Beginning in 1987, the National Genealogical Society began publishing a series of state guides in the organization’s magazine, the Quarterly. These guides were later issued as special publications. The latest version of the series contains revised guides, plus additional states not included in the previous releases. Now, new for 2013, NGS has provided a slight twist to the “States Series” by adding a city and county based guide. Then again, considering the age and overall size of the city in question, it’s no wonder it got its own guide. Just released, and authored by Laura Murphy DeGrazia, is NGS Research in the States Series: New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County.
This time, let me start with the guide’s author. Laura Murphy DeGrazia is a Brooklyn-born New York native. She was raised in Nassau County on Long Island and is a coeditor of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record and is a certified genealogist. She served as president for the board for Certification of Genealogists from 2008 to 2010. Editing was provided by Barbara Vines Little.
For those less familiar with New York; New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County effectively make up the southeastern part of New York State. New York City spans across the western part of Long Island, Staten Island, Manhattan island, several islands in New York Harbor, and the mainland area south of Westchester County. Giovanni di Verrazano is considered to be the first explorer to the area, exploring the area in 1524. Trade began in the area in 1609 through the Dutch East India Company, with the first permanent settlers. The settlement became the City of New Amsterdam in 1653, some 360 years ago.
New York long served as a major port of immigration, seeing a great cultural diversity. Main among the immigrants were Africans (both slaves and freemen) British, French, Germans, Irish, Jews, Scandinavians, and many other European nationalities. Large, diverse, and old (as far as old gets in America), it’s no wonder New York City is worthy of its own research guide in the NGS States Series. Like any good genealogical guide, this book is broken down into sections, offering historical and research relevant data, along with listings of key sources for continued research.
Table of Contents
Introduction
- History and Settlement
- Migration
- Economy
- Jurisdictional Changes
Archives, Libraries, and Societies
- National Archives at New York City
- New York State Archives
- New York State Library
- New York City Department of Records: Municipal Archives
- New York Public Library: Research Libraries
- New-York Historical Society
- New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYG&B)
- Local and Special Interest Libraries and Societies
Major Resources
- Aids to Research
Atlases, Gazetteers, and Maps
- Biographical and Genealogical Compilations
- Business Records
- Cemetery Records
- Census Name Lists
- Federal Censuses
- State Censuses
- Local Censuses
- City, County, and Community Directories
- City-, Town-, and Village-Level Research
- County-Level Research
- Court Records
- Ethnic and Religious Group Resources
- African Americans
- Germans
- Irish
- Italians
- Jews
- Historians: Borough, County, City, Town, Village, Community
- Immigration Records
- Land Records
- Military Records
- Militia and Colonial Wars
- American Revolution
- War of 1812
- Civil War
- Spanish-American War
- World War I
- World War II
- Naturalization Records
- Newspapers
- Periodicals
- Probate and Administration Records
- Religious Records
- Tax Records
- Vital Records
- Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
- Divorce Records
- Adoption Records
- Voter Records
- Conclusion
The NGS States Series guides are an excellent resource for state by state research. Available guides, including NGS Research in the States Series: New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County, are available from Family Roots Publishing.