New York City New York Genealogy and History
County seat: New York
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New York City, 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.
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New York County New York History
The written history of New York City began with the first European explorer, the Italian Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. European settlement began with the Dutch in 1608.
The "Sons of Liberty" campaigned against British authority in New York City, and the Stamp Act Congress of representatives from throughout the Thirteen Colonies met in the city in 1765 to organize resistance to Crown policies. The city's strategic location and status as a major seaport made it the prime target for British seizure in 1776. General George Washington lost a series of battles from which he narrowly escaped (with the notable exception of the Battle of Harlem Heights, his first victory of the war), and the British Army occupied New York and made it their base on the continent until late 1783, attracting Loyalist refugees.
The city served as the national capital under the Articles of Confederation from 1785 to 1789, and briefly served as the new nation's capital in 1789–90 under the United States Constitution. Under the new government the city hosted the inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States, the drafting of the United States Bill of Rights, and the first Supreme Court of the United States. The opening of the Erie Canal gave excellent steamboat connections with upstate New York and the Great Lakes, along with coastal traffic to lower New England, making the city the preeminent port on the Atlantic Ocean. The arrival of rail connections to the north and west in the 1840s and 1850s strengthened its central role.
New York City Genealogy Records
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Genealogy Research in New York City, New York
New York City Clerk
The City Clerk, Clerk of the Council
Executive Office
141 Worth Street
New York, NY 10013
Phone: Dial 311
Website: http://cityclerk.nyc.gov/html/contact/contact.shtml
Surrogate's Court
New York County (Manhattan)
31 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007
Phone: 646-386-5000
Website
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library houses the Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy and the Manuscripts and Archives Division.
New York County Genealogical and Historical Societies
Creole-American Genealogical Society, Inc.
PO Box 2666
Church Street Station
New York, New York 10008
Jewish Genealogical Society, Inc.
PO Box 6398
New York, New York 10128
Lee Baeck Institute
German-Jewish Families
129 East 73 Street
New York, New York 10021
New York Genealogical & Biographical Society
122 East 58th Street
New York, New York 10022-1939
Phone: 212-755-8532