Chenango County, New York Guide

Chenango County is centrally located in the Southern Tier region of New York State.

County Formed: 1798

Parent County: Herkimer, Tioga

Daughter Counties: Madison 1806

Major Land Transactions: Vermont Sufferers Tract 1786, Chenango Twenty Townships 1789-1794

Chenango County Map
Map of Chenango County
 

Table of ​Contents

 

History

Chenango County was created from Herkimer and Tioga Counties in 1798. The earliest European settlement is said to have happened in 1786. Settlers migrated from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Eastern New York. During the early years of the county farmers produced wool, grain, potatoes, and apples. The first churches in the county were Presbyterian because most early settlers were from New England. Irish immigrants, who came to work on canal construction, brought the Catholic church in the mid-19th century. Italians, who came to work on the railroads, also brought the Catholic church with them.

Reference: The Encyclopedia of New York State, 318-319.

 

Other Resources:

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - County

Chenango County Clerk

Website: Chenango County Clerk

Address: 5 Court Street, Norwich, NY 13815-1671

Phone: (607) 337-1450

Email: countyclerk@co.chenango.ny.us

Holdings include land records, court records, naturalization records 1857–1991, and New York state censuses for Chenango County 1855, 1865, 1875, and 1905.

 

Chenango County - City, Town, and Village Clerks

Website: Chenango 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.

 

Chenango County Surrogate's Court

Website: Chenango County Surrogate’s Court

Address: 5 Court Street, Norwich, NY 13815-1695 

Phone: (607) 337-1827 or (607) 337-1822 

 

Chenango County Public Libraries

Chenango is part of the Four County Library System; see www.4cls.org to access each library. Many hold genealogy and local history collections such as local newspapers.

 

Chenango County Historical Society, Museum, and Research Center

Website: Chenango County Historical Society, Museum, and Research Center

Address: 43/45 Rexford Street, Norwich, NY 13815-1121 

Phone: (607) 334-9227 

Email: countyhistorian@co.chenango.ny.us

 

Chenango County Historian

Website: Chenango County Historian

Address: 43 Rexford Street, Norwich, NY 13815-1221 

Phone: (607) 337-1845  

Email: countyhistorian@co.chenango.ny.us

 

Chenango County - All Municipal Historian 

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.

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Regional

Central New York Genealogical Society

Website: Central New York Genealogical Society

Address: PO Box 404 – Colvin Station, Syracuse, NY 13205

Email: cnygs@yahoo.com

 

Lorenzo State Historic Site

Website: Lorenzo State Historic Site

Address: 17 Rippleton Road, Cazenovia, NY 13035

Phone: (315) 655-3200

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Local

 

Alphabetized by location

Afton Historical Society

Website: Afton Historical Society

Address: 116 Main Street, Afton, NY 13730

Phone: (607) 639-2720  

Email: Email acess on website

 

Bainbridge Historical Society and Museum

Address: PO Box 146, Bainbridge, NY 13733  

Phone: (607) 967-8546 or 967-7159 for town historian

 

Coventry Town Museum Association

Address: 3075 State Highway 206, 115 County Rt. 27, Coventryville, NY 13733-3117

Phone: (607) 639-4073  

Email: crimsoncloaks@aol.com

 

Guilford Historical Society and Klee House

Address: PO Box 201, Guilford, NY 13780  

Phone: (607) 895-6532

 

Mount Upton Historical Society and Unadilla Valley Historical Museum

Address: Route 8, PO Box 135, Mount Upton, NY 13809  

Phone: (607) 764-8375

 

Guernsey Memorial Library: The Otis A. Thompson Local History Room

Website: Guernsey Memorial Library: The Otis A.  Thompson Local History Room

Address: 3 Court Street, Norwich, NY 13815 

Phone: (607) 334-4034

 

Oxford Historical Society and Historical Museum

Website: Oxford Historical Society and Historical Museum

Address: One Depot Street, PO Box 57, Oxford, NY 13830 

Phone: (607) 821-1223 

Email: Museum@OxfordNY.com

 

Town of Greene Historical Society and Museum

Website: Town of Greene Historical Society and Museum

Address: Moore Memorial Library, 2nd Floor, 59 Genesee Street, PO Box 412, Greene, NY 13778  

Phone: (607) 656-4981 or 656-8314

 

 

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 Chenango County Clerk’s Office: 1855, 1865, 1875, 1905, 1915, 1925 (1825, 1835, 1845, and 1892 are lost).
  • 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.

 

Chenango County Historic Districts

County website has lists of historic districts, historic sites, and historic cemeteries in Chenango. It also offers historical information on the county and links to useful repositories and resources.

 

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 Chenango to view the available records sets.

 

NYGenWeb Project: Chenango County

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

 

General Resources

 

Deaths and Burial Records

 

Military Records

 

Religious Records

 

Other Records

 

Maps

 

Transportation

  • Chenango County Public Transit (bus service): 126 Leilani’s Lane, Norwich, NY 13815 Phone: 607-334-7433 or 800-943-7433 Fixed Routes Run Monday – Friday 6:00
  • Chenango County Existing Railroad Stations 
  • Chenango Canal 

 

 

Selected Bibliography

Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions

  • Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Index of Wills of Chenango County, New York, from 1797–1875.” Typescript, 1935. [Ancestry.com]
  • Chenango County Federal Census Transcript, 1810. Syracuse: Central New York Genealogical Society, 1979.
  • Chenango County, NYG&B Church Surveys Collection. NYG&B, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • County of Chenango Abstracts. Syracuse: Central New York Genealogical Society, 2000. Abstracts for a range of genealogical records originally published in the quarterly Tree Talks. A name index is on the CNYGS website.
  • 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.
  • Genealogical Research Notes and Lists of Baptisms from Three Congregations: The Reformed Dutch Church of Cortlandtown, Westchester County, NY; the Dutch Reformed Church of Conowago, Adams County, PA; and the Second Calvinistic Congregational Society of Sherburne, Chenango County, NY, 1741–1830. Manuscript. n.d. NYPL, New York.
  • Kelly,  Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: Chenango County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
  • Meola, Mrs. J. B. “Chenango County, New York: Church and Cemetery Records.” Typescript, 1934. NYPL, New York.
  • Smith, Gertrude M. “Marriages Performed by David Cutler, Pastor of the Baptist Church of New Berlin, Chenango County, NY, 1830–1873.” Typescript, 1954. New York State Historical Association, New York.
  • Smith, Mrs.  Arthur  W.  “Records of the Congregational Church Formed 1805 in German and Lincklaen, Chenango County, New York.” Typescript, n.d. NYPL, New York.
  • Smith, Mrs. Edwin P. and Mrs. Ryland H. Hewitt. Vital Records of Chenango County, New York, Before 1880: Marriages, Births, Deaths from Original Sources. Norwich, NY: Printed by the Chenango County Board of Supervisors, 1972.
  • Thomas, Ethel B. “Marriage Records for Years 1847–9, Found in City Hall, Norwich, NY.” Typescript, 1953. New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, NY.
  • 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, 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.