Monroe County, New York Guide

Monroe County is located in Western New York. Bordered on the north by Lake Ontario, Monroe is further surrounded by the counties of Wayne, Ontario, Livingston, Orleans, and Genesee​.

County Formed: 1821

Parent County: Genesee, Ontario

Daughter Counties: None

Major Land Transactions: Phelps and Gorham Purchase 1788; Morris Reserve 1791

Monroe County Map
Map of Monroe County

Table of Contents

 

History

By the time the French first explored what is now Monroe County, the Seneca controlled the area. The downfall of Seneca control came about during the American Revolution, as their alliance with the British made them enemies of the ultimately successful Patriots.

Monroe County was finally created in 1821 from segments of Genesee and Ontario Counties. Monroe County also received a small part of Livingston County in 1825, and it has no daughter counties. The county was named after the fifth President of the United States, James Monroe, and its county seat and largest city is Rochester.

Two major land transactions that have shaped the county are the Phelps and Gorham Purchase of 1788 and the Morris Reserve of 1791; most of the lands were acquired from Massachusetts or the Seneca. Part of the deal that solidified the 1788 Purchase required that Phelps build a mill to grind Seneca corn. The promise was fulfilled, and this mill was one of the first in a long line of milling and processing ventures in Monroe County.

Agriculture was also a major industry in the late 18th and early 19th century; wheat was the county’s primary product. Monroe County’s economy already depended greatly on waterways when the construction of the Erie Canal was completed in the 1820s. However, the Erie Canal’s influence was unprecedented; it fostered huge economic and demographic growth in Rochester and Monroe County as a whole. A variety of industrial ventures flourished in Rochester starting in the mid-19th century, from clothes-making to more technical endeavors such as producing photographic supplies (Eastman Kodak was founded in the city). While Monroe County’s economy zigzagged throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries, it continues to be an exporting powerhouse within and outside the United States.

Monroe County’s long history of strong manufacturing and industrial sectors has attracted a variety of immigrants. A large number of Germans arrived in the mid-19th century, mostly to work in Rochester’s industries. They were followed within a few decades by Eastern European Jews, Italians, and Poles. An influx of African Americans and Puerto Ricans also settled in the county by the mid-to-late 20th century. All of these groups have contributed to the county’s significant religious diversity. Since before its inception, Monroe County has also been the home of a significant number of Black communities.

References:

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - County

Monroe County Clerk

Website: Monroe County Clerk

Address: 101 County Office Building, 39 West Main Street, Rochester, NY 14614

Phone: (585) 753-1600

Email: mcclerk@monroecounty.gov

Land records 1821–present; court records; naturalization records 1821–1950s; and Monroe County originals of the New York state censuses 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, and 1925. Birth and death records are maintained by the Monroe County Health Department’s Office of Vital Records. The Monroe County Clerk’s Office does not issue marriage licenses and does not keep copies of marriage licenses; they are held by city, town, or village clerks.

 

Monroe County - City, Town, and Village Clerks

Website: Monroe County – City, Town, and Village Clerks

Marriage records are maintained by the clerk of the municipality in which the marriage occurred. Unlike most city clerks, Rochester City Clerk holds some vital records not available at the New York State Department of Health; see listing for City of Rochester Municipal Archives.

 

Monroe County Surrogate’s Court

Address: 99 Exchange Boulevard, Rochester, NY 14614

Phone: (585) 371-3310

Holds probate records from the early 1800s to the present.

 

Monroe County Department of Public Health: Office of Vital Records

Website: Monroe County Department of Public Health: Office of Vital Records

Address: 111 Westfall Road, Room 147, Rochester, NY 14620

Phone: (585) 753-5141

Holdings include all birth and death records that occurred in Monroe County from 1880–present. Cities, towns, and villages forward their records to the county for this consolidated district. Copies can be ordered online.

 

Monroe County Records and Archives

Website: Monroe County Records and Archives

Address: City Place, 7th Floor, 50 West Main Street, Rochester, NY 14614

Phone: (585) 753-7367

Holdings include record drawings of county construction projects 1870s to the present, topographic and land use maps, and aerial photographs of Monroe County.

 

Monroe County Public Libraries

Website: Monroe County Public Libraries

Most libraries have special collections and archival materials relating to local history and genealogy, including newspapers, maps, local histories, photographs, and ephemera.  An overview of holdings can be found on the website. The Central Library, Henrietta Public Library, and Scottsville Free Library have particularly strong collections, and are listed below.  A large selection of Monroe County city directories dating from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s can be found online by searching the LibraryWeb catalog, and are available for download.

 

Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County: Local History and Genealogy Department

Website: Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County: Local History and Genealogy Department

Address: Rundel Memorial Library Building, 2nd Floor, 115 South Avenue, Rochester, NY 14604

Holds a copy of the New York State Department of Health vital records indexes. Census microfilms, newspapers, Civil War research collection, and photographs. Website includes a searchable Life Records Database (birth, death, and marriage indexes from City of Rochester newspapers 1900–present), genealogy indexes, local directories, Rochester Newspaper Index 1818–1903, Research Guide, and Genealogy Links. Publishes Rochester History, quarterly.

 

Monroe County Historian

Website: Monroe County Historian

Address: St. John Fisher College, 3690 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14618

Phone: (585) 385-8244

 

Monroe 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. See contact information at http://mcnygenealogy.com/historians.htm, the Government Appointed Historians of Western New York at www.gahwny.org/p/monroe.html or the website of the Association of Public Historians of New York State at www.aphnys.org.

 

Genealogical Roundtable of Monroe County

Address: 35 Country Lane, Penfield, NY 14526-1028

Has published collections of land records, school records, vital records culled from the 1865 census, and tax records.

 

SUNY: The College at Brockport: Rose Archives

Website: SUNY: The College at Brockport: Rose Archives

Address: Drake Memorial Library, 350 New Campus Drive, Brockport, NY 14420

Email: archives@brockport.edu

Holdings document the history of the college, Town of Brockport, and western Monroe County.

 

Western Monroe County Genealogical Society and Ogden Farmers' Library

Website: Western Monroe County Genealogical Society and Ogden Farmers’ Library

Address: 269 Ogden Center Road, Spencerport, NY 14559

Holdings include the Rural New Yorker, 1858–1878.

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Regional

Milne Library at SUNY Geneseo: Special Collections: Genesee Valley Historical Collection

Website: Milne Library at SUNY Geneseo: Special Collections: Genesee Valley Historical Collection

Address: One College Circle, Geneseo, NY 14454

Phone: (585) 245-5194

 

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

The University’s collection of Rochester, Western New York, and New York State material includes local histories (more than 1,500 volumes), broadsides and circulars, Farmers’ Library of Wheatland manuscripts 1805–1870, maps, newspapers 1820–1870, photographs and postcards, prints, stereo views, and upstate imprints.

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Local

 

Alphabetized by location

City of Rochester: City Clerk

Address: City Hall, Room 300A, 30 Church St., Rochester, NY 14614

Phone: (585) 428-7421

Holdings for the City of Rochester include marriage records 1908–present. See City of Rochester Municipal Archives and Records Center listing for birth and death records.

 

City of Rochester Municipal Archives and Records Center

Website: City of Rochester Municipal Archives and Records Center

Address: 414 Andrews Street, Rochester, NY 14604

Phone: (585) 428-7331

Holdings for the City of Rochester include marriages 1876–1943, with complete online bride/groom index, copies of original marriage licenses from the years 1908–1960 (can be obtained from onsite microfilm records); government records; archival materials; and photographic collection 1860–1970. (Birth and marriage records 1881–present and death records June 1880–present are available at the New York State Department of Health in Albany.)

 

East Rochester Department of Local History

Website: East Rochester Department of Local History

Address: 901 Main Street, East Rochester, NY 14445

Phone: (585) 381-3023

Email: historian@erhistory.com

Collections include Board of Education 1927–2006; businesses 1898–2006; fire and police 1898–2006; newspapers (East Rochester Herald, 1943–2006); obituaries 1910–2006; school news 1932–2006; village politics 1897–2006; and weddings 1924–2006. Yearbooks 1928–2006 are viewable online.

 

Henrietta Public Library: Local History Collections

Website: Henrietta Public Library: Local History Collections

Address: 455 Calkins Road, Henrietta, NY 14623

Phone: (585) 334-3401

Email: hplinfo@libraryweb.org

Collections include agricultural records; architecture; canal records; cemetery indexes (some online); census reports; church histories and records; suburban directories; gazetteers; government records; histories of Henrietta and Monroe counties; journals, diaries, and personal correspondence; maps; military records; American Indian records; local newspapers; obituaries; oral history; personal and family histories; school records; social life and customs; tax assessment rolls; transportation; and yearbooks. A list of holdings for each collection is available on the Library’s website. Website also includes genealogy research tools, including how-to guides and tips, extensive digital collections, and numerous links.

 

Historic Brighton

Website: Historic Brighton

Address: PO Box 18525, Rochester, NY 14618-0525

Email: info@historicbrighton.com

Website provides history of agriculture, industry, and architecture in Brighton area, including maps and census information. Includes history of Buckland Farmstead, Brighton Brick, and the 17 existing brick structures in Brighton.

 

Irondequoit Historical Society and Historic Complex

Website: Irondequoit Historical Society and Historic Complex

Address:1288-1290 Titus Avenue, Rochester, NY 14617

Phone: (585) 266-5144

Website includes list of the Society’s publications and photos of historic Irondequoit homes. Publications of the Society include local histories, biographies, cemetery records, letters, and maps.

 

Parma-Hilton Historical Society and Parma Historical Museum

Website: Parma-Hilton Historical Society and Parma Historical Museum

Address:1300 Hilton Parma Corners Road (Route 259), North Entrance, Hilton, NY 14468

Phone: (585) 392-9496

Email: curator@parmany.org

Exhibits document local involvement in the Civil War, World War I and World War II, and the town’s agricultural and domestic history.

 

Penfield Public Library: Local History Room

Website: Penfield Public Library: Local History Room

Address:1985 Baird Road, Penfield, NY 14526

Phone: (585) 340-8740

Email historian@penfield.org

Collections focus on the Town of Penfield and include photographs, church and cemetery records, maps, newspapers, directories, tax records, surname and property files, diaries and memoirs, yearbooks, land records, an historic resource survey, records of various organizations, district school records, some early town records, information on Penfield’s Civil War soldiers, and Revolutionary War patriots buried in the vicinity.

 

Perinton Historical Society and Fairport Historical Museum

Website: Perinton Historical Society and Fairport Historical Museum

Address:18 Perrin Street, Fairport, NY 14450

Phone: (585) 223-3989

Email: info@PerintonHistoricalSociety.org

Archives include business and residential directories 1864–1966; cemetery information; census materials 1800–1915; maps, property records, and surveys; newspapers 1873–1990; obituaries 1980–present; Fairport High School Yearbooks 1926–2002; photographs and postcards; and local government documents.  The museum documents history of local agriculture, architecture and commerce, industry, transportation, pioneer life, communications, and the Underground Railroad. Publishes a newsletter, Periton Historigram.

 

Rochester Genealogical Society

Website: Rochester Genealogical Society

Address: PO Box 10501, Rochester, NY 14610-0501

Email: rgsmembership@rochester.rr.com

Website includes list of surnames currently being researched by members, list of the Society’s publications, selected church and cemetery records, and numerous links. Publishes a quarterly called Hear Ye, Hear Ye.

 

Rochester Historical Society

Website: Rochester Historical Society

Address: Rundel Memorial Building, 115 South Avenue, Rochester, NY 14604

Phone: (585) 428-8470

Email: librarian@rochesterhistory.org

Architectural drawings, art and artifacts, books and manuscripts (genealogies and histories, correspondence, papers, and minute books), and prints and photographs. Publishes the Observer quarterly.

 

Scottsville Free Library: Eugene Cox Memorial Local History Room

Website: Scottsville Free Library: Eugene Cox Memorial Local History Room

Address: 28 Main Street, Scottsville, NY 14546

Phone: (585) 889-2023

Books and documents, artifacts, cemetery index, genealogies and family files, letters, maps, photographs, and yearbooks.

 

Wheatland Historical Association

Website: Wheatland Historical Association

Address: 69 Main Street, PO Box 184, Scottsville, NY 14546

Phone: (585) 889-4574

The Association maintains the Skivington Local History Room.

 

 

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.

Monroe is one of four “County Registration Districts” which have consolidated the administration of birth and death records. These civil records are kept at the Monroe County Department of Public Health, Office of Vital Records. Civil birth and death records earlier than 1881 may still be found with city, town, or village clerks.

 

 

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 Monroe County Clerk’s Office: 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, 1925 (1825, 1835, and 1845 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.

 

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 Monroe to view the available records sets.

 

The College at Brockport: Local History Resources

This page provides links to online genealogical resources for Monroe and neighboring counties.

 

Monroe County Library System

The website provides access to numerous digital collections of city directories, local histories, civil records and indexes, photographs, journals, and other material; pathfinders and research guides on topics of historical interest; and links to other resources for Monroe County research.

 

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: Monroe 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 14 titles for Monroe County.

 

Rochester Churches Indexing Project (RCIP)

The RCIP is a volunteer initiative that has produced a growing database of thousands of marriage and baptism record transcriptions from more than 30 churches in the Rochester area.

 

General Resources

 

Deaths and Burials

 

Military Records

 

Newspapers

 

Religious Records

 

Ethnic Groups and Organizations

 

 

Selected Bibliography

Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions

  • American Agriculturist Farm Directory and Reference Book, Monroe and Livingston Counties, New York, 1917: A Rural Directory and Reference Book Including a Road Map of Monroe and Livingston Counties. New York: O. Judd Co., 1917.
  • Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Abstracts of Wills of Monroe County, N.Y.” Typescript, 1940–1941. University of Wisconsin, Madison. [HathiTrust.org]
  • Cohen, Minnie. “Abstracts of Wills of Monroe County, N.Y., from 1821–1841.” Typescript, 1941. NYPL, New York.
  • County of Monroe 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 for a listing by county of the New York record sets that were transcribed by the DAR before 1998.
  • Kabelac, Karl Sanford. Index to Pictures of Rochesterians and Monroe Countians. Rochester: Local History Committee, 1992.
  • Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: Monroe County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
  • Montgomery, George Washington. Monroe County, New York, Marriage Records of Rev. George Washington Montgomery, 1846–1879, Founding Minister of the First Universalist Society of the City of Rochester. Rochester: Rochester Genealogical Society, 1992.
  • Naukam, Lawrence W. Monroe County, N.Y. Cemetery Record Index. Rochester: Rochester Genealogical Society, 1984.
  • 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, F. W. Atlas of Monroe County, New York: From Actual Surveys. New York, 1872.
  • Bragdon, George C. Notable Men of Rochester and Vicinity: XIX and XX Centuries. Rochester: D. J. Stoddard, 1902.
  • Calavano, Alan. Rochester. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2008.
  • Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Monroe County, NY, for 1869–70. Syracuse, 1868.
  • Clark, Donna K. Monroe County, New York, Directory of Genealogical Records.  Arvada, CO: Ancestor Publishers, 1985.
  • Connors, Mary, and Jim Burlingame. East Rochester, New York: One Hundred Years of History, 1897–1997. Dallas: Taylor Publishing Co., 1997.
  • Du Bois, Eugene E. The City of Frederick Douglass: Rochester’s African-American People and Places. Rochester: Landmark Society of Western New York, 1995.
  • Federal Writers’ Project (NY). Rochester and Monroe County. Rochester: Scrantom’s, 1937. [Archive.org]
  • 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.
  • Halsey, Richard T. Genealogical Guide to Monroe County, New York. Rochester: Rochester Genealogical Society, 1985.
  • Hanford, Franklin, and E. H. T. Miller. Name Sources of Townships of Monroe Co. Scottsville, NY: n.p., 1930.
  • Hawley, Jesse, and Elisha Ely. Early History of Rochester: 1810 to 1827, with Comparisons of Its Growth and Progress to 1860. Rochester, 1860.
  • Hosmer, Howard C. Monroe County, 1821–1971: The Sesquicentennial Account of the History of Monroe County, New York. Rochester: Rochester Museum and Science Center, 1971.
  • Husted, Shirley C., and Ruth Rosenberg-Naparsteck. Rochester Neighborhoods. Charleston, SC: Aracadia, 2000.
  • Johnson, Paul E. A Shopkeeper’s Millennium: Society and Revivals in Rochester, New York, 1815–1837. New York: Hill and Wang, 1978.
  • Lee, Florence. The Founding of Monroe County. Rochester: County of Monroe, 1965.
  • Lee, Florence. Pleasant Valley: An Early History of Monroe County and Region, 1650–1850. New York: Carlton Press, 1970.
  • MacNab, Margaret C. First Footers: Settlers around Monroe County before 1820. Rochester: The Author, n.d.
  • MacNab, Margaret Schmitt, Shirley C. Husted, and Katherine W. Thompson. Northfield on the Genesee: Early Times in Monroe County, N.Y., with Town Minutes and Highway Records, 1796–1814, of Dr. John Ray and Samuel Kempton, Town Clerks, and Biographies of Nearly 500 Early Families. Rochester: County of Monroe, 1981.
  • Marcotte, Robert. Where They Fell: Stories of Rochester Area Soldiers in the Civil War. Franklin, VA: Q. Publishing, 2002.
  • McIntosh, W. H. History of Monroe County, New York: With Illustrations Descriptive of Its Scenery, Palatial Residences, Public Buildings, Fine Blocks, and Important Manufactories. Philadelphia, 1877.
  • McKelvey, Blake. Rochester in the Civil War. Rochester: Rochester Historical Society, 1944.
  • McKelvey, Blake. Rochester on the Genesee: The Growth of a City. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1973.
  • New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Monroe County, New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1988. [books.FamilySearch.org]
  • Osgood, Howard L.  The Struggle for Monroe County. N.p., 1892.
  • Peck, William F. History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York: From the Earliest Historic Times to the Beginning of 1907. New York, Chicago: Pioneer Publishing Company, 1908.
  • Peck, William F. Semi-centennial History of the City of Rochester: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Syracuse, 1884.
  • Pierce, Preston E. Western New York Oral History Collections in Livingston County, Monroe County, Ontario County, Wayne County, Wyoming County. Fairport, NY: Rochester Regional Library Council, 2009. http://rrlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/dhp_Oral-History-Inventory.p…
  • Preface to Tomorrow: Monroe County History Briefly Told and Illustrated. Rochester: County of Monroe, 1971.
  • Raines, Thomas, et al. Landmarks of Monroe County, New York . . . : Followed by Brief Historical Sketches of the Towns of the County with Biography and Family History. Boston, 1895.
  • Records of the Ithaca College Study Center for Early Religious Life in Western New York, 1978–1981. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library. A description of the holdings for each county is at http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/eguides/lists/churchlist1.htm.
  • Slocum, George E. Wheatland, Monroe County, New York: A Brief Sketch of Its History. Scottsville, NY: I. Van Hooser, 1908.
  • Turner, Orsamus. History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and Gorham’s Purchase, and Morris’ Reserve . . . . Rochester, 1851.

 

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.