Ontario County is bordered by Monroe, Wayne, Livingston, Seneca, Steuben, and Yates Counties.
County Formed: 1789
Parent County: Montgomery
Daughter Counties: Steuben 1796; Genesee 1802; Livingston 1821; Monroe 1821; Wayne 1823; Yates 1823
Major Land Transactions: Phelps and Gorham Purchase 1788
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
Ontario County was settled shortly after the Revolutionary War and officially formed from Montgomery County on January 27, 1789. Ontario County’s seat is the city of Canandaigua. Since its inception, Ontario County was significantly reduced in size. It lost significant size due to the creation of its daughter counties: Steuben County in 1796, Genesee County in 1802, and Livingston County in 1821. Important land transactions involving Ontario County include the Phelps and Gorham Purchase of 1799 and the Treaty of Canandaigua. Throughout the 19th century, Ontario County transformed into an agricultural center, particularly focused on the production of dairy products and wine. Furthermore, Ontario County was the site of important religious movements. The Second Great Awakening, Church of Latter-day Saints, and the Shaker Movement all have history in Ontario County.
Repositories, Resources, and Societies - County
Ontario County Clerk
Website: Ontario County Clerk
Address: 20 Ontario Street, Canandaigua, NY 14424
Phone: (585) 396-4200
Ontario 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. The Geneva City Clerk has cemetery records for Washington and Glenwood Cemeteries. For contact information, see the directory at www.co.ontario.ny.us.
Ontario County Surrogate's Court
Website: Ontario County Surrogate’s Court
Address: 27 North Main Street, Canandaigua, NY 14424
Phone: (585) 396-4055
Ontario County Records and Archives Center
Address: 3051 County Complex Drive, Canandaigua, NY 14424
Phone: (585) 396-4376
Ontario County Public Libraries
Website: Ontario County Public Libraries
Ontario is part of the Pioneer Library System; see www.pls-net.org to access each library. Many hold genealogy and local history collections. Also see listing below for Geneva Public Library.
Ontario County Historical Society and Museum
Website: Ontario County Historical Society and Museum
Address: 55 North Main Street, Canandaigua, NY 14424
Phone: (585) 394-4975
Email: ochs@ochs.org
Ontario County Historian
Website: Ontario County Historian
Address: 3051 County Complex Drive, Canandaigua, NY 14424
Phone: (716) 396-4034
Ontario 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 contact information, see www.co.ontario.ny.us, http://ny-ontariocounty.civicplus.com/BusinessDirectoryII.aspx?lngBusinessCategoryID=36 , or the Association of Public Historians of New York State at www.aphnys.org.
Ontario County Genealogical Society
Website: Ontario County Genealogical Society
Address: 55 North Main Street, Canandaigua, NY 14424
Phone: (585) 394-4975
Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Regional
Warren Hunting Smith Library: Archives and Special Collections
Website: Hobart and William Smith Colleges: Warren Hunting Smith Library: Archives and Special Collections
Address: 300 Pulteney Street, Geneva, NY 14456
Phone: (315) 781-3009
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) 24-5194
Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Local
Alphabetized by location
East Bloomfield Historical Society
Website: East Bloomfield Historical Society
Address: 8 South Avenue, PO Box 212, East Bloomfield, NY 14443
Phone: (585) 657-7244
Email: director@ebhs1838.org
Geneva Historical Society and Museum
Website: Geneva Historical Society and Museum
Address: 543 South Main Street, Geneva, NY 14456
Phone: (315) 789-5151
Email: info@genevahistoricalsociety.com
Geneva Public Library: Local History and Genealogy Collection
Website: Geneva Public Library: Local History and Genealogy Collection
Address: 244 Main Street, Geneva, NY 14456
Phone: (315) 789-5303
Email: genevaref@pls-net.org
Town of Gorham Historical Society and Museum: Gorham Free Library
Website: Town of Gorham Historical Society and Museum: Gorham Free Library
Address: 2264 State Route 245, Gorham, NY 14461 Society: PO Box 176, Gorham, NY 14461
Email: ghs@gorhamnyhistoricalsociety.org
Phelps Historical Society and Howe House Museum
Website: Phelps Historical Society and Howe House Museum
Address: 66 Main Street, Phelps, NY 14532
Phone: (315) 548-4940
Email: histsoc@fltg.net
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 Ontario County Department of Records, Archives, and Information Management Services: 1845, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, 1925 (1825 and 1835 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.
- 1845 census is lost with the exception of schedules for the Town of Canandaigua. For online census index for 1845 (Canandaigua only), 1855, and 1865, see Ontario County Department of Records in Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions below.
Other 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:
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 Ontario to view the available records sets.
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: Ontario 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 16 titles for Ontario County.
Selected Bibliography
Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions
- Burnisky, David L. The Personalities of Melvin Hill Cemetery, Phelps, Ontario County, New York. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1995.
- County of Ontario 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.
- Grantor and Grantee Deeds Index, 1789– 1958, Ontario County, NY. Microfilm of original records in the Ontario County Courthouse, Canandaigua, NY. Salt Lake City: Reproduction Systems for the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1969.
- Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: Ontario County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
- Naukam, Lawrence W. Ontario County, NY, Cemetery Record Index. Originally published privately in 1984 under title: Union List of Cemetery Records Holdings, Ontario County, NY. Includes index. Rochester: Rochester Genealogical Society, 1987.
- Ontario County Records and Archives Center. “Historical Census Records for Ontario County.” Census indexes, including 1845 (Canadaigua only), 1855, and 1865, are accessible at http://ny-ontariocounty.civicplus.com/index.aspx?nid=612.
- Inventory to the Naturalization Records of the Ontario County Clerk, 1803–1932. Canandaigua, NY: Ontario County Records Center and Archives, 1988. An online index is at http://ny-ontariocounty.civicplus.com/index.aspx?NID=370.
- Perinton Historical Society, comp. “Inscriptions from Farmington Cemetery (Friends Cemetery).” Typescript, 1950. New York State Library. [Ancestry.com]
- Pierce, Preston E. Index to the Burial Places of Revolutionary Patriots in and around Ontario County, New York. Ontario County, NY: Ontario County Historian, Division of Human Services, 1986.
- Wiles, Harriett M. “Abstract of Wills from Ontario County, New York, in the Courthouse, Canandaigua, NY, 1794–1812, Books I–IV.” Typescript, 1949. NYPL, New York.
- “Inscriptions Copied from Headstones in a Cemetery at Port Gibson, Ontario County, New York.” Typescript, 1941. NYPL, New York.
- 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
- Aldrich, Lewis C. History of Ontario County, New York: With Illustrations and Family Sketches of Some of the Prominent Men and Families. Syracuse, 1893.
- Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Ontario County, NY, for 1867–8. Syracuse, 1867.
- Childs, Robert E. A History of the Town of Victor, Ontario County, New York: 1656–1898. Canandaigua, NY, 1898.
- Clark, Louis M. A Book of Facts about the City of Canandaigua, Ontario County, New York, 1789– 1991. Canandaigua, NY: Ontario County Historical Society, 1991.
- 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.
- Granger, J. Albert. A History of (Early) Canandaigua. Canandaigua, NY: Ontario County Historical Society, 1905.
- Harford, Lucille M. The Country Cousin: A Chronicle of the Town of Geneva, Ontario County, New York. Newark, NY: Vanderbook Press, 1976.
- McIntosh, W. H. History of Ontario Co., NY: With Illustrations Descriptive of Its Scenery, Palatial Residences, Public Buildings, Fine Blocks, and Important Manufactories, with Original Sketches by Artists of the Highest Ability. Ovid, NY: W. E. Morrison, 1976.
- Milliken, Charles F. A History of Ontario County, New York, and Its People. 2 vols. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1911.
- New Century Atlas of Ontario County New York, with Farm Records. Philadelphia: Century Map Co., 1904.
- New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Ontario County, New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1982. [books.FamilySearch.org]
- Nichols, Beach. Atlas of Ontario County, New York, from Actual Surveys. Philadelphia, 1873.
- 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…]
- 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.
- Swartout, Barbara C. Building Canandaigua: A Collection. Rochester, NY: Ontario County Historical Society, 1997.
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.