Tioga county is bordered by Tompkins, Cortland, Chemung, and Broome counties as well as the state of Pennsylvania.
County Formed: 1791
Parent County: Montgomery
Daughter Counties: Onondaga 1794, Chenango 1789, Broome 1806, Chemung 1836
Major Land Transactions: Boston Ten Town 1787, 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
The area that is now Tioga County was once the territory of the Cayuga and Onondaga tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy. In August of 1779, the contingents of John Sullivan’s army burned the Iroquois villages in the county, becoming the first permanent white settlers there. It was officially formed as a county on February 16, 1791, from Montgomery County (though it was later split to form Onondaga, Chenango, Broome, and Chemung counties). The county seat is the village of Owego, and the county’s name means “at the forks” in the Iroquois language. Major land transactions include the Boston Ten Towns purchase of 1787 and Watkins and Flint Purchase of 1794. Early industries in the county include farming, logging, and the fur trade. After railroad tracks were built in the mid-1800s, manufacturing of butter and wooden products flourished.
Visit the county's official website for further details.
Repositiories, Resources, and Societies - County
Tioga County Clerk
Website: Tioga County Clerk
Address: 16 Court Street, PO Box 307, Owego, NY 13827
Phone: (607) 687-8660
Tioga County - All Municipal Historians
Website: Tioga 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 at www.aphnys.org.
Tioga County Historical Society Museum
Website: Tioga County Historical Society Museum
Address: 20 Court Street, PO Box 10, Owego, NY 13827
Phone: (607) 687-8660
Tioga County - Town and Village Clerks
Website: Tioga 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. For contact information, see municipal websites.
Tioga County Surrogate's Court
Website: Tioga County Surrogate’s Court
Address: 20 Court Street, PO Box 10, Owego, NY 13827
Phone: (607) 689-6099
Tioga County Public Libraries
Tioga is part of the Finger Lakes Library System. Many libraries hold local history books or genealogical materials. See listings below for Berkshire Free Library, Candor Public Library, and Coburn Free Library.
Repositiories, Resources, and Societies - Regional
Central New York Genealogical Society
Website: Central New York Genealogical Society
Address: PO Box 404 – Colvin Station, Syracuse, NY 13205
Email: cnygs@yahoo.com
Afton Historical Society and Museum
Website: Afton Historical Society and Museum
Address: Society - 335 State Highway 41, Museum - 116 Main Street Afton, NY 13730
Phone: (607) 639-2720, (518) 212-7685
Email: info@sidneyonline.net
Repositiories, Resources, and Societies - Local
Alphabetized by location
Website: Berkshire Free Library and Berkshire History Museum
Address: 12519-1 State Route 38, PO Box 151, Berkshire, NY 13736
Phone: (607) 657-4418
Email: bfl@htva.net
Candor Public Library
Website: Candor Public Library
Address: 2 Bank Street, PO Box 151, Candor, NY 13743
Phone: (607) 657-7258
Email: candorli@twcny.rr.com
Coburn Free Library
Website: Coburn Free Library
Address: 275 Main Street, Oswego, NY 13827
Phone: (607) 687-3520
Email: coburnlibrary@clarityconnect.com
Spencer Historical Society
Address: 22 Spencer Street, PO Box 71, Spencer, NY 14883
Phone: (607) 589-6134
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 Tioga County Clerk’s Office: 1825, 1835, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, 1925
- State originals at NYSA: 1915, 1925
- Microfilm at the FHL, NYPL, NYSHA, and NYSL
- Many years are online at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com.
Other Online 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 Tioga to view the available records sets.
NYGenWeb Project: Tioga County
Part of the national, USGenWeb volunteer initiative, the website provides information and resources for county research.
FamilySearch Wiki: Tioga County, New York Genealogy
The FamilySearch Wiki describes sources of genealogical data about Oneida County, New York Genealogy families and provides numerous links to resources.
Selected Bibliography
- Barnello, Kathleen, Harriet Hall, Joan Green, Joyce Mason, and Harold Witter. Abstract of the 1825 New York State Census of Tioga County, New York. Syracuse: Central New York Genealogical Society, 1996. Originally published in Tree Talks, vol. 37, no. 4 (1996): 1–57. Index: 58–78, introduction: iii, maps iv–v.
- Canfield, Amos. “Abstracts of Wills Taken from the Probate Records of Tioga County, New York.” NYG&B Record, vol. 57 (1926) no. 4: 381–386; vol. 58 (1927) no. 1: 67–76, no. 3: 277–287. [NYG&B eLibrary]
- “Cemetery Records of Tioga County, New York.” Manuscript, 1966. Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1971.
- County of Tioga 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.
- Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: Tioga County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
- Miles, Ernie. “1845 Census of Factoryville, N.Y.” NYGenWeb Project. www.tioga.nygenweb.net/factory.htm. Information abstracted from the History of Waverly, N.Y. and Vicinity by Albertson, below.
- 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.
- Tioga County, NYG&B Church Surveys Collection. NYG&B, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
- 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
- Albertson, Charles L. History of Waverly, N.Y. and Vicinity. Waverly, NY: Waverly Sun, 1943. [Ancestry.com]
- Beers, F. W. Atlas of Tioga Co., New York: From Actual Surveys by and under the Direction of F. W. Beers, Assisted by Geo. P. Sanford and Others. New York, 1869.
- Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Broome and Tioga Counties, New York, for 1872–3. Syracuse, 1872.
- Gay, W. B. Historical Gazetteer of Tioga County, New York, 1785–1888. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1991. Index available from Berkshire Family History Association.
- Hoiland, Doris R. Pioneers of the Southern Tier: Schuyler and Tioga Counties. Elmira, NY: The Author, 1977.
- Hunt, Joan, Ray Hunt, and Linda Williams. History of Tioga Schools. Tioga, NY: Tioga County Historical Society, 2010.
- Kingman, LeRoy W. Our County and Its People: A Memorial History of Tioga County, New York. Elmira, NY, 1897.
- Kingman, LeRoy W. Owego: Some Account of the Early Settlement of the Village in Tioga County, NY, Called Ah-wa-ga by the Indians, Which Name was Corrupted by Gradual Evolution into Owago, Owego, Owegy, and Finally Owego. Owego, NY: Owego Gazette, 1907.
- McEnteer, Thomas C. Seasons of Change: An Updated History of Tioga County, New York. Owego, NY: Tioga County Legislature, 1990.
- New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Tioga County, New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1981. [books.FamilySearch.org]
- 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.
- Quest, Richard. Tioga County, New York. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 1999.
- 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.
- Watrous, Hilda R. Owego Reflections, 1887–1987. New York: Tioga County Historical Society, 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.