Schuyler county is bordered by Tompkins, Rensselaer, Yates, Seneca, Steuben, and Chemung counties.
County Formed: 1854
Parent County: Chemung, Steuben, Tompkins
Daughter Counties: None
Major Land Transactions: New Military Tract, 1782–1791; Phelps and Gorham Purchase, 1788; Watkins and Flint Purchase, 1794
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
Schuyler County, originally settled by Native Americans dating as far back as 2500 BC, and inhabited by the Seneca at the time of European arrival, was permanently settled by Europeans by 1788. The county was officially formed on April 17, 1854, from parts of Chemung, Steuben, and Tompkins counties, and its county seat is the village of Watkins Glen. Schuyler County was named for Peter Schuyler, a major Continental Army General in the Revolutionary War. The majority of the land in Schuyler County was bought by Revolutionary War veterans, under both the New Military Tract and Watkins & Flint Purchase, to be used for harvesting grains. In the late 19th century to mid-20th century, it was also used for sheep, fruit and dairy farming, attracting immigrant populations which included Italians, Germans, and Irish.
Repositories, Resources, and Societies - County
Schuyler County Clerk
Website: Schuyler County Clerk
Address: 105 Ninth Street, Unit 8, Watkins Glen, NY 14891
Phone: (607) 535-8133
Schuyler County - Town and Village Clerks
Website: Schuyler County – Town and Village Clerks
Includes a PDF with contact information.
Schuyler County Surrogate’s Court
Address: Schuyler County Courthouse, 105 Ninth Street, Unit 35 Watkins Glen, NY 14891
Phone: (607) 535-7144
Schuyler County Public Libraries
Website: Schuyler County Public Libraries
Schuyler is part of the Southern Tier Library System; see website to access each library.
Schuyler County Historical Society
Website: Schuyler County Historical Society
Address: 108 North Catharine Street (Route 14), PO Box 651, Montour Falls, NY 14865
Phone: (607) 535-9741
Email: info@schuylerhistory.org
Schuyler County Historian
Website: Schuyler County Historian
Address: 2470 County Route 16, Watkins Glen, NY 14891
Phone: (607) 535-4730
Schuyler County – All Municipal Historians
A PDF with contact information can be downloaded or see the website of the Association of Public Historians of New York State.
Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Regional
Central New York Genealogical Society
Website: Central New York Genealogical Society
Address: Central New York Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 104, Colvin Station, Syracuse, New York 13205-0104
Email: cnygs@yahoo.com
Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Local
Alphabetized by location
Montour Falls Memorial Library: Historic Resource Room
Website: Montour Falls Memorial Library
Address: 406 West Main Street, PO Box 486, Montour Falls, NY 14865-0486
Phone: (607) 535-7489 or Ext. 594-2062
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 Schuyler County Clerk’s Office: 1855, 1865, 1875, 1915, 1925 (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.
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 Schuyler to view the available records sets.
NYGenWeb Project: Schuyler County
Part of the national, USGenWeb volunteer initiative, the website provides information and resources for county research.
Selected Bibliography
Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions
- Anhalt, Edith Pratz, and the Daughters of the American Colonists, Ga–Ha–Da Chapter. “Cemetery Records, Bible Records of Seneca County and Schuyler County, New York.” Bound typescript, 1961. NYPL, New York.
- County of Schuyler Abstracts. Syracuse, NY: 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.
- Jackson, Mary Smith. Marriage and Death Notices from Schuyler County, New York, Newspapers. Westminster, MD: Heritage Books, 2006.
- Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: Schuyler County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
- Sheldon, Nellie M. Name Index, History of Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins and Schuyler Counties, New York: Compiled by H. B. Peirce and D. Hamilton Hurd, Published by Everts and Ensign, 1879. N.p: The Author, 1965.
- 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
- A Biographical Record of Schuyler County, New York. New York: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1903.
- Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Chemung and Schuyler Counties, N.Y., for 1868–9. Syracuse, 1868.
- Cleaver, Mary Louise Catlin. The History of the Town of Catharine, Schuyler County, NY. Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1945.
- Fay, Loren V. Schuyler County, New York Genealogical Research Secrets. Albany: L.V. Fay, 1982.
- 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.
- Hoiland, Doris Reynolds. Pioneers of the Southern Tier : Schuyler and Tioga Counties. Elmira, NY: Commercial Service Bureau, 1977. Originally published as The History of Seven Counties, 1885.
- Journal of the Schuyler County Historical Society. Watkins Glen, NY: The Society, 1965–present. Periodical.
- New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Schuyler County, New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1981.
- Nichols, Beach. Atlas of Schuyler County, New York. Philadelphia, 1874. [NYPL Digital Gallery]
- Peirce, Henry B. History of Schuyler County, New York: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Ovid, NY: W. E. Morrison & Co., 1975. First published 1879.
- Peirce, Henry B., and D. Hamilton Hurd. History of Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins and Schuyler Counties, New York: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia, 1879. See above for a name index by Nellie Sheldon.
- Portrait and Biographical Record of Seneca and Schuyler Counties, New York: Containing Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the Counties. Together with Biographies and Portraits of All the Presidents of the United States. New York, 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.
- Schuyler County Historical Society. Schuyler County, New York: History and Families. Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Co., 2005.
- Sexton, John L. An Outline History of Tioga and Bradford Counties in Pennsylvania, Chemung, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, and Schuyler in New York: By Townships, Villages, Boro’s and Cities. Elmira, NY, 1885.
- Stillman, Louise V. Schuyler Around and About. Montour Falls, NY: W. E. Morrison, 1994.
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.