Genealogical Resources
Family history research materials at the library include:
Ship passenger lists
City and county directories
Dutch families
Palatine families
Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I & II veterans
Town and community histories
Federal census indices for 1790 - 1830, 1870, and 1910.
Index to Cemetery Books
An online index to the names in most of the cemetery books in the Columbia County Historical Society's library is available. This is an index, not the records themselves. Cliff Lamere has posted Lawrence Rickard's index prepared from the CCHS collection in 1994. Mr. Lamere includes instructions for how to order xeroxes of the cemetery book pages from the CCHS Library.
Online Catalog of Manuscripts
A guide to many of the Columbia County Historical Society's manuscripts collections may be found in the Historical Documents Inventory. Those collections acquired by the CCHS after 1985 are not included. The HDI is a listing of more than 25,000 archives and manuscripts collections housed at repositories throughout New York State (libraries, historical societies, and other organizations with established archives). The listing includes summary descriptions of individual collections, with information concerning size of the collection, dates of the materials, major subjects covered, and name and location of the repository.
The HDI may be accessed through Excelsior, the online catalog shared by the New York State Library and the New York State Archives. Please note the collection name and number (it will begin with (NIC)NYCQ466-120) in contacting the Columbia County Historical Society about any of our manuscript collections located in the HDI.
Guide to Newspapers
The New York State Newspaper Project is a compiled database of surviving issues of newspapers published in New York State. The database may be accessed by either county or city, and includes the names of repositories in which microfilm copies may be found.
Family history research materials at the library include:
- Family Surname Files for over 1500 surnames. These contain correspondence with researchers, newspaper clippings, family group sheets, and other miscellaneous information.
- Index to deaths, marriages, and a few births from county newspapers, c1800 - c1930. This contains about 37,200 names, although not all extant newspapers are covered, and the specific newspaper is not always indicated.
- Copies of over 200 family genealogies, both published and unpublished.
- Transcriptions of over 75 church records.
- Transcriptions of over 200 cemetery records.
- An index to the names in most of these cemeteries is available online.
- Published reference books on local and family history. These include:
Ship passenger lists
City and county directories
Dutch families
Palatine families
Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I & II veterans
Town and community histories
Federal census indices for 1790 - 1830, 1870, and 1910.
Index to Cemetery Books
An online index to the names in most of the cemetery books in the Columbia County Historical Society's library is available. This is an index, not the records themselves. Cliff Lamere has posted Lawrence Rickard's index prepared from the CCHS collection in 1994. Mr. Lamere includes instructions for how to order xeroxes of the cemetery book pages from the CCHS Library.
Online Catalog of Manuscripts
A guide to many of the Columbia County Historical Society's manuscripts collections may be found in the Historical Documents Inventory. Those collections acquired by the CCHS after 1985 are not included. The HDI is a listing of more than 25,000 archives and manuscripts collections housed at repositories throughout New York State (libraries, historical societies, and other organizations with established archives). The listing includes summary descriptions of individual collections, with information concerning size of the collection, dates of the materials, major subjects covered, and name and location of the repository.
The HDI may be accessed through Excelsior, the online catalog shared by the New York State Library and the New York State Archives. Please note the collection name and number (it will begin with (NIC)NYCQ466-120) in contacting the Columbia County Historical Society about any of our manuscript collections located in the HDI.
Guide to Newspapers
The New York State Newspaper Project is a compiled database of surviving issues of newspapers published in New York State. The database may be accessed by either county or city, and includes the names of repositories in which microfilm copies may be found.
