Niagara County is bordered by Lake Ontario, Canada, and the New York counties of Orleans, Genesee, and Erie.
County Formed: 1808
Parent County: Genesee
Daughter Counties: Erie 1821
Major Land Transactions: Holland Land Company Purchase 1792-1796
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
- Other Online Resources
- Selected Bibliography
History
In the pre-colonial era, Niagara County was occupied by the Neutral and Seneca tribes. Upon the arrival of European colonists, Niagara became an important military region. Fort Niagara, constructed in 1726, became the region’s most important military posts and played a crucial role during the Seven Years’ War. However large scale European settlement did not begin in the area until the signing of the Holland Land Company Purchase of 1792 to 1796 and the Treaty of Big Tree. In 1808, after separating from Genesee County, Niagara County became an independent county. Niagara’s daughter county, Erie County, became an independent county in 1821. The seat of Niagara County is located in the City of Lockport. Historically, Niagara has had an industrial economy due to its immense capacity to produce hydropower. However, the county’s tourist-friendly natural wonders have played a key role in the county’s economy.
Repositories, Resources, and Societies - County
Niagara County Clerk
Website: Niagara County Clerk
Address: Niagara County Clerk House, First Floor, PO Box 461 Lockport, NY 14095-0461
Phone: (716) 439-7025
Email: niagaracounty.clerk@niagaracounty.com
Niagara County Genealogical Society
Website: Niagara County Genealogical Society
Address: 215 Niagara Street, Second Floor, Lockport, NY 14094 •
Phone: (716) 433-1033
Email: genealogy@niagaracounty.org
Cemetery records, census records, and genealogies. Some material on other New York countries, Pennsylvania, New England, and Ontario, Canada. Publishes a newsletter quarterly.
Niagara County Historian
Website: Niagara County Historian
Address: Civil Defense Building, 139 Niagara Street, Lockport, NY 14094
Phone: (716) 439-7324
Email: historian@niagaracounty.com
Obituaries 1840’s-present, marriage records 1908-1928, index of wills (prior to 1800), naturalization records (1833-1954); microfilm and indexes at historian’s office, physical records are in storage and are accessible throught the historian; city directories 1856-present, veterans’ files (French and Indian War to the present), church records, family scrapbooks, and the New York state censuses for Niagara County 1855-1925.
Niagara County Historical Society
Website: Niagara County Historical Society
Address: 215 Niagara Street, Lockport, NY 14094
Phone: (716) 434-7433
Email: history@niagaracounty.org
Holdings include ephemera, memorabilia, and research materials documenting the history of Niagara County, the Erie Canal, and the Civil War. Niagara County Genealogical Society Newsletter published quarterly.
Niagara County Public Libraries
Website: Niagara County Public Libraries
Niagara is part of the Nioga Library System. Many hold genealogy and local history collections including books and newspapers. See listings below for the Lewiston, Lockport, Niagara Falls, and North Tonawanda Public Libraries.
Niagara County Surrogate’s Court
Address: 175 Hawley Street, Lockport, NY 14094
Phone: (716) 439-7130
Holds probate records 1821 to the present. Earlier records (1808-1821) are held in Erie County.
Niagara 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. See municipal websites for details and contact information.
Niagara 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, for example, the Town of Porter historian at www.townofporter.net/about/historian.html . See contact information at the Government Appointed Historians of Western New York at www.gahwny.org/p/niagara.html or at the website of the Association of Public Historians of New York State at www.aphnys.org.
Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Regional
The Buffalo History Museum
Website: The Buffalo History Museum
Address: One Museum Court, Buffalo, NY 14216
Phone: (716) 873-9644
Email: library@buffalohistory.org
Formerly the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society. Local directories, local histories, biographies, census microfilm and indexes, microfilm of church and cemetery records, marriage index, military records, institution records, thousands of microfilms of newspapers, obituary index with over 99,000 names and family files. Online resources include Buffalo address books, Crystal Beach photographs, manuscripts and drawings from the War of 1812, and finding aids. Holdings include records for parent county (Niagara) pre-1821—before Erie County was formed. Website contains list of finding aids and collection inventories.
Old Fort Niagara Association Visitor Center
Website: Old Fort Niagara Association Visitor Center
Address: Fort Niagara State Park, One Quartermaster Court Youngstown, NY 14174
Phone: (716) 745-7611
Cemetery records and military records (troop returns, service records, regimental rosters) from the 1750s to the 1900s.
SUNY Fredonia: Daniel A. Reed Library: Archives & Special Collections
Website: SUNY Fredonia: Daniel A. Reed Library: Archives & Special Collections
Address: Fredonia, NY 14063
Phone: (716) 673-3184
University of Rochester: Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation
Address: Rush Rhees Library, Second Floor, Room 225, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0055
Phone: (585) 275-4477
Email: Email access on website
Western New York Genealogical Society
Website: Western New York Genealogical Society
Address of Library: Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, Grosvenor Room, One Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203
Phone: (716) 858-8900
Address of Society: PO Box 338, Hamburg, NY 14075-0338
Email: info@wnygs.org
Documents genealogy and history of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming counties. The June P. Zintz Memorial Library of the Western New York Genealogical Society is located in the Grosvenor Room of the downtown Central Branch of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library and contains atlases and gazetteers; directories (including Buffalo City Directories 1832–present); histories; Bible, birth, baptism, church, marriage, burial, cemetery, and death records; a card file vital record index of early Western New York families; census materials for the eight Western New York counties (federal and state); ancestor charts, biographies, family histories, and genealogies; immigration lists and indexes; and military records.
The Society’s projects include a Church and Cemetery Records Microfilming Program, which funds the microfilming of records from Western New York and makes them available to researchers at the Zintz Memorial Library. A complete list of records that have been microfilmed is available on the Society’s website. The website also contains a list of surnames currently being researched by its members, partial indexes for the 1865 state census , and a limited amount of transcribed records.
The Society has published the Western New York Genealogical Society Journal since 1974, which includes unpublished records, book reviews, and research advice. A list of article titles from 1998 to 2010 is available on the website.
Western New York Heritage Press
Website: Western New York Heritage Press
Address: 495 Pine Ridge Heritage Boulevard, Cheektowaga, NY 14225-2503
Phone: (716) 893-4011
Email: emaillist@wnyheritagepress.org
Publishes original research on Western New York, including Heritage Magazine.
Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Local
Alphabetized by location
Historical Association and Society of Lewiston and the Lewiston Museum
Website: Historical Association and Society of Lewiston and the Lewiston Museum
Address: 469 Plain Street, PO Box 43, Lewiston, NY 14092
Phone: (716) 754-4214
Lewiston Public Library: Genealogy/History Room
Website: Lewiston Public Library: Genealogy/History Room
Address: 305 South 8th Street, Lewiston, NY 14092
Phone: (716) 754-4720
Lockport Public Library: Local History Room
Website: Lockport Public Library: Local History Room
Address: 23 East Avenue, Lockport, NY 14094
Phone: (716) 433-5935
Niagara Falls Public Library: Local History Department
Website: Niagara Falls Public Library: Local History Department
Address: Earl W. Brydges Building, 1425 Main Street, Third Floor, Niagara Falls, NY 14305
Phone: (716) 286- 4899
North Tonawanda History Museum
Website: North Tonawanda History Museum
Address: 54 Webster Street, North Tonawanda, NY 14120
Phone: (716) 213-0554
Email: nthistorymuseum@aol.com
North Tonawanda Public Library: Local History Department
Website: North Tonawanda Public Library: Local History Department
Address: 505 Meadow Drive, North Tonawanda, NY 14120
Phone: (716) 693-4132
Email: ntwref@nnioga.org
Town of Porter Historical Society Museum
Website: Town of Porter Historical Society Museum
Address: 240 Lockport Street, PO Box 168, Youngstown, NY 14174
Phone: (716) 745-1271
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 Niagara County Historian’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
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:
“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 Niagara to view the available records sets.
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: Niagara County
Part of the national, USGenWeb volunteer initiative, the website provides information and resources for county research.
The website provides free access to a vast collection of digitized New York newspapers, including six titles for Niagara County.
Selected Bibliography
Abstracts, Indexes, and Transcriptions
- County of Niagara 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.
- Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: Niagara County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
- Niagara County Historian. “Index: 1865 N. Y. State Census Niagara County.” Manuscript, n.d. Western New York Genealogical Society Library, Buffalo.
- Pettit, Ira S., and Jean P. Ray. The Diary of a Dead Man: Letters and Diary of Private Ira S. Pettit, Wilson, Niagara County, New York . . . . New York: Eastern Acorn Press, 1981.
- Walck, Adam, Dorothy M. Rolling, and Donna M Barnes. Niagara County Cemetery Directory. New York: Niagara County Historian's Office, 1994.
- 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
- Aiken, John, et al. Outpost of Empires: A Short History of Niagara County. Phoenix, NY: F. E. Richards, 1961.
- Beers, D. G. Atlas of Niagara and Orleans Counties, New York: From Actual Surveys and Official Records. Philadelphia, 1875.
- Boyd’s Lockport City Directory: With a Business Directory of Niagara County and an Appendix. Lockport, NY, 1866.
- Fierch, Frederick G. Royalton, Middleport, and Hartland. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2010.
- 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.
- History of Niagara County, N.Y., with Illustrations Descriptive of Its Scenery, Private Residences, Public Buildings, Fine Blocks, and Important Manufactories, and Portraits of Old Pioneers and Prominent Residents. New York, 1878.
- Kirwin, William H. Kirwin’s Directory of the City of Lockport and County of Niagara for the Year. . . . Lockport, NY: W. H. Kirwin. Multiple years.
- Kostoff, Robert D. A History of Niagara County, New York. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2001.
- Lewis, Clarence O. History of Lockport, New York. Lockport, NY: Niagara County Court House, 1960. Revised 1964.
- New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Niagara County,
- New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1982. [books.FamilySearch.org]
- Percy, John W. Tonawanda, the Way It Was: A History of the Town of Tonawanda from 1805–1903. Kenmore, NY: Partners’ Press, 1979.
- Pool, William, ed. Landmarks of Niagara County, New York. Syracuse, 1897.
- 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.
- Reed, Irving R. 100 Years Ago Today: Niagara County in the Civil War. Lockport, NY: Niagara County Historical Society, 1966.
- Souvenir History of Niagara County: Commemorative of the 25th Anniversary of the Pioneer Association of Niagara County. Lockport, NY: Lockport Journal, 1902.
- Turner, Orsamus. Pioneer History of the Holland Purchase of Western New York: Embracing Some Account of the Ancient Remains . . . . Buffalo, 1849.
- Wiley, Samuel T., and Winfield Scott Garner. Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Niagara County, New York. Philadelphia, 1892.
- Williams, Edward T. Niagara County, New York: One of the Most Wonderful Regions in the World: A Concise Record of Her Progress and People, 1821–1921, Published During Its Centennial Year. Chicago: J. H. Beers, 1921.
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.