Jefferson County is bordered by St. Lawrence, Lewis, and Ontario counties, New York as well as Lake Ontario.
County Formed: March 28, 1805
Parent County: Oneida
Daughter Counties: None
Major Land Transactions: Penet’s Square 1788, Macomb Purchase 1792
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
Originally inhabited by the Oneida Native American tribe, Jefferson County, NY was officially formed on March 18, 1805 from Oneida County, and had been attracting European settlers to the area since 1794. The county seat is located in the City of Watertown, and there are no daughter counties. Jefferson County, NY, much like the other 25 Jefferson counties in the United States, is named in honor of President Thomas Jefferson. An incredibly historic county, Jefferson was world famous for its tradition of manufacturing goods during the American Industrial Age by using hydraulics from the abundant water nearby. Today, many historic landmarks are featured, including the War of 1812 battle sites Sacket’s Harbor and the Thousand Islands Region.
References
Repositories, Resources, and Societies – County
Jefferson County Clerk and Records Management
Website: Jefferson County Clerk and Records Management
Address: Jefferson County Building, 175 Arsenal Street, Watertown, NY 13601
Phone: 315-785-5145
County Clerk Email: jeffcoclerksoffice@co.jefferson.ny.us
Records Management Email: recordscenter@co.jefferson.ny.us
Jefferson County - City, Town, and Village Clerks
Website: Jefferson 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.
Jefferson County Surrogate's Court
Website: Jefferson County Surrogate’s Court
Address: Jefferson County Court Complex, 163 Arsenal Street, Watertown, NY 13601
Phone: (315) 785-3019
Jefferson County Public Libraries
Website: Jefferson County Public Libraries
Roswell P. Flower Memorial Library: Genealogy Department
Website: Roswell P. Flower Memorial Library: Genealogy Department
Address: 229 Washington Street, Watertown, NY 13601
Phone: (315) 785-7705
Jefferson County Historical Society
Website: Jefferson County Historical Society
Address: 28 Washington Street, Watertown, NY 13601
Phone: (315) 782-3491
Email: jchs@nnyonline.net
Jefferson County Historian
Address: Jefferson County Building, 175 Arsenal Street, Watertown, NY 13601
Jefferson County - All Municipal Historians
Website: - Municipal Historians
Jefferson County Genealogical Society
Website: Jefferson County Genealogical Society
Address: PO Box 6453, Watertown, NY 13601
Email: jcnygs@imcnet.net
Haverstraw King's Daughters Public Library: Local History Collection (Formerly the Jefferson County Community College: Melvil Dewey Library Local History Room)
Website: Local History Collection
Address: 10 West Ramapo Road, Garnerville, NY 10923
Phone: (845) 786-3800 x23
Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Regional
The 4 River Valleys Historical Society
Website: The 4 River Valleys Historical Society
Address: PO Box 504, Carthage, NY 13619
Phone: (315) 773-5133
Documents the history of the Beaver, Black, Indian, and Deer River valleys, covering Jefferson County and part of Lewis County. It maintains the late Woolworth Memorial United Methodist Church, which includes a Heritage Room of documents.
Annie P. Ainsworth Memorial Library: Genealogy
Website: Annie P. Ainsworth Memorial Library: Genealogy
Address: 6064 South Main Street, PO Box 69, Sandy Creek, NY 13145
Phone: (315) 387-3732
Email: ainsworth6064@yahoo.com
SUNY at Oswego: Local History Collection
Website: SUNY at Oswego: Local History Collection
Address: Penfield Library, Special Collections, Oswego, NY 13126
Phone: (315) 312-3537
Email: archives@oswego.edu
Central New York Genealogical Society
Website: Central New York Genealogical Society
Address: PO Box 404, Colvin Station, Syracuse, NY 13205
Email: cnygs@yahoo.com
Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Local
Alphabetized by location
Historical Association of South Jefferson
Website: Historical Association of South Jefferson
Address: 29 East Church Street, Adams, NY 13605
Phone: (315) 232-2616
Email: hasouthjeff@yahoo.com
Alexandria Township Historical Society
Website: Alexandria Township Historical Society
Address: 36 Market Street, PO Box 695, Alexandria Bay, NY 13607
Phone: (315) 482-4586
Cape Vincent Historical Museum
Address: 175 North James Street, PO Box 302, Cape Vincent, NY 13618
Phone: (315) 654-4400
Carthage Free Library: Heritage Room
Website: Carthage Free Library: Heritage Room
Address: 412 Budd Street, Carthage, NY 13619
Phone: (315) 493-2620
Email: carlib@nnyln.net
Thousand Island Museum
Website: Thousand Island Museum
Address: 312 James Street, Clayton, NY 13624
Phone: (315) 686-5794
Email: info@timuseum.org
Henderson Historical Society and Museum
Website: Henderson Historical Society and Museum
Address: 12581 Harborview Road, PO Box 322, Henderson, NY 13650
Phone: (315) 938-7163
Email: hendersonhist@yahoo.com
Historical Society of Mannsville/Town of Ellisburg
Address: 110 Lilac Park Drive, PO Box 121, Mannsville, NY 13661
Phone: (315) 465-4049
Bodman Memorial Library and Museum
Website: Bodman Memorial Library and Museum
Address: 8 Aldrich Street, Philadelphia, NY 13673
Library Phone: (315) 642-3323
Historian Phone: (315) 642-5502
Pickering-Beach Historical Museum
Website: Pickering-Beach Historical Museum
Address: 510 West Main Street, Sackets Harbor, NY 13685
Phone: (315) 646-1529
Email: shvisit@gisco.net
Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site Library and Battlefield Alliance
Website: Battlefield Alliance
Street Address: 504 W. Main Street, Sackets Harbor, NY 13685
Mailing Address: PO Box 27, Sackets Harbor, New York 13685
Phone: (315) 646-3634
Email: mail@sacketsharborbattlefield.org
Oxbow Historical Society
Website: Oxbow Historical Society
Address: PO Box 273, Oxbow, New York 13671
Phone: (315) 405-8729
Theresa Free Library
Website: Theresa Free Library
Address: 301 Main Street, Theresa, NY 13691
Phone: (315) 628-5972
Lyme Heritage Center
Website: Lyme Heritage Center
Address: Old Grange Hall, 8718 County Route 5, Three Mile Bay, NY 13693
Phone: (315) 649-5452
East Hounsfield Free Library
Website: East Hounsfield Free Library
Address: 19438 State Route 3, Watertown, NY 13601
Phone: (315) 788-0637
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 Jefferson County Clerk’s Office: 1825, 1835, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1905, 1915, 1925 (1845 and 1892 are lost)
- State originals at the NYSA: 1915, 1925
- Microfilm at the FHL (1825, 1835, and 1855 at FHL only), NYPL, and NYSL
- Many years are online at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com.
- For 1825 census index, see County of Jefferson Abstracts and James in Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions, below.
- For 1865 census index, see Litchman in Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions, below.
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.
NYGenWeb Project: Jefferson County
Part of the national, USGenWeb volunteer initiative, the website provides information and resources for county research.
Maps
- New York, Land Records, 1630–1975 - Includes land and property records
Newspapers
Other Records
- New York, Probate Records, 1629–1971 - Includes wills, letters of administration, and guardianship papers
Selected Bibliography
Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions
- Bartlett, Ellen. Grooms and Brides of Jefferson County. New York: E. and J. Bartlett, 1993.
- Bartlett, Ellen. Town of Antwerp, Jefferson County, New York Cemetery Inscriptions. Syracuse: The Author, 1997.
- Bartlett, Ellen, John Bartlett, and A. E. Rogers. “Jefferson County Cemetery Inscriptions.” The Bartlett Cemetery Inscriptions website provides free access to a large database of transcriptions from multiple cemeteries across Jefferson County. Print versions of the transcriptions are available from the authors, who are also known as the Gravestone Scribes. http://jefferson.nygenweb.net/bartlett.htm
- County of Jefferson Abstracts. Syracuse: Central New York Genealogical Society, 2000. Abstracts for a range of genealogical records originally published in the quarterly Tree Talks. Includes abstracts of 1825 census for some towns.
- 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/ See Jean Worden’s index below for a listing by county of the NewYork record sets that were transcribed by the DAR before 1998.
- James, Patricia R. Genealogical Journal of Jefferson County, New York. Boise, ID: Family Tree, 1989–2008. Issues from 1990–1999 include abstracts of 1825 state census for various towns in Jefferson County.
- James, Patricia R. Index to DAR Bible Records of Jefferson County, New York. Boise, ID: Family Tree, 1993.
- Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: Jefferson County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
- Litchman, William M. An Every-name Index of the 1865 New York State Census for Jefferson County (New York). Albuquerque, NM: W. M. Litchman, 1996. 10 vols. See NYG&B Newsletter (now New York Researcher), Summer 1997, for a detailed description.
- Litchman, William M. An Every-name Index for Agricultural Schedules, Industry Other Than Agriculture Schedules, Marriages, Deaths, and Civil War soldier Deaths in the 1865 New York State Census for Jefferson County. Albuquerque, NM: Medley Publications, 1996.
- New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Jefferson County, New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: New York Historical Resources Center, Olin Library, Cornell University, 1985.
- Pierrepont, William C. The Taming of the Wilderness in Northern New York: Records of the Land Purchases of Early Settlers for 1826 for Lands in Jefferson, Lewis, and Oswego Counties. Sandy Creek, NY: Write to Print, 1993.
- Rogers, A. E. Town of [Alexandria, Cape Vincent, Hounsfield, Le Ray, Lyme, Theresa, Philadelphia] Jefferson County, New York Cemetery Inscriptions. 7 vols. New York: J & E Bartlett, 1996.
- 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
- Beers, S. N. New Topographical Atlas of Jefferson County, New York: From Actual Surveys. Philadelphia, 1864. [NYPL Digital Gallery]
- Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and Directory of Jefferson County, New York, for 1866–7. Watertown, NY, 1866.
- Child, Hamilton. Geographical Gazetteer of Jefferson County, N.Y., 1684–1890. Syracuse, 1890. Includes business directory of Jefferson County for 1890.
- Coughlin, Jere, comp. Jefferson County Centennial, 1905. Watertown, NY: Hungerford-Holbrook, 1905.
- DeLawyer, Mark W. Troops Furnished by the Town of Adams, New York for Service During the War of the Rebellion, 1861–1865. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 2002.
- Eddy, Justus. Our Early Local History (Embracing the Sixtown Area of Southern Jefferson County, State of New York). Adams, NY: Historical Association of South Jefferson, 1998.
- Emerson, Edgar C. Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Jefferson County, New York. Boston, 1898.
- Foley, Janet W. Early Settlers of New York State: Their Ancestors and Descendants. 9 vols. Akron, NY: 1934–1942. Reprint, 2 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993.
- Gummer, Robert E. The Sixtown Settlers. New York: Historical Association of South Jefferson, 1988.
- Haddock, John A. The Growth of a Century: As Illustrated in the History of Jefferson County, New York, from 1793–1894. Albany, 1895.
- Hough, Franklin Benjamin. History of Jefferson County in the State of New York, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. Albany, 1854.
- James, Patricia R. Genealogical Journal of Jefferson County, New York. Boise, ID: Family Tree, 1989–2007.
- James, Patricia R. Index to the Genealogical Journal of Jefferson County, New York. Boise, Idaho: Family Tree, 1997.
- James, Patricia R. Upstate New York Researcher: Principally for Research in Jefferson, Oneida, and St. Lawrence Counties. Boise, ID: Family Tree, 1991.
- Landon, Harry F. The North Country: A History, Embracing Jefferson, St. Lawrence, Oswego, Lewis and Franklin Counties. 3 vols. Indianapolis: Historical Publishing Co., 1932.
- New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Jefferson County, New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1985. [www.books.FamilySearch.org]
- Northern New York Library Network. Directory of Archival and Historical Document Collections. 2011–2013 edition; published digitally at http://nny.nnyln.org/archives/ArchivalDirectory.pdf. Online indexes at http://www.nny.nnyln.org/archives/page01.html
- Oakes, Rensselaer Allston. Genealogical and Family History of the County of Jefferson, New York. New York and Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1905.
- Peirce, Henry B., and Samuel W. Durant. History of Jefferson County, New York: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia, 1878.
- Reeves, George W. Jefferson County in the World War. Watertown, NY: Hungerford-Holbrook, 1920.
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.