. Many of the soldiers did not settle on the acres, but sold to others. Much was bought up by speculators. But in the main, many came and stayed and by 1799 there were known to be 879 people in the present County limits. In 1920 there were 241,465.

Meanwhile, Onondaga had organized as a County on June 6, 1794. Formed from Herkimer, she embraced much of the military tract and benefited by its distribution. Cayuga County was taken off five years later, Cortland in 1808, and Oswego in 1816, leaving it as it now exists, an almost square body of land thirty by thirty-four miles, or in terms of square miles, 781. The first court was held in Asa Danforth's house in Onondaga town. It was not until 1805 that the County's business was cared for in an unfinished building on Onondaga Hill. This courthouse was completed two years later and used until new buildings were erected in Syracuse in 1830, the County seat having been removed to a location half way between this place and Salina. A new penitentiary was built near by in 1854, and after the burning of the courthouse, 1856, another was erected on the north side of the canal the next year. The present fine structure was completed in 1907.

Onondaga County is in a somewhat elevated district, the lowest point being 350 feet above sea level, and ranges to hills well over 2,000. Five valleys cross the County from north to south and there are many, and some large, lakes. The country was originally well forested and the products of the forest supplied the first industries. The trapper and the digger of ginseng first ranged the region. When the settlers began to clear the woodlands the timber was a loss until they began to burn the log heaps and export potash. Later the saw mill disposed of the timber to greater profit. At one time, 1826, Baldwinsville had fifteen saws in operation; now there are none. Hemlock and oak were plentiful, hence came the tanneries. These made a market for hides, and cattle and sheep were brought in. Weaving and spinning at one time attained a real importance, but the mills have long since disappeared.

Agriculture has had its changes. The grains are now grown more cheaply elsewhere, a return to the cattle industry came about. But this time it was the dairy cow that was grown; milk, with the increasing large cities, proving profitable. Fruits, vegetables, poultry, for the same reason took on new values. Salt was the main mineral resource from Indian days, the Onondagas reserving rights to the "salt lakes." When the white man began to evaporate brine, all manner of industries grew up about it. Woods were needed to boil the brine, barrels in which to pack the salt, means of transportation to get it to market. This salt industry has held its own amid the changes time has wrought in other industries.

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