Richmond County, New York Guide

Richmond County (Staten Island) is bordered by New Jersey and Kings County, New York.

County Formed: 1683

Parent County: Original County

Daughter Counties: None

Major Land Transactions: Bentley Manor, 1687; Cassiltown(e) Manor, 1687

 

Suffolk County Map
Map of Richmond County

Table of Contents

 

 

 

History

Richmond County, an area that is coterminous with and more often called Staten Island, was originally one of many territories belonging to the Lenape people. The Dutch first tried to establish settlements on the island around 1630 but it wasn’t until after a series of bloody wars between the colonizers and the original inhabitants that the Dutch finally succeeded in 1661 at Oude Dorp (Old Town). In less than a decade, however, the English had seized the Dutch colony and negotiated the sale of the island with its Native inhabitants.

In 1898, Richmond County became one of Manhattan’s five boroughs.

While no major battles occurred there, Richmond County played a particularly important role in the American Revolution. The island was the site of unsuccessful talks between the Continental Congress and the British at what is now known as the Conference House in Tottenville. Also, armies often crossed the island when going to or coming from New Jersey. The county was mainly loyalist during the war, and the final shot of the conflict was fired at Fort Wardsworth.

As a satellite of one of the most important cities in the world, transportation to and from the urban center has been at the heart of Staten Island’s development. The economy of the county was mostly agricultural until the late 19th century, when some industrialization occurred in shipbuilding, textiles, and others. While a series of ferries and bridges had connected the county to the outside world for centuries, the opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in the 1960s resulted in an intense and unprecedented urbanization. The population grew exponentially as Richmond County’s ties to Brooklyn and the rest of New York City strengthened. Richmond County remains mainly suburban in character.

Historically underpopulated, Richmond County was overwhelmingly made up of people of English, French, and Dutch descent until the late 19th century, when more immigrants, particularly from Italy, settled there. Richmond County remains the only New York City borough with a White majority.

Another recent development is the movement for secession from New York City. The creation of the Fresh Kills landfill impelled a major movement in the late 1940s. In the early 1990s, the issue was put to a vote, and most residents of Richmond County voted in favor; however, the State Assembly’s speaker blocked the measure.

 

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies – County

Richmond County Clerk

Website: Richmond County Clerk

Address: 130 Stuyvesant Place, 2nd Floor, Staten Island, NY 10301

Phone: (718) 675-7700

 

Richmond County Surrogate's Court

Website: Richmond County Surrogate’s Court

Address: 18 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301

Phone: (718) 675-8500

 

Municipal Archives of the City of New York (MUNI) - Special Staten Island Collections

Website: Municipal Archives of the City of New York (MUNI)—Special Staten Island Collections

Address: 31 Chambers Street (Manhattan), New York, NY 10007

Phone: (212) 788-8604

Email: archives@records.nyc.gov

 

Staten Island Historian

Website: Staten Island Historian

Address: 460 Brielle Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10314

Email: sihistorian@aol.com  

 

Staten Island Historical Society: Historic Richmond Town

Website: Staten Island Historical Society Historic Richmond Town

Address: 441 Clarke Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10306

Phone: (718) 351-1611  

Email:  info@historicrichmondtown.org

 

St. George Library Center

Website: St. George Library Center

Address: 5 Central Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301

Phone: (718) 442-8560

 

 

 

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:

1790

1800

1810

1820

1830

1840

1850

1860

1870

1880

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

 

 

 

State Census Records

  • County originals at Staten Island Historical Society Library: 1835
  • County originals at New York City Municipal Archives: 1855, 1865, 1875, 1915, 1925 (1825, 1845, 1892, and 1905 are lost).
  • State originals at the NYSA: 1915, 1925
  • Microfilm at the FHL, NYPL, NYSHA, and NYSL
  • Many years are online at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com.

 

 

 

Online Resources

General 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.

Old Staten Island: Staten Island History

The website of John Louis Sublet, who has authored six books on Staten Island, has historical photographs, timelines, and a wide variety of information on people and places in the borough’s history.

 

Ethnic Groups and Organizations

German Genealogy Group and Italian Genealogical Group

Free, online indexes to New York City vital record certificates and Richmond County Naturalizations.

 

Maps

 

Other Records

 

 

 

Selected Bibliography

Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions

  • Daughters of the American Colonists, Brooklyn Chapter, comp. “Chiefly Bible Records Copied from Those of the Staten Island Hist. Society at Port Richmond, Staten Island, NY.” Typescript, 1956. NYPL, New York.
  • Eichholz, Alice, and James Rose. “Slave Births in Castleton, Richmond County, New York.” NYG&B Record, vol. 110, no. 4 (1979): 196–197. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Fast, Frances S. “Richmond Co., N.Y.: [Abstracts of] Wills 1787–1863, Letters of Administration and Guardianship 1787–1866,” and “Index of Wills and Administrations.” Typescripts, n.d. NYPL, New York.
  • “Federal Census, 1800, Richmond County, New York.” NYG&B Record, vol. 60, no.4 (1929): 313–325. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Frost, Josephine C. Cemetery Inscriptions from Richmond, Staten Island, NY.Typescript, n.d. NYPL, New York.
  • Hatcher, Patricia Law. “The Staten Island Census, A List Analysis.” NYG&B Record, vol. 140, no. 4 (2009): 261–271. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Hix, Charlotte Megill. Staten Island Wills and Letters of Administration: Richmond County, New York, 1670–1800. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1993. Copies of Richmond County will and administration abstracts are from the New-York Historical Society series Abstracts of Wills, by William S. Pelletreau (see chapter 6, Probate Records).
  • McMillen, Loring. Transcriptions of the Earliest Court Records of Staten Island, 1668–1688. Staten Island, NY: Borough Historian, 1989.
  • New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Richmond County Church Surveys. Digitally published by NYG&B, 2012 [NYG&B eLibrary]. This survey was made in the early-20th century and inventories records held by Italian Calvary Church, All Saints Church, and Church of the Ascension.
  • New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Richmond County (Staten Island), New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1980.
  • Ojelade, Julie Moody, and Richard L. Dickenson. Afro-American Vital Records and 20th-Century Abstracts: Richmond County/Staten Island 1915 and 1925. New York: Sandy Ground Historical Society, 1985.
  • Salmon, Patricia M. Realms of History: The Cemeteries of Staten Island. New York: Staten Island Museum, 2006.
  • Steinmeyer, Elinor. Chiefly Bible Records Copied from Those of the Staten Island Hist. Society at Port Richmond, Staten Island, NY. Brooklyn: New York State Society, Daughters of the American Colonists, Brooklyn Chapter, 1956.
  • Stillwell, John E., comp. Historical and Genealogical Miscellany, Vol. 1. New York, n.p., 1903. Includes Liber A, Richmond Co. Records (1680–1735, see also Hatcher, below); Baptismal Register of the Dutch Church of Staten Island (1696–1745 and 1786–1790, for those years this is a superior version to that in Wright, below); and Census of Staten Island in the Year 1706 (see also Hatcher, above, for dating census 1707.)
  • Tooker, Holly. “Index to Staten Island Marriages and Deaths in the New York Herald.” Typescript, 2000. NYPL, New York.
  • Vosburgh, Royden Woodward. “Marriage Records of the Reformed Dutch Church on Staten Island [1790–1825].” NYG&B Record, vol. 124 (1993) no. 1: 9–12, no. 2: 8–90, no. 3: 157–160, no. 4: 230–232. Copied from Vosburgh’s Staten Island Church Records, below. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Vosburgh, Royden Woodward. Staten Island Church Records. 8 vols. Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences, 1922–1925. Records of eight Episcopal, Methodist, and Reformed churches, see list in Harry Macy Jr., “The Vosburgh Collection of New York State Church Records,” NYG&B Newsletter (now New York Researcher), Fall 1998. Updated August 2011 and published as a Research Aid on NewYorkFamilyHistory.org.
  • Vosburgh, Royden Woodward. Staten Island Gravestone Inscriptions: Copied in 1923–1924. New York: Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences, 1925.
  • 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.
  • Wright, Tobias Alexander, ed. Staten Island Church Records. Vol. 4 of Collections of the NYG&B Society, 1909. Includes records of the Staten Island Reformed Dutch Church, United Brethren or Moravian Church, and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. See Vosburgh for later records of the Reformed church and St. Andrew’s. See also Stillwell, above. [NYG&B eLibrary, Ancestry.com]

Other Resources

  • Anderson, Albert J. Indians of Staten Island: Sections of Archaeology and Natural History. New York: Staten Island Museum, 2000.
  • Bayles, Richard Mather. History of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York: From Its Discovery to the Present Time. New York, 1887. Reprinted, Salem, MA: Higginson Book Company, 1999.
  • Beers, F. W. Atlas of Staten Island, Richmond County, New York: From Official Records and Surveys Compiled and Drawn by F. W. Beers. New York, 1873.
  • Brooks, Erastus. Historical Records of Staten Island: Centennial and Bicentennial, for Two Hundred Years and More. New York, 1883.
  • Charitis, Christine Victoria. Staten Island’s Greek Community. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2005.
  • Clute, J. J. Annals of Staten Island: From Its Discovery to the Present Time. New York, 1876. (Extracts of the genealogies comprise Clute’s Old Families of Staten Island. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2003.)
  • Dickenson, Richard B. Census Occupations of Afro-American Families on Staten Island, 1840–1875. New York: Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences, 1981.
  • Dickenson, Richard B. Holden’s Staten Island: The History of Richmond County: Revised Resource Manual Sketches for the Year 2002. New York: Center for Migration Studies, 2003.
  • Du Bois, Theodora. Staten Island Patroons. New York: Staten Island Historical Society, 1961.
  • Eberlein, Harold D. Manor Houses and Historic Homes of Long Island and Staten Island. Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1928.
  • Hampton, Vernon B. Staten Island in Transition: A Timely Capsule of Historical Highlights, Problems and Prospects of New York’s “Cinderella” Borough. New York: Richmondtown Social Studies Project, 1970.
  • Hampton, Vernon B. Staten Island’s First Permanent Settlement. New York: Staten Island Historical Society, 1960.
  • Hatcher, Patricia Law. “Richmond County Deeds, ‘Liber A’—A Mystery Solved.” NYG&B Newsletter (now New York Researcher), Winter 1999: 7–8. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Historic Records Survey. The Earliest Volume of Staten Island Records, 1678–1813. New York: Work Projects Administration, 1942. Sometimes erroneously called Liber A, see Hatcher, above. [Ancestry.com]
  • Illustrated Sketch Book of Staten Island, New York, Its Industries and Commerce. New York, 1886.
  • Jackson, Ronald David. African American History in Staten Island: Slave-holding Families and Their Slaves. New York: Staten Island Historical Society, 1995.
  • Kolff, Cornelius G. A Short History of Staten Island. Rosebank, NY: The Author, 1926.
  • Leng, Charles W., and William T. Davis. Staten Island and Its People, a History, 1609–1933. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing, 1930. [Ancestry.com]
  • Lundrigan, Margaret. Irish Staten Island. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2009.
  • Matteo, Thomas W. Staten Island. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2006.
  • McMillen, Harlow. A History of Staten Island, New York, during the American Revolution. New York: Staten Island Historical Society, 1976.
  • McMillen, Loring. Staten Island: The Cosmopolitan Era, from 1898. New York: Staten Island Historical Society, 1952.
  • Morris, Ira K. Morris’s Memorial History of Staten Island, New York. New York: Memorial Publishing, 1900.
  • Papas, Phillip. That Ever Loyal Island: Staten Island and the American Revolution. New York: New York University Press, 2007. Prominent Men of Staten Island, 1893. New York, 1893. Robinson, E. Atlas of the Borough of Richmond, City of New York: From Official Records, Private Plans, and Actual Surveys Compiled by and under the Supervision of E. Robinson. New York, 1898.
  • Rosenfeld, Michael, and Charles LaCerra. Community, Continuity, and Change: New Perspectives on Staten Island History. New York: Pace University Press, 1999.
  • Salmon, Patricia M. Realms of History: The Cemeteries of Staten Island. New York: Staten Island Museum, 2006.
  • Steinmeyer, Henry G. Staten Island, 1524–1898. New York: Staten Island Historical Society, 1987.
  • Tango, Jenny. The Jewish Community of Staten Island. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2004.
  • Youssef, Nadia Hagg. Changing Population Dynamics on Staten Island: The Transition from Homogeneity to Racial and Ethnic Diversity. New York: Center for Migration Studies, 1991.

 

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.