Onondaga County was formed from Herkimer County. Three counties have been split off from Onondaga since then: Cayuga, Cortland and Oswego. Syracuse is the county seat of Onondaga County.
County Formed: 1794
Parent County: Herkimer and Tioga
Daughter Counties: Cayuga, 1799; Cortland 1808; Oswego 1816
Major Land Transactions: New Military Tract, 1782-1791
Indian Territories: Onondaga Reservation, 1788-present)
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
- Articles in The Record
- Selected Bibliography
History
The Onondaga people inhabited the region that is now Onondaga County for centuries before contact with European colonists. During the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, Onondaga County was primarily used as a military base. However upon the signing of the New Military Tract, which granted Revolutionary War soldiers parcels of land in Onondaga County as compensation for their military service, settlement began in the area. Onondaga County was established in 1794 from parts of Herkimer and Tioga County, with its county seat at Syracuse. Like much of Upstate New York, Onondaga County was profoundly affected by the construction of the Erie Canal and other transport routes across land and water. As a result of these infrastructure projects, the agricultural, tourism, and textile industries flourished throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
Repositories, Resources, and Societies – County
Onondaga County Clerk
Website: Onondaga County Clerk
Address: Onondaga County Court House, 401 Montgomery Street, Room 200, Syracuse, NY 13202-2568
County Clerk Phone Phone: (315) 435-2227
Onondaga County Office of Vital Statistics
Website: Onondaga County Office of Vital Statistics
Address: Onondaga County Health Department, 421 Montgomery Street, Room 20, Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: (315) 435-3241
Onondaga County - City, Town, and Village Clerks
Website: Onondaga County – City, Town, and Village Clerks
Birth, marriage, and death records are maintained by the clerk of the municipality in which the event occurred. The City of Syracuse is one of the few cities in the state that holds some early birth and death records that are not available at the New York State Department of Health.
Onondaga County Surrogate's Court
Website: Surrogate's Court
Address: Onondaga County Courthouse, 401 Montgomery Street, Syracuse, NY 13202-2568
Phone: 315-671-2098
Onondaga County Public Library: Local History and Genealogy Department
Website: Onondaga County Public Library: Local History and Genealogy Department
Address: 447 South Salina Street, 3rd Floor, Syracuse, NY 13202 - 2494
Phone: (315) 435-1900
Email: lhg@onlib.org
Onondaga Historical Association Museum & Research Center
Website: Onondaga Historical Association Museum & Research Center
Address: 321 Montgomery Street, Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: (315) 428-1864
Onondaga County Historian
Website: Onondaga County Historian
Address: Onondaga County Courthouse, Room 220, 401 Montgomery Street, Syracuse, NY 13202-2568
Phone: (315) 435-2227
Onondaga County - All Municipal Historians
Website: Onondaga 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.
Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Regional
Central New York Genealogical Society
Website: Central New York Genealogical Society
Address: PO Box 404, Colvin Station, Syracuse, NY 13205
Email: cnygs@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
Syracuse University Library
Website: Syracuse University Library
Address: 222 Waverly Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13244
Phone: (315) 443-2093
Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Local
Alphabetized by location
Baldwinsville Public Library: Local History Room
Website: Baldwinsville Public Library: Local History Room
Address: 33 East Genesee Street, Baldwinsville, NY 13027-2575
Phone: (315) 635-5631
Email: localhistory@bville.lib.ny.us
Camillus Historical Society
Website: Camillus Historical Society
Address: 4600 West Genesee Street, Camillus, NY 13031
Phone: (315) 488-1234 (ask for Historical Society)
Email: camillushistorical@townofcamillus.com
Fabius Historical Society
Website: Fabius Historical Society
Street Address: 1254 Highland Park Rd. Fabius, NY 13063
Mailing Address: PO Box 27, Fabius, NY 13063
Fayetteville Free Library
Website: Fayetteville Free Library
Address: 300 Orchard Street, Fayetteville, NY 13066
Phone: (315) 637-6374
Village of Liverpool: Village Museum and Historian's Office
Website: Village Museum and Historian’s Office
Address: Gleason Mansion, 314 Second Street, Liverpool, NY 13088
Phone: (315) 451-7091
Email: villageclerk@villageofliverpool.org
Holdings include documents, photographs, and Liverpool cemetery records.
Manlius Historical Society, Museum, and Cheney House Research Center & Library
Website: Manlius Historical Society
Mailing Address: Manlius Historical Society, PO Box 28, 109 Pleasant Street, Manlius, NY 13104
Historical Museum Address: 101 Scoville Avenue, Manlius, NY 13104
Research Center Address: 109 Pleasant Street, Manlius, NY 13104
Phone: (315) 682-6660
Email: manliushistory@gmail.com
Town of Pompey Historical Society: William G. Pomeroy Museum and Research Center/Genealogy Research Center
Website: Town of Pompey Historical Society: William G. Pomeroy Museum and Research Center/Genealogy Research Center
Street Address: 8347 U.S. Route 20, Manlius, NY 13104-9543
Mailing Address: Town of Pompey Historical Society, 8354 Cherry Valley Turnpike, Manlius, NY 13104
Phone: (315) 682-4729
Marcellus Historical Society
Website: Marcellus Historical Society
Address: 18 North Street, PO Box 165, Marcellus, NY 13108
Phone: (315) 673-4839
Town on Onondaga Historical Society & Museum
Website: Town of Onondaga Historical Society & Museum
Address: 5020 Ball Road, Onondaga Hill, NY 13215
Phone: (315) 214-2383
Email: tohsociety@yahoo.com
Skaneateles Historical Society and Museum
Website: Skaneateles Historical Society and Museum
Address: 28 Hannum Street, Skaneateles, NY 13152-1009
Phone: (315) 685-1360
Email: skaneateleshistoricalsociety@verizon.net
Solvay Public Library
Website: Solvay Public Library
Address: 615 Woods Road, Solvay, NY 13209
Phone: (315) 468-2441
City of Syracuse: City Clerk
Website: City of Syracuse: City Clerk
Address: 231 City Hall, 233 East Washington Street, Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: (315) 448-8216
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 Onondaga 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 (1855 only at FHL), NYPL, AND NYSL
- Many years are online at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com
Online Resources
General Resources
- New York Genealogy Records: Onondoga County
- Onondaga County government links page
- Family History Catalog Listings for Onondaga County
- USGW Archives, Index of Listings for Onondaga County, NY
- Onondaga County Public Records Project
- New York Genealogy, Onondaga County
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: Onondaga County
Part of the national, USGenWeb volunteer initiative, the website provides information and resources for county research.
Deaths and Burials
- Rootsweb: Onondaga County Cemeteries
- New York Genealogy: Death Records
- Rootsweb: Obituaries
- Onondaga cemeteries, with place names and latitude/longitude
- Beach Cemetery with link to burial listings by Daniel Weiskotten
- Mycenae Old Cemetery, on Seneca Turnpike, burial list
- Onondaga County Veterans Memorial Cemetery
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse webpage for Catholic Cemeteries
- Buranich Funeral Home (in Camillus) website has listing and links for cemeteries
- Interment.net: Onondaga County
- New York Gravestones: Onondaga County
- Billion Graves: Onondaga County
- New York Tombstone Transcription Project: Onondaga County
Ethnic Groups and Organizations
- Ganondagan Historic Site (Native American)
- Iroquois Five Nations information
- German Records
- African American Freedom Trail
Maps
- New York Town Locator: Onondaga County Map with zoom feature
- County Maps of NY: Onondaga County Map
- Newberry, Historical County Maps, New York
- Onondaga Historical County Maps
- 1860 County Map with Family Names
- 1875 County Map with Family Names
- New York, Land Records, 1630-1975 - Includes land and property records.
Military Records
- Onondaga County Military records
- Onondaga County Military records
- Revolutionary War soldiers’ graves marked by DAR’s Gen. Asa Danforth and To-whan-to-qua Chapters
- Civil War enlistments with regiments held at Onondaga County Archives
- Onondaga County Veterans Memorial Cemetery
- Civil War battle flags project
Newspapers/Photographs
- New York State Library: Newspapers on Microfilm
- Genealogy Bank: Syracuse Newspaper Records
- Onondaga Library Newspaper Database
- Onondaga Newspapers on Microfilm, New York State Library
- Post-Standard newspaper archives
- Old Fulton New York Postcards - a vast collection of digitized New York newspapers, including 39 titles for Onondaga County.
- History of the Onondaga County Department of Corrections - brief history of the organization and photographs from the mid-1900s.
- Wedding announcements from newspapers
New York Aerial Photographs - The Cornell Institute for Resource Information Sciences maintains a large collection (48 counties) of aerial photographs for New York. A portion of the collection for 6 counties, including Onondaga, is online.
Other Records
- Businesses of Onondaga County
- School Records
- US census bureau county quick facts
- Rootsweb: Onondaga County School Records
- Linkpendium: Onondaga County School Histories and Records
- New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971 - Includes wills, letters of administration, and guardianship papers.
Religious Records
- Temples, Churches, and fellowships with links
- Index of Churches, and Addresses
- Churches in the Syracuse NY area website with links
- Christ Church (Episcopal) in Manlius built 1813 “oldest church building in Onondaga County”
- Immanuel Lutheran Church of Clay built 1833, torn down 1915
- Islamic Society of Central New York
- Temple of the Society of Concord (Jewish Reformed) formed 1841
- First Congregational Church of Pompey, est. 1796
- Congregational Church & Society of Camillus, founded 1800, church completed 1824
- Rootsweb: List of Onondaga County Churches with Records
- Cornell University: Study Center for Early Religious Life in Western New York
- Bible Records
Transportation
- Erie Canal Museum
- William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center for train and bus services
Articles in The Record
- Kellogg, Minnie L. "Cemetery Inscriptions from Pompey Hill, Onondaga County, NY." Vol. 44, No. 1 (1913): 69-87.
- LaPiana, John C. "Descendants of Samuel Jerome of Pompey, Onondaga County, New York."
- Scisco, Louis Dow. "Federal Census, 1800: Onondaga County."
- Scisco, Louis Dow. "Onondaga County Records."
- Part 1. Vol. 30, No. 4 (1899): 237-242.
- Part 2: 1784. Vol. 31, No. 1 (1900): 36-38.
- Part 3: 1784. Vol. 31, No. 2 (1900): 79-82.
- Part 4: 1784-1786. Vol. 31, No. 3 (1900): 170-174.
- Part 5: 1787-1789. Vol. 31, No. 4 (1900): 242-247.
- Part 6: 1789-1790. Vol. 32, No. 1 (1901): 25-30.
- Part 7: 1791. Vol. 32, No. 2 (1901): 108-111.
- Part 8: 1791. Vol. 32, No. 3 (1901): 156-160.
- Part 9: 1792. Vol. 32, No. 4 (1901): 204-206.
- Part 10: 1792-1793. Vol. 33, No. 1 (1902): 17-21.
- Part 11: 1793. Vol. 33, No. 2 (1902): 76-79.
- Part 12: 1793-1794. Vol. 33, No. 3 (1902): 156-160.
- Part 13: 1795. Vol. 33, No. 4 (1902): 242-246.
- Part 14: 1795. Vol. 34, No. 1 (1903): 44-47.
- Part 15: 1796. Vol. 34, No. 2 (1903): 93-97.
- Part 16: 1797. Vol. 34, No. 3 (1903): 206-210.
- Part 17: 1798. Vol. 34, No. 4 (1903): 263-267.
- Part 18: 1800-1827. Vol. 35, No. 1 (1904): 17-19.
- "Van Tine Family Bible Record, Onondaga County." Vol. 140, No. 1 (2009): 35-36.
Selected Bibliography
Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions
- Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Abstracts of Wills of Oneida County, NY.” Typescript, 1939. [Ancestry.com]
- County of Oneida 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 athttp://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.
- Hatcher, Patricia L. “Marriages by Rev. Israel Brainerd in and around Verona, Oneida County, 1807–1849.” NYG&B Record, vol. 141 (2010), no. 3: 221–225, no. 4: 310–313. [NYG&B eLibrary]
- Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: Oneida County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
- “McConnellsville, Oneida Co., NY, Cemetery Inscriptions.” Typescript, 1931. NYPL, New York. Transcribed and indexed by Kenn Stryker-Rodda for The Long Island Historical Society, 1955. [NYG&B eLibrary]
- Pitcher, James S. From the Files of the Town Historian: Ava, Boonville, West Leyden, Lewis. Boonville, NY: Adirondack Communities Advisory League, 1995.
- Vosburgh, Royden Woodward, ed. “Records of the First Presbyterian Church of Whitesboro in the Town of Whitestown, Oneida County, NY.” Typescript, 1920. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
- Vosburgh, Royden Woodward, ed . “Records of the Paris Religious Society in the Town of Paris, Oneida County, NY.” Typescript, 1921. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
- Vosburgh, Royden Woodward, ed. “Records of the Society of Clinton, a Congregational Church in the Village of Clinton, in the Town of Kirkland, Oneida County, NY.” Typescript, 1921. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
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.