Suffolk County, New York Guide

Suffolk County is the easternmost county of New York State. Together with Nassau, it comprises modern suburban Long Island. Prior to the 20th century, before the expansion of New York City and the creation of Nassau County, Long Island commonly referred to Suffolk, Queens, and Kings Counties. Suffolk contains two peninsulas, the North Fork and the South Fork; several smaller islands, including Shelter, Fire, Gardiners, Fishers, and Robins Islands; and a number of bays. It is bounded by the Long Island Sound to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and east.​

County Formed: 1683

Parent County: Original County

Daughter Counties: None

Major Land Transactions: Gardiners Island Manor 1665; Shelter Island Manor 1666; Fishers Island Manor 1668; Plum Island Manor 1675; Queens Village Manor 1685; Easton Manor 1686; St. George Manor 1693

 

Suffolk County Map
Map of Suffolk County

Table of Contents

 

 

History

 

Suffolk County is the easternmost county of New York State, compassing eastern Long Island. Occupied by the Algonquin Indians up until the 17th century, the first European explorer, Adrian Block, landed at Montauk Point in 1614. The first white resident of the county was Lion Gardiner in 1639, for whom Gardiners Island is named. By the mid-1600s the Dutch ceded control of eastern Long Island to the English. In 1683, Suffolk County was established as one of the 12 original counties of the Province of New York. Overwhelmingly, supportive of the patriotic cause prior to the American Revolution, all changed after the American loss at the Battle of Long Island (August 27, 1776). The County was occupied by the British for the duration war. By the 19th century, whaling and shipbuilding became Suffolk County’s most important industries; maritime pursuits soon dwindled after the Civil War. Agriculture always remained an important staple of Long Island commerce. Suffolk has excelled in the cultivation of potatoes, strawberries, and other crops. Eastern Suffolk is also known for its vineyards and nurseries.  Significant land transactions include Gardiners Island Manor in 1665, Shelter Island in 1666, Fishers Island Manor in 1668, Plum Island Manor in 1675, Queens Village Manor in 1685, Eaton Manor in 1686, and the St. George Manor in 1693. The County Seat is located in the Hamlet of Riverhead.

References: Suffolk County History; The Encyclopedia of New York State, p. 1499

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies – County

 

Suffolk County Clerk

Website: Suffolk County Clerk

Address: 310 Center Drive, Riverhead, NY 11901-3392

Phone: (631) 852-2000

Email: countyclerk@suffolkcounty.gov

 

Suffolk County – All Municipal Historians

Website: Suffolk 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 link above or the website of the Association of Public Historians of New York State.

 

Suffolk County Historical Society, Museum, and Library & Archives

Website: Suffolk County Historical Society, Museum, and Library & Archives

Address: 300 West Main Street, Riverhead, NY 11901

Phone: (631) 727-2881

Email: director@schs-museum.org

Account books, deeds, wills, federal and New York state census on microfilm, letters, diaries and journals, maps and atlases, photographs and scrapbooks, and vertical files. Library & Archives serve as the repository for the collection of the now defunct National society from the Daughters of the Revolution (“D of R”; a distinct society from the DAR), including genealogies, biographies, periodicals, town records, ledgers, diaries, photographs, postcards, maps and atlases, cemetery, transcriptions, ancestor charts, scrapbooks, family Bible records, and newspapers. The Society accepts research requests for a fee.

 

Suffolk County – Town and Village Clerks

Website: Suffolk County – 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. 

 

Suffolk County Surrogate’s Court

Address: 320 Center Drive, Riverhead, NY 11901

Phone: (631) 852-1746

 

Suffolk County Public Libraries

Website: Suffolk County Public Libraries

Most libraries have local history and genealogy collections including newspapers, maps, local histories, photograph, yearbooks, scrapbooks, pamphlets, diaries, town records, and oral histories and some hold archival material. See also libraries listed below.  

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Regional

 

Glen Cove Public Library: The Robert R. Coles Long Island History Collection

Website: Glen Cove Public Library: The Robert R. Coles Long Island History Collection

Address: 4 Glen Cove Avenue, Glen Cove, NY 11542-2885

Phone: (516) 676-9632

Email: freeporthistoricalsociety@yahoo.com

 

Hofstra University Library Special Collection Department: Long Island Studies Institute

Website: Hofstra University Library Special Collection Department: Long Island Studies Institute

Address: Joan & Donald E.Axinn Library, Room 032, 123 Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11548-1230

Phone: (516) 463-6407

Email: lisi@hofstra.edu

 

Patchogue-Medford Library: Celia M. Hastings Local History Room

Website: Patchogue-Medford Library: Celia M. Hastings Local History Room

Address: 54-60 Main Street, Patchogue, NY 11772

Phone: (631) 654-4700 ext. 240

 

Stony Brook University: Center for Global and Local History

Address: Stony Brook University Department of History, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4348

Phone: (631) 632-7488

 

Stony Brook University: Special Collections & Archives

Website: Stony Brook University: Special Collections & Archives

Address: Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library, Room E-2320, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4348

Phone: (631) 632-7488

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Local

 

Alphabetized by location

 

Amagansett Historical Association

Website: Amagansett Historical Association

Address: 129 Main Street, PO Box 7077, Amagansett, NY 11930-7077

Phone: (631) 267-3020

Email: access on website

Association maintains Carleton Kelsey Archive of historical photographs at the Phebe Edwards Mulford House. 

 

Amityville Historical Society & Lauder Museum

Address: 170 Broadway, PO Box 764, Amityville, NY 11701

Phone: (631) 598-1486

Email: amhist@hotmail.com

 

Bay Shore Historical Society, Gibson-Mack-Holt House, and Historical Reference Library

Website: Bay Shore Historical Society, Gibson-Mack-Holt House, and Historical Reference Library

Address: 22 Maple Avenue, Bay Shore, NY 11706

Phone: (631) 665-1707

Email: contactus@BayShoreHistoricalSociety.org

 

Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society and Museum

Website: Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society and Museum

Address: 31 Bellport Lane, Bellport, NY 11713

Phone: (631) 776-7640

Email: president@bbhmuseum.org

 

Brentwood Public Library: Local History Room

Address: 34 Second Avenue, Brentwood, NY 11717

Phone: (631) 273-7883

Email: history@suffolk.lib.ny.us

 

Bridgehampton Historical Society

Website: Bridgehampton Historical Society

Address: 2593-A Montauk Highway, PO Box 977, Bridgehampton, NY 11932

Phone: (631) 613- 6730

Email: bhhs@optonline.net

 

Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council

Website: Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council

Address: Route 25 at Case’s Lane, PO Box 714, Cutchogue, NY 11935-0714

Email: info@cutchoguenewsuffolkhistory.org

 

East Hampton Public Library: Long Island Collection

Website: Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council

Address: 159 Main Street, East Hampton, NY 11937

Phone: (631) 324-0222 ext.4

 

Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Association

Website: Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Association

Russel B. Bush Research Center Address: Harborfields Public Library 31 Broadway, Greenlawn, NY 11740 

Association Address: PO Box 354, Greenlawn, NY 11740

Phone: (631) 754-1180

Email: GCHA-info@usa.net

 

Hampton Bays Historical Society

Website: Hampton Bays Historical Society

Address: 140 West Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays, NY 11946-0588

Phone: (631) 728-0887

 

Huntington Historical Society: Resource Center & Archives, Museum, and Genealogy Workshop

Website: Huntington Historical Society: Resource Center & Archives, Museum, and Genealogy Workshop

Address: 209 Main Street, Huntington, NY 11743

Phone: (631) 427-7045

 

Lake Ronkonkoma Historical Society and Museum

Website: Lake Ronkonkoma Historical Society and Museum

Address: 326 Hawkins Avenue, PO Box 2716, Lake Ronkonkoma, NY 11779

Phone: (631) 427-7045

Email: info@lakerhs.org

 

Mattituck-Laurel Historical Society and Museums

Website: Mattituck-Laurel Historical Society and Museums

Address: 326 Hawkins Avenue, PO Box 2716, Lake Ronkonkoma, NY 11779

Phone: (631) 427-7045

Email: info@lakerhs.org

 

Moriches Bay Historical Society

Website: Mattituck-Laurel Historical Society and Museums

Address: 15 Montauk Highway, Center Moriches, NY 11934

Phone: (631) 878-1776

 

Oysterponds Historical Society

Website: Oysterponds Historical Society

Address: Village Lane, PO Box 70, Orient, NY 11957

Phone: (631) 323-2480

 

Greater Patchogue Historical Society

Website: Greater Patchogue Historical Society

Address: PO Box 102, Patchogue, NY 11772

Phone: (631) 323-2480

Email: gphsociety@yahoo.com

 

The Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson and Mather House Museum

Website: The Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson and Mather House Museum

Address: 115 Prospect Street, PO Box 586, Port Jefferson, NY11727

Phone: (631) 473-2665

Email: info@portjeffersonhistorical.org

 

Port Jefferson Village Digital Archive

Website: Port Jefferson Village Digital Archive

Address: 101A East Broadway, Port Jefferson, NY 11777

Phone: (631) 802-2165

Email: historian@portjeff.com

 

Quogue Historical Society

Website: Quogue Historical Society

Address: 114 Jessup Avenue, PO Box 1207, Quogue, NY 11959-1207

Phone: (631) 996-2404

 

Rocky Point Historical Society

Website: Rocky Point Historical Society

Address: PO Box 1720, Rocky Point, NY 11778

 

John Jermain Memorial Library

Website: John Jermain Memorial Library

Address: 34 West Water Street, Sag Harbor, NY 11963

Phone: (631) 725-0049

 

Sag Harbor Historical Society

Website: Sag Harbor Historical Society

Address: 174 Main St, PO Box 1709, Sag Harbor, NY 11963-1709

Phone: (631) 725-5092

Email: sagharborhist@gmail.com

 

Three Village Historical Society

Website: Three Village Historical Society

Address: 93 North Country Road, Setauket, NY 11733

Phone: (631) 751-3730

Email: info@tvhs.org

 

Shelter Island Historical Society and Old Havens House

Website: Shelter Island Historical Society and Old Havens House

Address: 16 South Ferry Road, PO Box 847, Shelter Island, NY 11964-0847

Phone: (631) 749-0025

Email: sihissoc@optonline.net

 

Smithtown Historical Society

239 Middle Country Road, Smithtown, NY 11787

Phone: (631) 256-6703

 

Smithtown Main Library: Richard H. Handley Collection of Long Island Americana

Website: Smithtown Main Library: Richard H. Handley Collection of Long Island Americana

Address: One North Country Road, Smithtown, NY 11787

Phone: (631) 265-2072 ext. 189

 

Southampton Historical Museum and Research Center

Address: 17 Meeting House Lane, PO Box 303, Southampton, NY 11969

Phone: (631) 283-2494

Email: info@southamptonhistoricalmuseum.org

 

​Rogers Memorial Library: Long Island Collection

Website: ​Rogers Memorial Library: Long Island Collection

Address: 91 Coopers Farm Road, Southampton, NY 11968

Phone: (631) 283-0774

Email: info@myrml.org

 

Southold Historical Society

Website: Southold Historical Society

Address: 54325 Main Road, PO Box 1, Southold, NY 11971

Phone: (631) 765-5500

Email: sohissoc@optonline.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:

1790

1800

1810

1820

1830

1840

1850

1860

1870

1880

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

 

 

 

State Census Records

 

  • County originals at the East Hampton Public Library: 1865 (1825, 1835, 1845, 1855, 1872, 1892, 1905, and 1925 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.

Brooklyn Genealogy Information

Contains information relating to New York City and Long Island, including links and tips for general genealogical research. Particular records relating to Suffolk County include: directories (1868–1869 and 1909–1913), history of local post offices, Pelletreau’s Early Long Island Wills (1691–1703), historic maps, military information, Long Island Star extracts, and house of worship directories.

FamilySearch.org

FamilySearch has extensive collections of New York records, including religious records, which are searchable by name and location, but not by county.

Live-Library.com

This webpage is offered by the Public Libraries of Suffolk County. The webpage has a list of research topics, including genealogy. The genealogy page is divided into subjects ranging from census records to New York State records. Each subject page has a YouTube video on the basics of research that topic, and has links to online, Long Island, New York State, and general genealogical resources.

 

Deaths and Burials

 

Military Records

 

Newspapers

​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.

Suffolk County Historical Newspaper Archive

This database includes local newspaper titles including the Corrector (Sag Harbor, 1822–1911); the Long Island Traveler (Cutchogue, 1872–1898); the Long Islander (Huntington, 1839–1974); the Mid–Island Mail (Medford Station, 1935–1941); the Patchogue Advance (1926–1948); the Port Jefferson Echo (1892–1931); Sag Harbor Express (1885–1898); South Side Signal (Babylon, 1869–1879): Suffolk County News (Sayville,1888–1953; 1996–2007).

 

Religious Records

 

Other Records

 

Ethnic Groups and Organizations

​

Maps

 

Transportation

 

 

Selected Bibliography

 

Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions

  • Bailey, Rosalie Fellows. “The Account Books of Henry Lloyd of the Manor of Queens Village.” Journal of Long Island History, vol. 2, no. 1 (1962): 26–49.
  • Baldwin, Evelyn Briggs. “Marriages and Baptisms Performed by the Rev. Joshua Hartt [Smithtown, New York. First Presbyterian Church Records 1751–1867].” NYG&B Record, vol. 42 (1911) no. 2: 128–143, no. 3: 277–293. [NYG&B eLibrary] See also Robbins, William A., below.
  • Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Deaths Taken from The Republican Watchman: A Newspaper Published Every Saturday Morning at Greenport, Suffolk County, NY, Covering Death Records for The Whole County.” 5 vols. Typescript, 1949. NYPL, New York. Covers 1859–1900; vols. 4–5 also include deaths taken from the South Side Signal, Babylon, L.I., 1885–1900.
  • Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Marriages of Suffolk County, NY: Taken from The Republican Watchman, A Newspaper Published at Greenport, NY.” Typescript, 1950. http://longislandgenealogy.com/MarriagesofSuffolk.pdf
  • Barck, Dorothy C., ed. Papers of the Lloyd Family of the Manor of Queens Village, Lloyd’s Neck, Long Island, New York, 1654–1826. Vols. 59–60​ of Collections of The New-York Historical Society, New York: The Society, 1926–1927.
  • Blydenburgh, Jonas B., Albert G. Mulford, and J. Wickham Case, Marshall. “Smithtown Census, 1845.” Typescript, 1941. East Hampton Library, East Hampton, NY.
  • Brown, Russell K. “Records of the Congregational Church, Orient, Long Island.” NYG&B Record, vol. 136 (2005) no. 3: 173–182, no. 4: 285–295. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Calendar of Historical Manuscripts Relating to the War of the Revolution . . . . 2 vols.  Albany:  Weed, Parsons, 1868. 1776 census of Suffolk County, vol. 1: 378–417.
  • Cooper, Thomas W. The Records of the Court of Sessions of Suffolk County in the Province of New York, 1670–1688. Bowie, MD: Heritage Book, 1993.
  • Craven, Charles E. A History of Mattituck, Long Island, NY. Mattituck, NY: The Author, 1906. Includes Presbyterian church records of Mattituck and Aquebogue, 1751–1809.
  • 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.
  • Dyson, Verne. Deerpark—Wyandanch History. Brentwood, NY: Brentwood Village Press, 1957. http://cdm16373.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15281coll20/id/445
  • Eaton, James Waterbury. History and Records of the First Presbyterian Church of Babylon, New York (1783–1857). Babylon: The Church, 1912.
  • Harris, Edward Doubleday. Ancient Long Island Epitaphs from the Towns of Southold, Shelter Island, and Easthampton, New York. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2000. First published 1903 by David Clapp. From Harris’s original records in NYG&B Collection, NYPL, which also include inscriptions from towns of Babylon, Brookhaven, Huntington, Riverhead, and Southampton.
  • Hazelton, Henry Isham. The Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, Counties of Nassau and Suffolk, Long Island, New York, 1609–1924. 6 vols. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing, 1925.
  • Healy, Clement. South Fork Cemeteries. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2006.
  • Hoff, Henry B. “[Episcopal] Baptisms at Islip, Long Island, 1782–1789.” NYG&B Record, vol. 121, no. 3 (1990): 135–138. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Hoff, Henry B. “Families and Sources in the Suffolk County Historical Society Register.” NYG&B Newsletter (now New York Researcher), Fall 2000. Updated May 2011 and published as a Research Aid on NewYorkFamilyHistory.org.
  • Horton, Jonathan. “Baiting Hollow Census, 1825. With Notes, by James F.  Young.” N.p., 1906. See also Suffolk County Historical Register, vol. 7, no. 4 (Mar 1982).
  • Howell, George Rogers. The Early History of Southampton, L.I., New York, with Genealogies. 2nd edition. Albany: Weed, Parsons, 1887.
  • Huntting, Rev. Nathaniel. “Records of Marriages, Baptisms, and Deaths in East Hampton, L.I., from 1696 to 1746 [Records of the First Church [Presbyterian] of East Hampton, New York].” NYG&B Record, vol. 24 (1893) no. 4: 183–194; vol. 25 (1894) no. 1: 35–40, no. 3: 139–142, no. 4: 196–197; vol. 26 (1895) no. 1: 38–44; vol. 28 (1897) no. 2: 109–110; vol. 29 (1898) no. 1: 18–21, no. 3: 166–170; vol. 30 (1899) no. 1: 40–42; vol. 33 (1902) no. 2: 81–86, no. 3: 150–156, no. 4: 223–227; vol. 34 (1903) no. 1: 7–11, no. 2: 112–117, no. 3: 166–171, no. 4: 251–258. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Jefferson, Wayland. Cutchogue, Southold’s First Colony. New York: The Author, 1940. Includes Presbyterian church records of Cutchogue: 142–166.
  • Jefferson, Wayland, and DeWitt Van Buren. “Records of the First Church [Presbyterian] of Southold, Long Island.” NYG&B Record, vol. 64 (1933) no. 3: 217–227, no. 4: 322–330; vol. 65 (1934) no. 1: 47–55, no. 2: 152–158, no. 3: 261–266, no. 4: 339–344; vol. 66 (1935) no. 1: 51–58, no. 3: 257–269. Baptismal records 1763–1832, marriages 1769–1891. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Jones, John H. “Inscriptions on Gravestones: Inscriptions Taken from the Old Cemetery at Huntington, Suffolk Co., L.I., 1701–1850.” NYG&B Record, vol. 31 (1900) no. 2: 111–115, no. 3: 142–144, no. 4: 247–250; vol. 32 (1901) no. 1: 47–52, no. 2: 89–96, no. 3: 176–179, no. 4: 228–230; vol. 33 (1902) no. 2: 97–100. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Kearney, Michael. “A List of Persons in Suffolk County, Long Island, Who Took the Oath of Allegiance and Peaceable Behavior before Governor Tryon, 1778.” NYG&B Record, vol. 142 (2011): no. 2: 98–106, no. 3: 226–236, no. 4: 260–264; vol. 143 (2012) no. 1: 65–74. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Kelby, William. “Brookhaven (Long Island) Epitaphs.” NYG&B Record, vol. 16 (1885) no. 3: 131–133; vol. 17 (1886) no. 4: 259­–260; vol. 21 (1890) no. 2: 73–81. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • King, Rufus. “Long Island (NY) Marriages and Deaths from the Suffolk Gazette.” NYG&B Record, vol. 24 (1893) no. 2: 86–88, no. 4: 159–161; vol. 25 (1894) no. 1: 6–8, no. 2: 89–92, no. 3: 137–139, no. 4: 161–164. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • “List of Freeholders, Smithtown, Long Island, NY [1810–1820].” NYG&B Record, vol. 56, no. 2 (1925): 102–103. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Lloyd, J. Tombstone Names in Suffolk County, New York. Long Beach, CA: M. S. Lloyd, 1986.
  • MacCormick, Elizabeth Janet, comp. “Inscriptions from Six Cemeteries of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York.” Typescript, 1938. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B elibrary]
  • Macoskey, Arthur R. Long Island Gazetteer: A Guide to Historic Places. Brooklyn: Eagle Library, 1939.
  • Mallman, Jacob. Historical Papers on Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church . . . . New York, 1899. Census of Shelter Island for 1771: 62 and 1776: 63.
  • Marriages and Deaths from the Account Book of Darling Whitney and Daniel Darling Whitney of Woodbury, Long Island, New York 1808–1848: Towns of Huntington and Oyster Bay. Huntington, NY: Huntington American Revolution Bicentennial Committee, 1977.
  • Meigs, Alice. Suffolk County Cemeteries [Inscriptions]. 7 vols. Typescript. Queens Library Archives, Queens, New York, 1935. [FHL] For the 125 cemeteries covered, see www.queenslibrary.org/item/suffolk-county-cemeteries.
  • New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York, NY: The Society, 1870–present. Numerous Suffolk Bible records have been transcribed in the Record [NYG&B eLibrary]; multiple indexes to the Record are freely
  • O’Callaghan, Edmund B. Documentary History of the State of New York. 4 vols. Albany, 1849–1851. vol. 1, census 1698, vol. 2 town rate lists 1675, 1683; vol. 4, list of freeholders 1737.
  • Pelletreau, William S. “A Complete List of all the Brownstone and Slate Tombstone Inscriptions in the North End Burying Ground, Southampton, Long Island.” NYG&B Record, vol. 46, no. 1 (1915): 19–26. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Pelletreau, William S.  Early Long Island Wills of Suffolk County, 1691–1703: An Unabridged Copy of the Manuscript Volume Known as “The Lester Will Book,” Being the Record of the Prerogative Court of the County of Suffolk, New York: With Genealogical and Historical Notes. New York, 1897.
  • Rattray, Jeannette Edwards. East Hampton History Including Genealogies of Early Families. East Hampton, NY: The Author, 1953.
  • The Revised Statutes of the State of New-York, Passed During the Years One Thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty-Seven, and One Thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty-Eight: To Which Are Added, Certain Former Acts Which Have Not Been Revised. 3 vols. Albany, 1829.
  • Robbins, William A. “The Records of the Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, Suffolk Co.” NYG&B Record, vol. 44 (1913) no. 3: 279–285, no. 4: 384–389; vol. 45 (1914) no. 1: 8–16. See also Baldwin, above. [NYG&B e-library]
  • Robbins, William A. “The Salmon Records [Vital Records, Southold, New York].” NYG&B Record, vol. 47 (1916) no. 4: 344–360; vol. 48 (1917) no. 1: 20–32, no. 2: 134–179; no. 3: 275–290; no. 4: 341–351; vol. 49 (1918) no. 1: 64–75, no. 2: 154–165, no. 3: 265–279. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Roberts, David. Deaths Reported by the Long Islander 1878–1890. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1998. Roberts also produced a similar index to marriages, published on longislandgenealogy.com, which includes his “Long Island Gazetteer” identifying places named in the death notices, with useful notes.
  • Scott, Kenneth. “Absentee Patriots from British-Occupied Suffolk County, L.I., 1778,” NYG&B Record, vol. 107, no. 2 (1978): 73–78. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Scott, Kenneth. “Middle Island Court Records, 1774–1776.” Journal of Long Island History, vol. 4, no. 1 (1964).
  • Scott, Kenneth. “Suffolk County Inhabitants in 1778.” NYG&B Record, vol. 104, no. 4 (1973): 225–230. [NYG&B eLibrary]. A different version in Scott, Kenneth. “Suffolk County, New York, 1778 Census.” National Genealogical Society Quarterly, vol. 63, no. 4 (1975): 276–283.
  • Scudder, Moses L. Records of the First Church [Presbyterian] in Huntington, Long Island, 1723–1779, Being the Record Kept by the Rev. Ebenezer Prime . . . . Huntington, NY, 1899. Original records including later years are on microfilm NYPL.
  • Smith, Edward H. L. III. “1798 Property Valuations for Western Suffolk County.” NYG&B Record, vol. 127, no. 1 (1996): 12–16. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Smith, Leroy. “Marriages, Cutchogue, New York, 1787–1797.” The American Genealogist, vol. 18, no. 2 (1941): 118.
  • Smith, Leroy. “Middle Island Presbyterian Church, Marriages 1818–1862.” The American Genealogist, vol. 19, no. 2 (1942): 110.
  • “St. James, Suffolk County, New York Census of 1892.” Manuscript. NYPL: Milstein Division, New York Genealogical and Biograph-ical Society Collection: Locale Files: NYGB Loc 2008-001.
  • Stryker-Rodda, Harriet Mott. “Land Records of Huntting, Mulford & Allied Families of East Hampton, Suffolk Co., NY, 1705–80.” Manuscript, 1975. Manuscript & Archives Division, New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Localities Files. NYPL, New York.
  • Suffolk County Church Surveys. Digitally published by New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, 2012. [NYG&B elibrary]
  • Van Buren, Elizabeth R. “Abstracts of Wills of Suffolk County, New York, 1787–1847.” 3 vols. Typescript, n.d. NYPL, New York.
  • Van Buren, Elizabeth R. “Intestate Records of Suffolk County Recorded at Riverhead, New York.” Typescript, n.d. NYPL, New York. Contains transcription of libers A–F, 1787–1840.
  • 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.

Town Records

Alphabetized by town; for Babylon, see Huntington

  • Weeks, William J., Osborn Shaw, et al., eds. Records of the Town of Brookhaven Book A 1657–1679 and 1790–1798; Book B 1679–1756; Book C 1687–1879. New York: Derrydale Press, 1930–1932.
  • Records of the Town of East-Hampton, Long Island, Suffolk Co., NY: With Other Ancient Documents of Historic Value. 9 vols. Sag Harbor, NY: J. Hunt, 1887–1957.
  • Langhans, Rufus B., ed. Huntington/Babylon Land Deeds 1663–1797. 6 vols. Huntington and Babylon, NY: The Towns of Huntington and Babylon, 1985.
  • Langhans, Rufus B., ed. Huntington Ear Marks and Stray Sheep 1745–1831. Huntington, NY: The Town, 1989.
  • Langhans, Rufus B. Index Huntington Land Grant Surveys 1697–1787, and Land Grants 1688–1802. Huntington, NY: The Town, 1980.
  • Langhans, Rufus B. Manumission Book of the Towns of Huntington & Babylon . . . 1800–1824. Huntington, NY: The Town, 1980.
  • Langhans, Rufus B. Personal Name Index to Huntington Town Records Including Babylon . . . 1653–1873, Volumes I, II, III. Huntington, NY: The Town, 1978. Index to Street, see below.
  • Langhans, Rufus B., ed. School Trustee Annual Census Reports, 1827–1863. Huntington, NY: The Town, 1982. The censuses show parent's name and number of his or her children in school that year.
  • Langhans, Rufus B., ed. Town of Huntington Records of the Overseers of the Poor: Part 1, 1752–1804, [bonds for births out of wedlock] and Part 2, 1805–1861 [Accounts for care of the poor]. Huntington, NY: The Town, 1986.
  • Langhans, Rufus B., ed. Town of Huntington, Records of the Overseers of the Poor: Addendum, 1729–1843. Huntington, NY: The Town, 1992.
  • Langhans, Rufus B., ed. Vital Statistics, Marriage, Deaths, & Births, Town of Huntington . . . 1847–1849. Huntington, NY: The Town, 1980.
  • Langhans, Rufus B., and Dorothy Flowers Koopman, eds. Huntington Court Records 1657–1700 and Duke’s Law[s], 1664. Huntington, NY: The Town, 1994.
  • Street, Charles R., ed. Huntington Town Records, Including Babylon, Long Island, NY, 1776–1873, with Introduction, Notes and Index. 3 vols. Huntington and Babylon, 1887–1889.  Vol. 1, 1653–1688,       vol. 2, 1688–1775, vol. 3 1776–1873. Census of Huntington, 1790, vol. 3: 147–158
  • Starace, Carl A., ed. Book One of the Minutes of Town Meetings and Register of Animal Ear Marks of the Town of Islip 1720–1851. Islip: The Town, 1982.
  • Riverhead Town Records 1792–1886. Huntington, NY: Long Islander for the Town, 1967.
  • Pelletreau, William S., ed. Town Records of Smithtown, Long Island, NY, with Other Documents of Historical Value. Huntington, NY, 1898.
  • Records of the Town of Southampton 1639–1927. 8 vols. Southampton: By the Town, 1874–1930.
  • Case, J. Wickham, ed. Southold Town Records. 2 vols. New York, 1882–1884. Libers A–C, including history of Plum Island Manor. See also Southold Town Records, below.
  • Southold Town Records, Vol. 3 (Liber D, 1683–1856). Southold:  Academy Printing, 1983. See also Case, above.

Other Resources

  • Atlas of a Part of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. South Side—Ocean Shore. Complete in Two Volumes. Based upon Actual Measurements by Our Own Corps of Engineers, Maps on File at County Offices, Also Maps from Actual Surveys Furnished by Individual Owners. New York: E. Belcher Hyde, 1915–1916.
  • Barstow, Belle. Setauket, Alias Brookhaven: The Birth of a Long Island Town: With the Chronological Records, 1655–1679. Bloomington, IN: Author House, 2004.
  • Bayles, Richard M. Historical and Descriptive Sketches of Suffolk County and Its Towns, Villages, Hamlets, Scenery, Institutions, and Important Enterprises: With a Historical Outline of Long Island, from Its First Settlement by Europeans. Port Jefferson, NY, 1874.
  • Bayles, Thomas R. The Ten Towns of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. Middle Island, NY: T. R. Bayles, 1964.
  • Bi-Centennial History of Suffolk County: Comprising the Addresses Delivered at the Celebration of the Bi-Centennial of Suffolk County, NY, in Riverhead, November 15, 1883. Babylon, NY, 1885.
  • Duffield, Rev. Howard, D. The Tangier Smith Manor of St. George: Address . . . Order of the Colonial Lords of the Manor . . . . Baltimore: n.p., 1921. Publication No. 8.
  • Eberlein, Harold Donaldson. Manor Houses and Historic Homes of Long Island and Staten Island. New York: J. B. Lippincott, 1928.
  • Ferguson, Henry L. Fishers Island, NY, 1614–1925. New York: n.p., 1925.
  • Gardiner, David. Chronicles of the Town of Easthampton, County of Suffolk, New York. New York, 1871. Book includes transcript of original grant for Gardiner’s Island.
  • Halsey, Abigail. Two Hundred and Seventy-Five Years of East Hampton, Long Island, New York: A Historical Sketch, by Samuel Seabury, Together with the Book of the Pageant Celebrating the Two Hundred and Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Founding of the Town. East Hampton, NY: Published for the Community, 1926.
  • Havemeyer, Harry W. Along the Great South Bay: From Oakdale to Babylon, the Story of a Summer Spa 1840–1940. Mattituck, NY: Amereon House, 1996.
  • Havemeyer, Harry W. East on the Great South Bay: Sayville and Bayport 1860–1960. Mattituck, NY: Amereon House, 2001.
  • Hedges, Henry P. A History of East Hampton: Including an Address Delivered at the Celebration of the Bi-Centennial Anniversary of Its Settlement in 1849, Introductions to the Four Printed Volumes of Its Records, and Other Historical Material, and Appendix and Genealogical Notes. Sag-Harbor, NY, 1897. Index available; supplements publishers’ index with index of genealogy section.
  • History of Suffolk County, New York: With Illustrations, Portraits, and Sketches of Prominent Families and Individuals. New York, 1882.
  • Home Town Long Island: The History of Every Community on Long Island in Stories and Photographs. Melville, NY: Newsday, 1999.
  • Horsford, Cornelia. The Manor of Shelter Island; An Address Read before the Annual Meeting of the Order of Colonial Lords and Manors in America on April 23, 1931. New York: The Society, 1934. [Ancestry.com]
  • Howell, Nathaniel R. Know Suffolk, the Sunrise County, Then and Now. Islip, NY: Buys Bros, 1952.
  • Jacobson, Judy. Southold Connections: Historical and Biographical Sketches of Northeastern Long Island. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1991.
  • Jefferson, Wayland, and S. Wentworth Horton. Southold Town, Suffolk County, New York―With Genealogies of the Founding Families. Mattituck, NY: Mattituck Press, 1938.
  • Lightfoot, Frederick S., Linda B. Martin, and Bette S. Weidman. Suffolk County, Long Island, In Early Photographs, 1867–1951. New York: Dover, 1984.
  • McDermott, Charles J. Suffolk County. New York: J. H. Heineman, 1965.
  • Moore, Charles B. Town of Southold, Long Island: Personal Index Prior to 1698 and Index of 1698. New York: J. Medole, 1868.
  • Nicoll, Henry. Early History of Suffolk County, L.I. Brooklyn, 1866.
  • Onderdonk, Henry. Revolutionary Incidents of Suffolk and Kings Counties; with an Account of the Battle of Long Island and the British Prisons and Prison-Ships at New York. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1970. First published 1849.
  • Petty, Joseph H. “Collections, Historical & Genealogical, of Suffolk County, New York.” Manuscript. 1878. NYPL, New York.
  • Portrait and Biographical Record of Suffolk County (Long Island) New York: Containing Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Rep­resentative Citizens of the County. . . . New York and Chicago, 1896.
  • Scott, Kenneth, and Susan E. Klaffky. A History of the Joseph Lloyd Manor House. Setauket, NY: Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, 1976.
  • The Setaukets, Old Field, and Poquott. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2005.
  • Simpson, Robert L. An Index to the Long Islander 1865–1881 Marriages-Deaths. Huntington, NY: Huntington American Revolution Bicentennial Committee, 1976. See also Stevens, below.
  • Spinzia, Raymond E., and Judith A. Spinzia. Long Island’s Prominent Families in the Town of Southampton, Their Estates and Their Country Homes. College Station, TX: VirtualBookworm. 2010.
  • Spinzia, Raymond E. Long Island’s Prominent South Shore Families: Their Estates and Their Country Homes in the Towns of Babylon and Islip. College Station, TX: VirtualBookworm, 2007. With maiden names, occupations, architects, etc.
  • Stevens, Marian F. An Index to the Long Islander 1839–1864 Marriages –Deaths. Huntington, NY: Huntington Historical Society and Huntington American Revolution Bicentennial Committee, 1974. See Simpson, above, for later years,
  • Stone, Gaynell. The History and Archaeology of the Montauk. Stony Brook, NY: Suffolk County Archaeological Association: Nassau County Archaeological Committee, 1993.
  • Suffolk County Historical Society Register. Riverhead, NY: Suffolk County Historical Society, 1975–present.
  • Titus, Stephen A. History of Suffolk County. Babylon, NY, 1885.
  • Tyler, Sarah Gardiner. The Gardiner Manor. Baltimore: n.p., 1916.
  • Voyse, Mary, and Sydney Bevin. History of Eaton’s Neck, Long Island, To­gether with Its Geological Background. N.p., 1955.
  • Windesheim, Susan, and Peter Windesheim, eds., Index to the Huntington Rural Cemetery 1853–1990. Huntington, NY: Huntington Historical Society Genealogy Workshop, 1998.
  • Wood, Silas. A Sketch of the First Settlement of the Several Towns on Long Island: With Their Political Condition, to the End of the American Revolution. Brooklyn, NY, 1828.
  • Wood, Simeon. A History of Hauppauge, Long Island: With Genealogies of the Wheeler, Smith, “Bull” Smith, Blydenburgh, Wood, Rolph, Hubbs, Price, McCrone, and Germond Families. Hauppauge, NY: J. Marr Publishing, 1981. Originally published 1920.
  • Woolsey, Rev. Lloyd M. The Winthrop Manor of Fishers Island. Baltimore: n.p., 1927.

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.