Ulster County, New York Guide

Ulster County is located 95 miles north of New York City on the western shore of the Hudson River. It is bounded on the north by Green and Delaware Counties, on the west by Sullivan County and on the south by Orange County. Dutchess County is across the Hudson River. ​

County Formed: November 1, 1683

Parent County: None.

Daughter Counties: Delaware 1797; Greene 1800; Sullivan 1809; Note: Ulster’s southern towns were ceded to Orange County in 1798

Major Land Transactions: Fox Hall Manor 1672; Hardenburgh Patent 1708

 

Ulster County Map
Map of Ulster County

 

Table of Contents

 

 

 

History

The area now considered Ulster County was mainly inhabited by the Esopus people around the time of European arrival. Dutch and English colonists began to settle there in the mid-17th century, after a series of wars between them, the Europeans acquired most Esopus lands. The year 1683 saw the creation of Ulster County as one of the 12 original counties of the original colony of New York. It was named after a northern province in Ireland and its county seat was established at Kingston. During the first fifty years of the county’s history, settlers were often of Dutch, English, African, Huguenot French, or Palatine German descent.  As it is one of New York’s oldest counties, Ulster Country’s boundaries have changed drastically over the centuries. Delaware, Greene, and Sullivan County were formed from parts of their older counterpart. Ulster also negotiated several border adjustments with Albany and Orange County. Several land transactions have also fundamentally shaped Ulster County, particularly Fox Hall Manor in 1762 and the Hardenburgh Patent of 1708. Agriculture has enduringly served as Ulster County’s major economic driver. During the 19th century, the county’s wood and mineral resources also fueled much of its development. The resort business also experienced rapid growth during this period, as hotels and lodges welcomed a variety of tourists. The arrival of some manufacturing industries and the expansion of the New York City Metropolitan Area have also significantly suburbanized the county. 

 

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies – County

Ulster County Clerk

Website: Ulster County Clerk

Address: Ulster County Office Building, 244 Fair Street, Kingston, NY 12401

Phone: (845) 340-3288

Email: countyclerk@co.ulster.ny.us  

 

Ulster County - City, Town, and Village Clerks

Website: Ulster County – City, 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. 

 

Ulster County Surrogate's Court

Website: Ulster County Surrogate's Court

Address: 240 Fair Street, Kingston, NY 12401

Phone: (845) 340-3348  

 

Ulster County Public Libraries

Website: Ulster County Public Libraries 

Ulster is part of the Mid-Hudson Library System. Many libraries hold local history genealogy collections. For example, Saugerties Public Library has a collection of local newspapers on microfilm. Ulster is also part of the Ramapo Catskill Library System. 

 

Ulster County Genealogical Society 

Website: Ulster County Genealogical Society 

Street Address: 11 Main St., Hurley NY, 12443

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 536, Hurley, New York  12443

Email: librarian@ucgsny.org

 

Ulster County Historical Society and Bevier House Museum

Website: Historical Society and Bevier House Museum

Society Address: PO Box 279, Stone Ridge, NY 12484-027

Museum Address: 2682 Route 209, Marbletown, NY12401 

Phone: (845) 377-1040

Email: museum@bevierhousemuseum.org

 

Ulster County Historian

Website: Ulster County Historian

Email: gmil@co.ulster.ny.us

 

Ulster County - All Town Historians

Website: Ulster County – All Town 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. 

 

Elting Memorial Library: Historical and Genealogical Department and Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection

Website: Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection

Address: 93 Main Street, New Paltz, NY 12561

Phone: (845) 255-5030

Email: havilandheidgerd@yahoo.com​ 

 

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Local

Alphabetized by location

Friends of Historic Rochester: Museum and Genealogical Research Library

Website: Museum and Genealogical Research Library

Address: PO Box 22, Accord, NY 12404

Phone: (845) 256-5587

Email: FriendsHistRoch@aol.com 

 

Kingston Library: Marilyn Beichert Local History Room

Website: Kingston Library: Marilyn Beichert Local History Room

Address: 55 Franklin Street, Kingston, NY 12401

Phone: (845) 331-0998

Email: localhistory@kinstonlibrary.org

 

Old Dutch Reformed Church

Website: Old Dutch Reformed Church

Address: 272 Wall Street, Kingston, NY 12401

Phone: (845) 338-6759

Email: info@olddutchchurch.org 

 

Marlboro Free Library

Website: Marlboro Free Library

Address: 1251 Route 9W, PO Box 780, Marlboro, NY 12542

Phone: (852) 236-7272

Email: staff@marlborolibrary.org​

 

Historic Huguenot Street (Formerly Huguenot Historical Society)

Website: Historic Huguenot Street 

DuBois Fort Visiting Center Address: 81 Huguenot Street, New Paltz, NY 12561

Administrative Office/Mailing Address: 88 Huguenot Street, New Paltz, NY 12561

Main Office Phone: (845) 255-1660

Visitor Center Phone:  (845) 255-1889

General Email: info@huguenotstreet.org

Library & Research Email: library@huguenotstreet.org

 

Town of Shandaken Historical Museum

Website: Town of Shandaken Historical Museum

Street Address: 26 Academy Street, Pine Hill, NY 12465

Mailing Address: PO Box 627, Pine Hill, NY 12465

Phone: (845) 254-4460

Email: shandakenmuseum@gmail.com

 

Rosendale Library

Website: Rosendale Library

Address: 264 Main Street, PO Box 482, Rosendale, NY 12472

Phone: (845) 658-9013

Email: rosendalelibrary@hvi.net

 

Historical Society of Shawangunk and Gardiner

Website: Historical Society of Shawangunk and Gardiner

Street Address: Andries DuBois House, 75 Wallkill Ave, Wallkill, NY 12589

Mailing Address: PO Box 570 • Wallkill, NY 12589

Phone: 845-895-3321

Email: ShawangunkHistoricalSociety@gmail.com

 

 

 

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.

Resources:

 

 

 

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 Ulster County Clerk’s Office: 1855, 1865*, 1875*, 1905, 1915, 1925, (1825, 1835, 1845, and 1892 are lost)
  • State originals at NYSA: 1915, 1925
  • Microfilm at the FHL, NYPL, NYSHA, and NYSL
  • Many years are online at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com.
  • *The 1865 and 1875 state censuses for Ulster County towns from N onwards in the alphabet were destroyed by fire.

 

 

 

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.

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: Ulster County

Part of the national, USGenWeb volunteer initiative, the website provides information and resources for county research.

 

Deaths and Burials

 

Ethnic Groups and Organizations

 

Maps

 

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.

 

Other Records

 

Religious Records

 

Transportation

 

 

 

Selected Bibliography

Abstracts, Histories, Indexes & Transcriptions

  • Adams, Arthur G., ed. The Catskills: An Illustrated Historical Guide with Gazetteer. New York: Fordham University Press, 1990.
  • Anson, Shirley V. Quaker History and Genealogy of the Marlborough Meeting, Ulster County, NY, 1804–1900. Clintondale, NY: Gateway Press, 1980.
  • Beers, F. W. County Atlas of Ulster, New York: From Recent and Actual Surveys and Records. New York, 1874.
  • Brink, Benjamin Myer. OIde Ulster: An Historical and Genealogical Magazine. 10 vols. Kingston, NY: Benjamin Myer Brink. 1905–1914.
  • Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Ulster County, NY, for 1871–2. Syracuse, 1870.
  • Clearwater, Alphonso T. The History of Ulster County, New York. Kingston, NY:  W.  J.  Van Deusen, 1907.
  • Cochrane, Charles H. The History of the Town of Marlborough, Ulster County, New York: From the First Settlement in 1712, by Capt. Wm. Bond, to 1887. Poughkeepsie, 1886.
  • DeWitt, William C. People’s History of Kingston, Rondout, and Vicinity: The First Capital of New York State (1820–1943). New Haven, CT: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1944.
  • Donahue, Donald C., Jack K Middaugh, and Audrey M Klinkenberg. The Ulster County Genealogical Society’s Families of Ulster County. Hurley, NY:  The Society, 1995.
  • “The Erection of Foxhall Manor,” Olde Ulster, vol. 2 (1906): 97–104.
  • “Executive Minutes of the New York Colonial Council from 1668–1783.” In Documents of the Senate of the State of New York, Volume 8.  Albany: The Argus Company, 1903.
  • Fay, Loren V. Ulster County, New York, Genealogical Research Secrets. Albany: Loren V. Fay, 1983.
  • Fried, Marc B. The Early History of Kingston and Ulster County, New York. Marbletown, NY: Ulster County Historical Society, 1975.
  • Gentile, Nancy, and Eric J. Roth. Historic Huguenot Street and Its Founding Families. New Paltz, New York: Huguenot Historical Society, 2004.
  • Greater Hudson Heritage Network. History Keepers’ Companion: Guide to Sites & Sources of the Lower Hudson Valley and Western Connecticut. Fleischmanns, N.Y: Purple Mountain Press, 1998. The Greater Hudson Heritage Network is in the process of updating and creating an online version of this publication; information is at www.greaterhudson.org/history-keepers-companion.html.
  • Griffiths, George R. Dutch Families of Old Kingston (Ulster County, New York). Chandler,  AZ:  George R. Griffiths, 1995.
  • Hasbrouck, Kenneth E. Births, Marriages, Deaths, New Paltz, Ulster County, New York: 1847–1850: Taken from an Early Town Clerk’s Record. N.p., 1990. [DunhamWilcox.net]
  • Heidgerd, Ruth P. Ulster County in the Revolution: A Guide to Those Who Served. A project of the Ulster County Bicentennial Commission. New Paltz, NY: The Commission, 1977.
  • Heidgerd, William. Black History of New Paltz. New Paltz, NY: Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection, Elting Memorial Library, 1986.
  • Historical Records Survey, New York State. Inventory of the County Archives of New York State (Exclusive of the Five Counties of New York City) No. 51. Ulster County. Albany: Work Projects Administration, Historical Records Survey, 1940.
  • History of Delaware County, NY: With Illustrations, Biographical Sketches, and Portraits of Some Pioneers and Prominent Residents. New York, 1880.
  • The History of Ulster County, with Emphasis upon the Last 100 Years, 1883–1983. Kingston, NY: Ulster County Historians, 1984.
  • Hudson River Valley Review: A Journal of Regional Studies. Poughkeepsie, NY: Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College, 2002–present. [hudsonrivervalley.org]
  • LeFevre, Ralph. History of New Paltz, New York, and Its Old Families (from 1678 to 1820): Including The Huguenot Pioneers and Others Who Settled in New Paltz Previous to The Revolution; with an Appendix Bringing Down the History of Certain Families and Some Other Matter to 1850. Albany: Fort Orange Press, 1903.
  • New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Ulster County, New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1988. [books.FamilySearch.org]
  • Plank, Will. Banners and Bugles: A Record of Ulster County, New York, and the Mid-Hudson Region in the Civil War. Marlborough, NY: Centennial Press, 1963.
  • Prehn, Florence. Early Ulster County Genealogies. Saugerties, NY: KTB Associates, 1978.
  • Quinlan, James Eldridge. History of Sullivan County: Embracing an Account of Its Geology, Climate, Aborigines, Early Settlement, Organization; the formation of Its Towns with Biographical Sketches of Prominent Residents. Liberty, NY, 1873.
  • Rockwell, Charles. The Catskill Mountains and the Region Around . . . . New York, 1867.
  • Ruttenber, E. M. History of the Town of Newburgh. Newburgh, NY, 1859.
  • Schoonmaker, Marius. The History of Kingston, New York: From Its Early Settlement to the Year 1820. Kingston, NY, 1888.
  • Sylvester, Nathaniel B. History of Ulster County, New York: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1880. Book includes general history, history of towns, lists of Ulster County men who served in the Civil War. Index available from Berkshire Family History Association.
  • University of the State of New York. Division of Archives and History. Historical Account and Inventory of Records of the City of Kingston. Albany, University of the State of New York, 1918.
  • Van Buren, Augustus H. A History of Ulster County under the Dominion of the Dutch. Kingston, NY: n.p., 1923.
  • Van Buren, Augustus H. Index to Old Ulster. Kingston, NY: Senate House Museum, 1963.
  • Woolsey, C. M. History of the Town of Marlborough, Ulster County, New York: From Its Earliest Discovery. Albany: J. B. Lyon Company, 1908.
  • Zimm, Louise H. Southeastern New York: History of the Counties of Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, and Putnam. 3 vols. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1946. Index available from Berkshire Family History Association.

 

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.