Fulton County is bordered by Hamilton, Saratoga, Herkimer, and Montgomery counties, New York.
Formed: April 18, 1838
Parent County: Montgomery
Daughter Counties: None
County Seat: City of Johnstown
Major Land Transactions: Kayaderosseras Patent 1708, Sacandaga Patent 1741, Kingsborough Patent 1753
Table of Contents
- History
- Cities, Towns, and Villages
- Repositories, Resources, and Societies – County
- Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Regional
- Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Local
- Civil, Public, and Vital Records
- Federal Census Records
- State Census Records
- Online Resources
- Selected Bibliography
History
In 1704, Attorney General of the Province of New York, Sampson Broughton, effectively forced the Mohawks out of the area that became Fulton County by purchasing Mohawk territory under duplicitous terms. The terms of this sale, which were made deliberately vague to the Mohawks, compensated them for tract of land with “just enough acreage for one farm,” though Broughton seized 700,000 acres of their land instead.
The Mohawks were incensed by this seizure of their hunting ground, thus forcing Borough to halt settlements until after the conclusion of the French and Indian war in 1763.
Throughout the nineteenth century, Fulton county flourished, and attracted settlers well into the 20th century. At its apex, Fulton County lead the world in glove production, giving the city of Gloversville a fitting name. As demand was growing for this new industry, many Fulton residents had a hand in this growing industry. From skin dressers and dyers, to glove cutter and box manufacturers, to women sewing to the ever growing factories of all sizes, many contributed to its success. Though Fulton County’s economic heyday has receded, the county is now host to number of beautiful natural sites, including part of the Adirondack Park.
References:
Repositories, Resources, and Societies – County
Fulton County Clerk
Website: Fulton County Clerk
Address: County Office Building, 223 West Main Street, Johnstown, NY 12095
Phone: (518) 736-5555
Fulton County - City, Town, and Village Clerks
Website: Fulton 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.
Fulton County Surrogate's Court
Website: Fulton County Surrogate’s Court
Address: 223 West Main Street, Johnstown, NY 12095
Phone: (518) 736-5685
Fulton County Public Libraries
Website: Fulton County Public Libraries
Fulton is part of the Mohawk Valley Library System. Information on special collections relating to local history and genealogy.
Fulton County Historian
Website: Fulton County Historian
Address: County Office Building, 223 West Main Street, Johnstown, NY 12095
Phone: (518) 736-5667
Fulton County - All Municipal Historians
Website: Fulton County – All Municipal Historians
Fulton County Historical Society and Museum
Website: Fulton County Historical Society and Museum
Address: 237 Kingsboro Ave, Gloversville, NY 12078
Phone: (518) 725-2203
Email: fultoncohist@frontier.com
Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Regional
Adirondack Experience Museum Library
Website: Adirondack Experience Museum Library
Address: 9097 NY-30, Blue Mountain Lake, NY 12812
Phone: (518) 352-7311
Capital District Genealogical Society
Website: Capital District Genealogical Society
Address: Empire State Plaza Station, PO Box 2175, Albany, NY 12220
Email: contactcdgs@gmail.com
Central New York Genealogical Society
Website: Central New York Genealogical Society
Address: PO Box 404, Colvin Station, Syracuse, NY 13205
Email: cnygs@yahoo.com
Fulton-Montgomery Community College: The Kenneth R. Dorn Regional History Study Center at Evans Library
Website: The Kenneth R. Dorn Regional History Study Center
Address: 2805 State Highway 67, Johnstown, NY 12095
Phone: (518) 212 - 7685
Email: libinfo@fmcc.edu
Montgomery County Department of History and Archives
Website: Montgomery County Department of History and Archives
Address: Old Court House, 9 Park Street, PO Box 1500, Fonda, NY 12068-1500
Phone: (518) 853-8186
Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Local
Alphabetized by location
Bleeker Historical Society
Website: Bleecker Historical Society
Address: 575 County Highway 112, Gloversville, NY 12078
Email: bleeckerhistoricalsociety@gmail.com
Gloversville Public Library: Historical Reference Room
Website: Gloversville Public Library: Historical Reference Room
Address: 58 East Fulton Street, Gloversville, NY 12078-3219
Phone: (518) 725-2819
Email: gpl@sals.edu
Johnstown Historical Society
Website: Johnstown Historical Society
Address: 17 North William Street, Johnstown, NY 12095-2115
Phone: (518) 762-7076
Johnstown Public Library: Local History Collection
Website: Johnstown Public Library: Local History Collection
Address: 38 South Market Street, Johnstown, NY 12095
Phone: (518) 762-8317
Northville Public Library: Genealogy
Website: Genealogy & Local History Records at the Northville Public Library
Address: 341 South Third Street, PO Box 1259, Northville, NY 12134
Phone: (518) 863-6922
Email: norlib@mvls.info
Town of Perth Historical Society
Address: Route 6, Amsterdam, NY 12010
Phone: (518) 842-9497
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:
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State Census Records
- County originals at Fulton County Clerk’s Office: 1845, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1905, 1915, 1925 (1892 is 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
Online Resources
General Resources
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 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:
Schenectady Digital History Archive
Links to libraries, archives, museums, and online projects for Fulton County as well as other genealogical resources
Maps
- New York, Land Records, 1630–1975 - Includes land and property records
Other Records
- New York, Probate Records, 1629–1971 - Includes wills, letters of administration, and guardianship papers.
Selected Bibliography
Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions
- Becker, Edith van Heusen (Mrs. Frank N. Becker). “Cemetery Inscriptions in Mayfield, NY, Fulton Co. and Hagaman, Amsterdam, NY, Montgomery Co.” Typescript, n.d. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
- Becker, Edith van Heusen (Mrs. Frank N. Becker). “Cemetery Inscriptions: In the Vicinity of Montgomery and Fulton Counties, NY.” 5 vols. Typescript, 1923–1963. NYPL, New York.
- County of Fulton 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.
- Fulton County, NYG&B Church Surveys Collection. NYG&B, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
- Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: Fulton County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
- Vosburgh, Royden Woodward, ed. “Records of the First Presbyterian Church of West Galway in the Town of Perth, Fulton County, N.Y.: Originally the First Presbyterian Church in Galloway.” Typescript, 1919. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
- Vosburgh, Royden Woodward, ed. “Records of the St. John’s Episcopal Church in the Village of Johnstown, Fulton County, N.Y.” Typescript, 1919. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
- 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.
Other Resources
- Campbell, William W. Annals of Tryon County: Or, the Border Warfare of New York, During the Revolution. New York, 1831.
- Capital District Genealogical Society Newsletter. Albany: Capital District Genealogical Society, 1982–present. [capitaldistrictgenealogicalsociety.org]
- Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Montgomery and Fulton Counties, NY, for 1869–70. Syracuse, 1869.
- Engel, Herbert M. Shtetl in the Adirondacks: The Story of Gloversville and Its Jews. Fleischmanns, NY: Purple Mountain Press, 1991.
- Frothingham, Washington. History of Fulton County: . . . With Town and Local . . . Fulton County Patriots. Syracuse, 1891.
- Greene, Nelson. History of the Mohawk Valley, . . . 1614–1925; Covering the Six Counties of Schenectady, Schoharie, Montgomery, Fulton, Herkimer, and Oneida. Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1925.
- History of Montgomery and Fulton Counties, NY: . . . Old Pioneers and Prominent Residents. Interlaken, NY: Heart of the Lakes Publishing, 1979.
- Laird, Audrey, and Audrey Bowman. Black Heritage in Fulton County. Gloversville, NY: City of Gloversville Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution Committee, 1990.
- Morrison, James F. A History of Fulton County in the Revolution. Gloversville, NY: Fulton County Bicentennial History Committee, 1977.
- New Century Atlas of Montgomery and Fulton Counties, New York. Philadelphia: Century Map Co., 1905.
- New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Fulton County, New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1984. [books.FamilySearch.org]
- Nichols, Beach. Atlas of Montgomery and Fulton Counties, New York: From Actual Surveys by and under the Direction of B. Nichols. New York, 1867. [NYPL Digital Gallery]
- Palmer, Robert M. Historical Fulton County, New York. Johnstown, NY: Fulton County Publicity, 1960.
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.