Using the Publications of the New-York Historical Society

The New-York Historical Society [NYHS] was founded in 1804 — when New York was often spelled with a hyphen. With the publication of its first volume of Collections in 1809, the NYHS established itself at the forefront of serious New York historical scholarship. Many of its publications are of great value to New York genealogists, the best-known being the 17-volume set of abstracts of New York wills, 1665-1800. The publications are discussed at pages 489-504 of R.W.G. Vail Knickerbocker Birthday: A Sesqui-Centennial History of The New-York Historical Society 1804-1954 (1954).

Given below are three selective lists, each in chronological order: the first is of the most useful volumes of the NYHS Collections, the second is of the most useful volumes of the other books published by the NYHS, and the third is of the most useful articles to appear in The New-York Historical Society Quarterly.

Much of the material in the publications of the NYHS has come from its superb manuscript collections, for which see Arthur J. Breton A Guide to the Manuscript Collections of The New-York Historical Society, 2 vols. (1972). Commentary on particular collections was provided by Dr. Kenneth Scott in "Some Materials for Genealogical Research in New York City," National Genealogical Society Quarterly 50(1962):150-52.  

Collections of the New-York Historical Society, 1809-1975

Collections of The New-York Historical Society [CNYHS; NYG&B call no. NY G 10] are in three series; all volumes listed below are from the Publication Fund Series which was the third and final series. Some titles have been simplified for clarity or consistency. The year listed is the year the volume was for, not the year of publication.

• Old New York and Trinity Church, vol. 30, 1870 [includes newspaper extracts 1730-90; index incomplete]

• The Burghers of New Amsterdam and the Freemen of New York, 1675-1866, vol. 18, 1885

• Indentures of Apprentices, City of New York, 1694-1708, vol. 18, 1885

• Muster Rolls of New York Provincial Troops, 1755-1764, vol. 24, 1891 [another version is in Report of the State Historian for 1897]

• Abstracts of Wills on File in the Surrogate's Office, City of New York (17 vols.), vols. 25-41, 1892-1908 [WNYHS]

• Ledger No. 1, Chamberlain's Office, City of New York, 1691-1699, vol. 42, 1909

• Indentures of Apprentices, City of New York, 1718-1727, vol. 42, 1909

• Tax Lists of the City of New York, 1695-1699 (2 vols.), vols. 43-44, 1910-11

• Assessment of the East Ward of the City of New York, 1791, vol. 44, 1911

• Original Book of New York Deeds, 1673-1675, and Miscellaneous Documents of New York and Long Island, 1642-1696, vol. 46, 1913

• Muster and Pay Rolls of the War of the Revolution, 1775-1783 (2 vols.), vols. 47-48, 1914-15

• Proceedings of a Board of General Officers of the British Army at New York, 1781, vol. 49, 1916

• Minutes of the Committee for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies in the State of New York, 1776-1778 (2 vols.), vols. 57-58, 1924-25

• Minutes of the Council of Appointment, 1778-1779, vol. 58, 1925

• Papers of the Lloyd Family of Lloyd's Neck, Long Island, New York, 1654-1826, ed. by Dorothy C. Barck (2 vols.), vols. 59-60, 1926-27

• The Arts and Crafts in New York 1726-1804, by Rita Susswein Gottesman (3 vols.), vols. 69, 81-82, 1936-65 [detailed information from newspapers, including some marriages and deaths]

• Supreme Court of Judicature of the Province of New York, 1691-1704, by Paul M. Hamlin and Charles E. Baker (3 vols.), vols. 78-80, 1945-57 [minutes of hundreds of cases and biographies of attorneys]

• Rivington's New York Newspaper, 1773-1783, comp. by Kenneth Scott, vol. 84, 1973  

Other Books

• Orderly Book of the Three Battalions of Loyalists, 1776-1778, comp. by William Kelby, vol. 3 of the John Divine Jones Fund Series, 1917 [includes list of Loyalists in New York City] [E 277.6 D.3]

• Calendar of New York Colonial Commissions, 1680-1770, abstracted by Edmund B. O'Callaghan, vol. 7 of the John Divine Jones Fund Series, 1929 [originally published in vols. 7-12 of The New-York Historical Society Quarterly] [NY G 45]  

The New-York Historical Society Quarterly, 1917-1980

A history of The New-York Historical Society Quarterly [NYHSQ; NYG&B call no. NY G 11] was published in its vol. 51(1967):82-84, followed by a full chronological listing of articles (with author, pages, and a brief description) at pages 84-100, 184-99, 263-81, 366-87, as "A Guide to Fifty Years of the Quarterly" by Vincent Buranelli. Each volume is indexed but not completely. An every-name and subject index for volumes 1-25 was announced in vol. 28(1944):108, but it apparently was never published.

Many NYHSQ articles were about artists and artisans who worked in New York State, and these are useful for the subject's own family as well as for lists of patrons, especially to identify portraits. The articles can be found using the Guide, cited in the preceding paragraph. NYHS books on artists and artisans can be found using Vail, cited above.

by Henry B. Hoff, CG, FASG, FGBS

Originally published in The NYG&B Newsletter, Winter 1992

© 2011 The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society

All rights reserved.