Nestled sixteen miles northwest of New York City the small county of Rockland is bordered by New Jersey to the south, Orange Co. to the north, and the Hudson River to the east. Its history parallels that of Manhattan Island. First inhabitants were the Algonquin Indians, followed by the Dutch in 1609 when Henry Hudson sailed up the river through Haverstraw Bay.
The New City Library is one of seventeen Rockland Co. public libraries. In this mid-size library a special local history collection is located in the Rockland Room. Established in the 1980s, this collection reflects the history, botany, architecture, genealogy, government, art, and literature of Rockland Co., northern New Jersey, and counties along the Hudson from New York City to Albany. Accessible during regular library hours, the room houses 4,500 books, a variety of microfilmed local newspapers, and New York state census information.
Newspapers
Several of the microfilmed local newspapers reflect the news of the 19th century. The most frequently researched newspaper is the Rockland County Messenger which began publication in 1847. The Journal News and Rockland County Times continue to publish and the library microfilms them annually. Upon request and at no charge, local history staff will research obituaries with a specific date. Since the New City Library is not a research library, other research requests are limited.
Maps
There is a wide variety of maps that focus on Rockland Co. and the surrounding areas. Selections include atlas maps, railroad, political, and government agency maps, a few topographical and a handful of Jonathan Sheppard reproduction maps of the British Isles. There are several historical reproduction maps of local battle sites as well as of early New York City.
Censuses
Early New York federal census indexes remain on the shelf despite the online options. Thanks to the Genealogical Society of Rockland County, there are several Rockland Co. state census indexes. These include 1800, 1859, and 1892, transcribed by society members.
Genealogy Guides and Family Histories
For genealogists, the room offers many riches including many genealogy guides as well as compiled genealogies (most donated by local families). A local family index guide, town locator guides, and fifteen drawers of indexed vertical files assist the genealogist in his hunt. Genealogy guides comprise one of the largest sections in the room. The multi-shelf collection has standard tides such as The Source and International Vital Records and it also has specific guides reflecting ethnic and religious groups and geographical areas both in the United States and Europe.
Family histories comprise the next largest collection. There are several published genealogies that may be available in other genealogy collections, however, the majority reflect Rockland families and have been donated to the library. All histories have been bound and may be searched for on the computer catalog.
Rockland County Resources
There are several other sections of the room that have information unique to Rockland County. A local family index guide will direct you to specific books for information and a town locator file will give you either the historical reference or direct you to a library resource.
- Yearbooks of the two Clarkstown high schools beginning with 1936 are updated annually.
- Government information on the county. Data Book, has been collected sporadically since 1957.
- Local church histories have been donated from Orange, Rockland, and northern New Jersey churches, as have the vital records from the oldest county churches.
- A good example is Baptism Record of Tappan Reformed Church, 1694-1899. The Tappan Reformed Church sits in the middle of the historic district of Tappan and the cemetery with early gravestones is situated next to the church.
- The 1776 House where John Andre was tried for treason is down the street.
Originally Orange County included what is now Rockland Co. and had two county seats, Tappan and Goshen.
There is a collection of local cemetery tombstone indexes many of which were transcribed by members of the Genealogy Society of Rockland County. In addition, this group transcribes local funeral home records as they become available.
For researchers of the Ramapo Mountain region, there is a treasure of papers titled Trailside Papers that reflect the archeology, geology, botany, hamlets, and family histories. The papers were written by Palisades Interstate Park staff, local historians, and genealogists. The Palisades Interstate Park was created in 1900 amongst much political upheaval which resulted in the use of eminent domain, destroying eleven hamlets and removing all the inhabitants.
Historical Resources
History books of the region abound. Several New York state histories by E.B. O'Callaghan and Dr. James Sullivan are available. There is a collection of histories on each county on both sides of the river starting with the Bronx and traveling north to Albany. Available are the major sources for Rockland history written by three county historians, David Cole, Frank B. Green and Arthur Tompkins. In addition, there are many local town centennial booklets and reflections written by town historians, centennial commissions, and researchers, that reflect a wide choice of topics. Many of the collected bound papers or newspaper articles are now indexed.
Another very important resource is the fifteen file drawers of ephemera that are divided into three regions: Hudson River Valley, Hudson River, and Rockland Co. Though many items are historical in subject, the information was collected from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s. All these documents are indexed.
Finally the George Budke Collection is a special collection of manuscripts arranged by one man. Of ninety manuscripts, New City Library holds mimeographed copies of a majority of them. The originals are owned by the New York Public Library. The collection is an assortment of information that Mr. Budke collected from Orange and Rockland counties and northern New Jersey in the early 20th century. The in-depth index lists copies of early American Revolutionary papers and histories of prominent families, land patent records, early deeds and wills, as well as a scattering of estate records.
Mr. Budke listed early county legislative minutes and records of early churches. The most frequently used material, however, is the two-volume set of transcribed tombstone records. Many of these small cemeteries are either not in existence or would not be easily found today. For example, the directions to a location might instruct a person to walk to the large walnut tree and travel twenty steps past the large boulder. This just wouldn't happen today! These volumes are now indexed thanks to volunteers from the GSRC.
The immigration and emigration section has many of the recognized series such as Filby, Famine Immigrants, Germans to America, and Italians to America. The library maintains the paper copies to all the volumes but also offers in-house online subscription service of ancestry and Heritage Quest. These resources offer alternative ways for researching.
Databases
In addition to the two online subscription services mentioned earlier, the library has access to the Jewish Data, a database that shows images of Jewish tombstones from New York City through upstate New York, and to the New England Historical and Genealogical Society's online subscription. Both databases are available on the Rockland Room computer.
New City Library has spearheaded the county library association's participation in the Hudson River Valley Heritage, a digital consortium of non-profit organizations. The library association has begun scanning each of the participating libraries' photo and/or postcard collections. Type www.hrvh.org and you will see more than 25 participating groups that offer manuscripts, diaries, and special photography collections to name a few.
The Genealogical Society of Rockland County calls the Rockland Room home base and meets in the library each month. The organization has volunteers willing to meet anyone needing genealogical assistance by appointment. For further information, go to their website, http://rocklandgenealogy.org.
by Sally Pelligrini, Local History Librarian
Originally published in The New York Researcher, Winter 2007
© 2007 The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society
All rights reserved.