Broome County New York Genealogy and History
County seat: Binghamton
Try our genealogy search engine
Search Free Broome County New York Genealogy and Family History Records Online including census, cemetery, vital, military and other genealogical and historical records that can be used for your family history research.
Broome County, New York genealogy and family history page is a place where you can come in and research your genealogy and family history. We also do our best to provide a history of the area, to provide you with an overview of the time in which your ancestors lived.
We regret that are unable to do personal research for you. All genealogical and family history records we come across are being added to this website. Please keep checking back.
Broome County History
When counties were established in the Province of New York in 1683, the present Broome County was part of Albany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766 by the creation of Cumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770 by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont.
On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces, Tryon County, contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city of Schenectady, and the county included the western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of the Delaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York.
In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County in honor of the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec, replacing the name of the hated British governor.
In 1789, Montgomery County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Ontario County. The actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present county, also including the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne Counties.
In 1791, Tioga County split off from Montgomery County, along with Herkimer and Otsego Counties. Tioga County was at this time much larger than the present county and included the present Broome and Chemung Counties and parts of Chenango and Schuyler Counties.
In 1798, Tioga County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Chemung County (which also included part of the present Schuyler County) and by the combination of a portion with a portion of Herkimer County to create Chenango County.
In 1806, the present-day Broome County was split off from Tioga County.
Broome County Genealogy Records
| Biographies | Cemetery Records | Census Records |
| Church Records | Cities & Towns | County Records |
| Family Bibles | Immigration/Naturalization Records | Military Records |
| Newspaper Data | Obituaries | School Records |
| Tax Lists: 1813 Assessment Roll for Windsor, N.Y. |
Vital Records | Wills/Probate Records |
Genealogy Research in Broome County, New York
Broome County Clerk
Edwin L. Crawford County Office Building 3rd Floor
60 Hawley Street
P.O. Box 2062
Binghamton, NY 13902
Phone: (607) 778-2255
Website: http://www.gobroomecounty.com/clerk
Broome County Local History and Genealogy Center
Broome County Public Library
2nd Floor
185 Court Street
Binghamton, NY 13901
Phone: (607) 778-2076
Website
The Broome County Local History and Genealogy Center is located on the second floor of the Broome County Public Library. The Center incorporates the local history and genealogy holdings of the Broome County Public Library, the Broome County Historical Society, the Broome County Historian and the City of Binghamton Historian.
Adjacent counties
- Chenango County - north
- Delaware County - east
- Wayne County, Pennsylvania - southeast
- Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania - south
- Tioga County - west
- Cortland County - northwest