Chautauqua County, New York Guide

Chautauqua County lies in the southwestern corner of New York State, bordering Pennsylvania to the south.  Lake Erie forms its northern border.  Chautauqua County consists of two cities, Jamestown and Dunkirk, twenty-seven towns and fifteen villages. Chautauqua began its own, separate, organized government in 1811.  Since its creation in 1808, the borders of the county have not been altered. 

County Formed: 1808

Parent County: Genesee

Daughter Counties: None

Major Land Transactions: Holland Land Company Purchase 1792-1796

Chautauqua County Map
Map of Chautauqua County 

Table of Contents

 

History

Chautauqua County was formed in 1808 from Genesee County. The first Europeans settlers arrived in 1796 at the mouth of Cattaraugus Creek, It was officially formed from Genesee County in 1808. Settlers migrated from Vermont, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Early industries included the manufacturing of pot and pearl ash, as well as black salt. Using water power provided by Chautauqua lake, workers were able to cut lumber, which were used for flat boats that shipped the salts manufactured in the county.

The Encyclopedia of New York State, 306-309.

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - County

Chautauqua County Clerk 

Website: Chautauqua County Clerk

Address: 1 North Erie Street, PO Box 170, Mayville, NY 14757

Phone: (716) 753-4331

 

Chautauqua County – City, Town, and Village Clerks

Birth, marriage, and death records are maintained by the clerk of the municipality in which the event occurred.

 

Chautauqua County Surrogate's Court

Website: Chautauqua County Surrogate’s Court

Address: Gerace Office Building Courthouse, PO Box C, Mayville, NY 14757

Phone: (716) 753-4339

Email: lhuston@nycourts.gov

 

Chautauqua County Public Libraries

Chautauqua is part of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System. Many hold genealogy and local history collections, such as local newspapers. Also see listing below for James Prendergast Library.

 

Chautauqua County Historical Society and McClurg Museum

Website: Chautauqua County Historical Society and McClurg Museum

Address: Moore Park, NYS Rts. 394 & 2, PO Box 7, Westfield, NY 14787 

Phone: (716) 326-2977 

Email: mcclurg@fairpoint.net

 

Chautauqua County Historian

Website: Chautauqua County Historian

Address: One North Erie Street, PO Box 170,  Mayville, NY 14757

Phone: (716) 753-4857

Email: HenryM@co.chautauqua.ny.us

 

Chautauqua County - All Municipal Historians

Website: Chautauqua County – All Municipal Historians

While not authorized to answer genealogical inquiries, 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. For contact information, see the Government Appointed Historians of Western New York at www.gahwny.org/p/chautauqua.html or the website of the Association of Public Historians of New York State at www.aphnys.org.

 

Chautauqua County Genealogical Society

Website: Chautauqua County Genealogical Society

Address: D. R. Barker Museum, Corner of Route 20 (Main Street) and Day Street PO Box 404, Fredonia, NY 14063

Phone: (716) 672-2114

 

Chautauqua Institution: Smith Memorial Library & Archives

Website: Chautauqua Institution: Smith Memorial Library & Archives

Address: 21 Miller Avenue, PO Box 1093, Chautauqua, NY 14722

Phone: (716) 357-6332 or 357-6306

Email: Email access on website

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Regional

 

Painted Hills Genealogical Society

Website: Painted Hills Genealogical Society

Email: paint@paintedhills.org

 

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

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

Address: 280 Central Ave., Fredonia, NY 14063

Phone: (716) 673-3183

Email: reedref@fredonia.edu

 

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

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

Phone: (585) 275-4477

Email: Email access on website

 

Western New York Genealogical Society

Website: Western New York Genealogical Society

Address: P.O. Box 338, Hamburg, New York 14075-0338

Phone: (713) 858-8900

Email: info@wnygs.org

 

Western New York Heritage Press

Website: Western New York Heritage Press

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

Phone: (716) 893-4011 

Email: info@wnyheritage.org

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Local

 

Alphabetized by location

Harmony Historical Society

Website: Harmony Historical Society

Address: 1943 Open Meadows Road, PO Box 127, Ashville, NY 14710

Phone: (716) 782-3074

Email: info@harmonyhistoricalsociety.org

 

Dunkirk Historical Society and Museum

Website: Dunkirk Historical Society and Museum

Address: 513 Washington Ave., Dunkirk, NY 14048

Phone: (716) 366-3797

Email: contact@dunkirkhistoricalmuseum.org

 

Historical Museum of the Darwin R. Barker Library Association

Website: Historical Museum of the Darwin R. Barker Library Association

Address: 20 East Main Street, Fredonia, NY 14063 

Phone: (716) 672-2114

Email: barker@netsync.net

 

Fenton History Center: Museum and Research Center

Website: Fenton History Center: Museum and Research Center

Address: 67 Washington Street, Jamestown, NY 14701  

Phone: (716) 664-6256 

Email: information@fentonhistorycenter.org

 

James Prendergast Library

Website: James Prendergast Library

Address: 509 Cherry Street, Jamestown, NY 14701

Phone: (716) 484-713 

Email: prendergastlibrary@yahoo.com 

 

Valley Historical Society

Address: Main at Lester Streets, PO Box 1045, Sinclairville, NY 14782

Phone: (716) 962-8520

 

 

Civil, Public, and Vital 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 Chautauqua County Clerk’s Office: 1825, 1835, 1845, 1855, 1865, 1892, 1905, 1915, 1925. State Originals at the NYSA: 1915, 1925.
  • Microfilm at the FHL, NYPL, and NYSL
  • Many years are online at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com

 

 

Other Online Resources

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.

 

Chautauqua County Historical Society: Italian Newspaper Collection

Many issues of the Chautauqua County Italian-language newspaper Il Risveglio, 1921–1953, have been digitized and are accessible on the website.

 

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 Chautauqua to view the available records sets.

 

New York Heritage Digital Collections: Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System

The digital collection includes selected city directories for Jamestown and Olean and selected Westfield newspapers.

 

New York Heritage Digital Collections: Holland Land Company Maps

More than 1,000 maps pertaining to the Holland Land purchase in Western New York and held by the Reed Library at the State University of New York at Fredonia have been digitized and are accessible at this website, which also provides links to related online resources.

 

New York Heritage Digital Collections: New York State Newspaper Project

The website provides links to digital newspapers collections in 26 counties (currently) made accessible through New York Heritage, New York State Historic Newspapers, HRVH Historical Newspapers, and other providers.

 

NYGenWeb Project: Chautauqua County

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 13 titles for Chautauqua County.

 

Painted Hills Genealogy Society, Chautauqua County, New York Index Page

The county webpage of this regional society has direct links to numerous records transcriptions of cemeteries for the county as well as census information and historical resources.

 

General Resources

 

Deaths and Burial Records

 

Military Records

 

Religious Records

 

Ethnic Groups and Organizations

 

Maps

 

Transportation

 

 

Selected Bibliography

Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions

  • Barden, Virginia W.  Earliest Holland Land Company Sales in Chautauqua County, New York. Fredonia, NY: Chautauqua Family Genealogical Society, 1990.
  • Barris, Lois, comp. Holland Land Company Delinquent Contracts in Chautauqua County, NY. Fredonia, NY: Chautauqua County Genealogical Society, 1991.
  • Barris, Lois, and Norwood Barris. Selected Information from the 1865 New York State Census for the County of Chautauqua. Fredonia, NY: Chautauqua County Genealogical Society, 1991.
  • Centennial History of Chautauqua County: A detailed and entertaining story of one hundred years of development. Jamestown, NY: Chautauqua History Co., 1904 Retrievable from http://www.dunkirkhistoricalmuseum.org/sg_userfiles/earlyhistoryofdunkirk.pdf
  • Cohen, Minnie. “Gravestone Inscriptions from Chautauqua County, NY, Cemeteries: Including Chautauqua Cemetery, Chautauqua, NY, Hunt Family Private Cemetery, Chautauqua, NY, Magnolia Cemetery, Magnolia Springs, NY, Bemus Point Cemetery, Bemus Point, NY.” Typescript, 1932. NYPL, New York. [Ancestry.com]
  • Cohen, Minnie. “Gravestone Inscriptions of Fluvannah [sic] Cemetery, Fluvannah, [sic] NY; Burrows Private Cemetery, Mayville, NY; Mayville Cemetery, Mayville, NY: All in Chautauqua County.” Typescript, 1932. NYSL, New York. [Ancestry.com]
  • County of Chautaqua 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, Chautauqua County Chapters. Soldiers of the American Revolution: Who at one time were residents of, or whose graves are located in Chautauqua County, New York. 1925  Transcriptions Retrievable from http://dunhamwilcox.net/ny/chautauqua_ny_military.htm
  • 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.
  • Dilley, Butler F. Bibliographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Chautauqua County, New York. Philadelphia: J. M. Gresham & Co., 1890 Select Entries available from http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~taughannock/westfield/portraits.html  Retrievable full-text from http://www.archive.org/stream/chautauquacounty00dill/chautauquacounty00dill_djvu.txt
  • Downs, John Phillips. History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people. Boston, MA: American Historical Society Inc., 1921 Retrievable in full text from http://archive.org/stream/historyofchautau02downs/historyofchautau02downs_djvu.txt
  • Griswold, Glenn E., and Charles D. Townsend. Chautauqua County, New York, Cemetery Inscriptions and County and Town History. Sarasota, FL: Aceto Bookmen, 1995. Book includes transcriptions copied by Glenn Griswold around 1931.
  • Jamestown Directory, 1879–80: Containing the Names of the Inhabitants of Jamestown: Together with a Business Directory of Brocton, Broken Straw, Busti, Cassadaga, Clymer, Corry, Delanti, Dunkirk, Forestville, Fredonia, Frewsburg, Kennedy, Mayville, Panama, Randolph, Ripley, Sherman, Smith’s-Mills, Sinclairville, and Westfield. Jamestown, 1879.
  • Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: Chautauqua County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
  • Lamb, Frank B. “Mayville, N.Y., Cemetery Inscriptions.” NYG&B Record, vol. 58, no. 4 (1927): 371–381. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • New Topographical Atlas of Chautauqua County, New York: From actual surveys especially for this atlas. William Stewart, Publisher, 1866 Images retrieved from http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?parent_id=1067754
  • Peterson, A. Bartholdi. “Lest We Forget:” The record of Chautauqua county’s own; a history. Jamestown, NY, 1920 Retrievable here http://archive.org/details/cu31924032193934
  • Starr, L. N. Alphabetical Directory of the Village of Fredonia, 1899. Fredonia, NY, 1899.
  • Warren, Emory Force. Sketches of the History of Chautauque County. Jamestown, NY: J.W. Fletcher, 1846. Available as Free Google EBook Here http://books.google.com/books/about/Sketches_of_the_history_of_Chautauque_Co.html?id=CLvZAAAAMAAJ
  • Worden, Jean D. “Book 1, Subject Index.” In Revised Master Index to the New York State Daughters of the American Revolution Genealogical Records Volumes.
  • “Yorker Cemetery Record, Sherman, New York.” Typescript, 1987. NYSL, New York. [Ancestry.com]
  • Young, Andrew W. History of Chautauqua County, New York: From its first settlement to the present time, with numerous biographical and family sketches. Buffalo, NY: Printing House of Matthews & Warren, 1875 Retrievable from http://archive.org/details/historychautaucny00youn
  • Zephyrhills, FL: J. D. Worden, 1998. The Subject Index includes a listing by county of the cemeteries, churches, towns, 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.