Cattaraugus County, New York Guide

Cattaraugus County lies in southwestern New York directly on the state’s southern border with Pennsylvania. It is also bordered by Erie and Wyoming Counties to the north, Allegany County to the east, and Chautauqua County to the west.

County Formed: 1808

Parent County: Genesee

Daughter Counties: None

Major Land Transactions: Holland Land Company Purchase 1792-1796

Cattaraugus County Map
Map of Cattaraugus County
 

Table of Contents

 

History

In 1803, Revolutionary War veteran Major John Hoops purchased 20 thousand acres of land from Holland County. Cattaraugus County was formed in 1808 and was one of the last areas in New York to be settled by Whites. Immigrants in the 19th century arrived at Cattaraugus County though the Allegany river. In the early years of the County, industries in gristmills, sawmills, and tanneries were prominent. Eventually, tourism and recreation developed as industries in the county do to the natural beauty of the area.

The Enclylopedia of New York State, 285-289.

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - County

Cattaraugus County Clerk

Website: Cattaraugus County Clerk

Address: 303 Court Street, Little Valley, NY 14755

Phone: (716) 938-9111

 

Cattaraugus County – City,  Town, and Village Clerks

Birth, marriage, and death records are maintained by the clerk of the municipality in which the event occurred; see Introduction to County Guides for details of other records which may also be held by municipal clerks. For contact information on municipal clerks in Cattaraugus County see “Directory of Officials” at www.cattco.org.

 

Cattaraugus County Surrogate's Court

Website: Cattaraugus County Surrogate’s Court

Address: 303 Court Street, Little Valley, NY 14755

Phone: (716) 938-9111

 

Cattaraugus County Treasurer's Office

Website: Cattaraugus County Treasurer’s Office

Address: 303 Court Street, Little Valley, NY 14755

Phone: (716) 938-9111 ext. 2286

 

Cattaraugus County Public Libraries

Cattaraugus is part of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System; see www.cclslib.org to access each library. For example, Delevan-Yorkshire Public Library has the Arcade Herald/Ashford Gazette on microfilm 1892–1998.  Also see listings below for Olean Public Library and Randolph Free Library.

 

Cattaraugus County Historical Museum and Research Library

Website: Cattaraugus County Historical Museum and Research Library

Address: 9824 Route 16, PO Box 352, Machias, NY 14101

Phone: (716) 353-8200

Email: Email access on website

 

Cattaraugus County Historian

Address: 9824 Route 16, PO Box 352, Machias, NY 14101

Phone: (716) 938-9111 ext. 4720, (716) 353-8200 ext. 4721 

Email: sfellows@cattco.org

 

Cattaraugus County – All Municipal Historians

While not authorized to answer genealogical inquiries, county, city, town, and village historians can provide valuable historical information and research advice; some maintain collections and webpages which may include transcribed records, local histories, and other genealogical material. Contact information at Government Appointed Historians of Western New York at www.gahwny.org/p/cattaraugus.html or the Association of Public Historians of New York State at www.aphnys.org.

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Regional

Painted Hills Genealogical Society

Website: Painted Hills Genealogical Society

Email: paint@paintedhills.org

 

Milne Library at Suny Geneseo: Special Collections: Genesee Valley Historical Collection

Website: Milne Library at SUNY Geneseo: Special Collections: Genesee Valley Historical Collection

Address: One College Circle, Geneseo, NY 14454 

Phone: (585) 245-5194

 

SUNY Fredonia: Daniel A. Reed Library: Archives & Special Collections

Website: SUNY Fredonia: Daniel A. Reed Library: Archives & Special Collections

Address: Fredonia, NY 14063 

Phone: (716) 673-3184

 

University of Rochester: Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation

Website: University of Rochester: Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation: Manuscript and Special Collections: Rochester, Western New York, and New York State

Rush Rhees Library, Second Floor, Room 225, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0055

Phone: (585) 275-4477

 

Western New York Genealogical Society

Website: Western New York Genealogical Society

Address of Library: Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, Grosvenor Room, One Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203

Phone: (716) 858-8900

Address of Society: PO Box 338, Hamburg, NY 14075-0338

Email: info@wnygs.org

 

Western New York Heritage Press

Website: Western New York Heritage Press

495 Pine Ridge Heritage Boulevard, Cheektowaga, NY 14225-2503

Phone: (716) 893-4011

Email: emaillist@wnyheritagepress.org

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Local

Alphabetized by location

Allegany Area Historical Association

Website: Allegany Area Historical Association

Address: 25 North Second Street, PO Box 162, Allegany, NY 14706

Email: oeph31@verizon.net 

 

Cattaraugus Area Historical Society and Museum

Website: Cattaraugus Area Historical Society and Museum

Address: 23 Main Street, Cattaraugus, NY 14719 

Phone: (716) 257-3971

 

East Otto Historical Museum

Website: East Otto Historical Museum

Address: Reed Hill Road,  East Otto, NY 14729

Phone: (716) 257-3337

 

Ischua Valley Historical Society

Website: Ischua Valley Historical Society

Address: The Miner’s Cabin, 9 Pine Street,  PO Box 153, Franklinville, NY 14737

Phone: (716) 676-2590

Email: info@ischuavalleyhistoricalsociety.org

 

Seneca Nation of Indians Library: Cattaraugus Territoru

Website: Seneca Nation of Indians Library: Cattaraugus Territory

Address: 3 Thomas Indian School Drive, Irving, NY 14081

Phone: (716) 532-9449

 

Leon Historical Society and Museum

Website: Leon Historical Society and Museum

Route 62, Leon, NY 14751

Phone: (716) 296-5709

Email: Email access on website

 

Olean Public Library: Genealogy Resources

Website: Olean Public Library: Genealogy Resources

Address:134 North 2nd Street, Olean, NY 14760

Phone: (716) 372-0200

Email: info@oleanlibrary.org 

 

Perrysburg Historical Museum

Website: Perrysburg Historical Museum

Address: Perrysburg Town Hall, Perrysburg, NY 14129

Phone: (716) 532-1558

 

Portville Historical and Preservation Society

Website: Portville Historical and Preservation Society

Address: 17 Maple Avenue, Portville, NY 14770

Email: contactus@portvillehistory.org

 

Randolph Free Library: Local History Room

Website: Randolph Free Library: Local History Room

Address: 26 Jamestown Street, Randolph, NY 14772-1121

Phone: (716) 358-3712

Email: randolphlib@gmail.com

 

Randolph Historical Society

Website: Randolph Historical Society

Address: PO Box 143, Randolph, NY 14772

 

Salamanca Public Library

Website: Salamanca Public Library 

Address: 155 Wildwood Avenue, Salamanca, NY 14779

Phone: (716) 945-1890

Email: kwoodin@salmun

 

Salamanca Historical Society and Museum

Website: Salamanca Historical Society and Museum

Address:125 Main Street, Salamanca, NY 14779

Phone: (716) 945-2946

Email: salhistorical@verizon.net

 

Ashford Historical Society Museum

Website: Ashford Historical Society Museum

Address: 5380 School Street, West Valley, NY 14171

Phone: (716) 942-3885

 

 

Civil, Vital, and Public Records

Civil Records are those created, recorded and/or maintained by a governmental body and include births, marriages, deaths, censuses, property, and probate. NB: The New York State government began collecting vital record data in 1880. Birth, marriage, and death records from New York State (excluding the five boroughs of New York City) after 1880 on can be obtained from the New York State Department of Health. For vital records previous to 1880, consult the municipality in which the event took place. Learn more about New York's vital records in our online guide.

 

 

Federal Census Records

Population schedules: 1790-1940 (except 1890). Online at Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and Findmypast.com (free to NYG&B members).

Access on Findmypast:

1790

1800

1810

1820

1830

1840

1850

1860

1870

1880

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

 

 

 

 

 

 

State Census Records

  • County originals at the Cattaraugus County Clerk’s Office: 1825, 1835, 1845, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, 1925.  State originals at the NYSA: 1915, 1925
  • Microfilm at the FHL, NYPL, NYSHA, and NYSL
  • Many years are online at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com.
  • For 1835 and 1865 census abstracts and indexes see Barnello and NY GenWeb Project.

 

 

Other Online Resources

General Resources

 

Deaths and Burial Records

 

Military Records

 

Religious Records

 

Other Records

 

Ethnic Groups and Organizations

 

Maps

 

Transportation

 

Ancestry.com

There are vast numbers of records on Ancestry.com that pertain to people who have lived in New York State. A search of the online card catalog by county may reveal lesser known resources that pertain to a locality, such as town records, abstracts, transcriptions, city directories, and local histories.

 

FamilySearch.org

FamilySearch has extensive collections of New York records, including religious records, which are searchable by name and location, but not by county. The following collections include record images (browsable, but not searchable) that are organized by county:

“New York, Land Records, 1630–1975.” Includes land and property records.

“New York, Probate Records, 1629–1971.” Includes wills, letters of administration, and guardianship papers.

For both collections, choose the browse option and then select Cattaraugus to view the available records sets.

 

NYGenWeb Project: Cattaraugus

Part of the national USGenWeb volunteer initiative, the website provides information and resources for county research.

 

Old Fulton New York Postcards

The website provides free access to a vast collection of digitized New York newspapers, including nine titles for Cattaraugus County.

 

 

Selected Bibliography

  • Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Gravestone Inscriptions in Cattaraugus County, NY: Including Cemeteries in and near the Towns of Freedom, Franklinville, and Yorkshire.” Typescript, 1930. NYPL, New York. [Ancestry.com]
  • Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Silome Cemetery in the Town of Freedom, Cattaraugus County, New York and Farmersville Center Cemetery, in the Town of Farmersville Center, Cattaraugus County, New York.” Typescript, 1930–1931. NYPL, New York.
  • Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Gravestone Inscriptions in Cattaraugus County, NY: Of Riceville Cemetery, Ashford, NY Thomas Corners Cemetery, Ashford, NY.”  Typescript, 1933. NYPL, New York.
  • Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Gravestone Inscriptions, Sundry Cemeteries in Cattaraugus, Erie and Wyoming Counties, New York.” Typescript, 1934. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Barnello, Kathleen. Cattaraugus County:  Abstract of the 1835 New York State Census with the 1825 New York State Census for the Town of Ellicottville. Syracuse: Central New York Genealogical Society, 1997. Originally published in Tree Talks, vol. 37, no. 4 (December 1997).
  • “Cemetery Inscriptions, Cattaraugus County, New York.” Typescript, 1932. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • County of Cattaraugus Abstracts. Syracuse: Central New York Genealogical Society, 2000. Abstracts for a range of genealogical records originally published in the quarterly Tree Talks.
  • Daughters of the American Revolution, comps. New York DAR Genealogical Records Committee Report.  Since 1913 DAR volunteers have transcribed many thousands of unpublished cemetery, church, and town records throughout New York. The reports are at the DAR Library; copies are at the NYSL and the NYPL.  The DAR has a searchable name index to all the GRC reports at http://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search/?Tab_ID=6. See Jean Worden’s index below for a listing by county of the New York record sets that were transcribed by the DAR before 1998.
  • Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet, Cattaraugus County, NY: 1810–1941. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2003.
  • NYGenWeb Project, Cattaraugus County. “Index to the 1865 New York State Census for Cattaraugus County.” www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nycattar/census.htm#1865.
  • Radlinski, William A. Ellicott Street Cemetery, Salamanca, New York: Gravestone  Inscriptions; With Burial Records from St. Patrick Parish, 1872–1912 and Death Records from Holy Cross Parish, 1896–1912. Herndon,  VA:  The Author, 1997.
  • Sager, Ida M., comp. Cemetery Records, Town of New Albion and Village of  Cattaraugus, New York: Cemeteries: Liberty Park, New Albion, Lower, Rumsey, Snyder Hill, Tug Hill. Cattaraugus, NY: Cattaraugus-New Albion Historical Society,1961.
  • Stahley, Susan E. Cattaraugus County, New York: Surrogate Court Abstracts. Westminster, MD: Heritage Books, 2008. Book includes abstracts of the records of the first 78 boxes in the Cattaraugus County Surrogate’s Court. Includes guardianship records from early 1800s to 1920s arranged alphabetically by surname, with name, date of birth, and names of relatives.
  • Worden, Jean D. “Book 1, Subject Index.” In Revised Master Index to the New York  State Daughters of the American Revolution Genealogical Records Volumes.  
  • Zephyrhills, FL: J. D. Worden, 1998. The Subject Index includes a listing by county of the cemeteries and other sources of records transcribed by the DAR.

 

The materials above are a compilation of resources available, with an emphasis on online resources, which might be useful to someone doing research within this county.  The inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement of its content or accuracy.  Please send any additions or corrections to webmaster@nygbs.org.