Sullivan County is bordered by Delaware, Ulster, and Orange counties as well as the state of Pennsylvania.
County Formed: 1809
Parent County: Ulster
Daughter Counties: None
Major Land Transactions: Minisink Patent 1704, Hardenbergh 1708
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
- Selected Bibliography
History
It is believed by some archeologists that the Lenape people arrived in the Sullivan County area over 11,000 years ago. They thrived in the heavily forested region until the middle of the 17th century when Swedish, Dutch and British settlers arrived. By the mid-1700s, the region became known for its timber industry, which was abundant in the territory. Major land transactions of this period include the Minisink Patent of 1704 and the Hardenbergh Patent of 1708. However, even by March 27, 1809, when Sullivan County was officially formed from Ulster County, its rugged terrain made it still largely inaccessible to outsiders. During the Industrial Revolution, many people flocked to Sullivan County’s factories which were powered by a local abundance of streams and rivers. Sullivan County later transformed into an area full of resorts, hotels and summer camps started by the Jewish immigrants already living in the area. The county is widely known for its August 1969 concert in Bethel: Woodstock. The county seat is the village of Monticello, and the county is named after John Sullivan, a Revolutionary War hero.
For more information, visit the Sullivan County Historical Society.
Repositories, Resources, and Societies – County
Sullivan County Clerk
Website: Sullivan County Clerk
Address: 100 North Street, PO Box 5012, Monticello, NY 12701-5012
Phone: (845) 807-0411
Sullivan County - City, Town, and Village Clerks
Website: Sullivan County
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.
Sullivan County Surrogate's Court
Website: Sullivan County Surrogate’s Court
Address: 100 North Street, Monticello, NY 12701
Phone: (845) 807-0690
Sullivan County Public Libraries
Website: Sullivan County Public Libraries
Sullivan is part of the Ramapo Catskill Library System. Many libraries hold local history collections. For example, Liberty Public Library includes local yearbooks dating from 1919.
Sullivan County Historical Society and Museum
Website: Sullivan County Historical Society
Address: 265 Main Street, PO Box 247, Hurleyville, NY 12747
Phone: 845-434-8044
Email: info@scnyhistory.org
Sullivan County - All Municipal Historians
Website: Sullivan 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
Bard College Archives and Special Collections
Website: Bard College Archives and Special Collections
Address: Stevenson Library Archives and Special Collections, One Library Road, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504
Phone: (845) 758-7396
Email: archives@bard.edu
Categories include Hudson Valley Archives (local history materials), Tivoli Photograph Collection, historical journals, and Bard College history.
Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Local
Alphabetized by location
Liberty Public Library
Website: Liberty Public Library
Address: 189 North Main Street, Liberty, NY 12754
Phone: (845) 292-6070
Fort Delaware Museum
Website: Fort Delaware Museum
Address: 6615 Route 97, Liberty, NY 12754
Phone: (845) 807-0261 (September-April) or (845) 252-6660 (May-August)
Tusten Historical Society
Website: Tusten Historical Society
Address: 198 Bridge Street, PO Box 18, Narrowsburg, NY 12764
Phone: (845) 252-3360
Email: tustenroots@lycos.com
Mamakating Historical Society
Website: Mamakating Historical Society
Address: PO Box 163, Summitville, NY 12781
Phone: (845) 866-1607
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 the Sullivan County Historical Society: 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1915, 1925 (1825, 1835, 1845, 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
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.
Hudson River Valley Heritage (HRVH)
The HRVH website provides free access to digital collections of historical material from more than 40 organizations in Columbia, Greene, Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, and Westchester counties.
NYGenWeb Project: Sullivan County
Part of the national, USGenWeb volunteer initiative, the website provides information and resources for county research.
Maps
- New York, Land Records, 1630–1975 - Includes land and property records
Other Records
- New York, Probate Records, 1629–1971 - Includes wills, letters of administration, and guardianship papers
Selected Bibliography
Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions
- Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “The Church Record of the Kenoza Lake Charge of the Methodist Episcopal Church: Heard Settlement - Foster - Dale - Jeffersonville - Youngsville - Pike Pond, Now Known as Kenoza Lake; All in Sullivan County, N.Y.” Typescript, 1929. NYPL, New York.
- Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Gravestone Inscriptions of Sullivan County, NY.” 10 vols. Typescript, 1929–1934. NYPL, New York. [Ancestry.com]
- Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Graveyard Inscriptions of Bloomingburgh Cemetery, Bloomingburgh, Sullivan County, New York.” Typescript, 1930. NYPL, New York. [Ancestry.com]
- Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Index of Wills, Sullivan County, New York, 1876–1909.” Typescript, 1929. NYPL, New York. [Ancestry.com]
- Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Index to Proceedings in Administration of Intestates Estates: At the Surrogate’s office, Monticello, Sullivan County, NY.” Typescript, 1949. NYPL, New York.
- Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Records of the First Congregational Church in the Town of Lumberland, Sullivan County, New York: Formerly Known as the First Presbyterian Congregational Church of Narrow Falls and Also as the Narrow Falls and Middlebrook Church.” Typescript, 1929. NYPL, New York.
- Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Sullivan County Church Records.” 20 parts in 3 vols. Typescripts, 1929–1931. NYPL, New York. [Ancestry.com]
- Calkin, Lydia. “Sullivan County, NY, Cemetery Gravestone Inscriptions and Chart of Grave Locations, Old Bethel, NY, Cemetery: A 1957 Resurvey of and Additions to Records Made in 1936 by Gertrude Audrey Barber.” Typescript, 1957. NYPL, New York.
- 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.
- 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.
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.