Washington County, New York is bordered by Vermont and the New York counties of Essex, Warren, Rensselaer, and Saratoga.
County Formed: 1772
Parent County: Albany
Daughter Counties: Clinton 1788; Warren 1813
Major Land Transactions: Saratoga Patent 1685
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
Although there is proof that the Little Wood Creek site along the Hudson River was inhabited thousands of years ago, when Europeans explored the region, they found the area mostly uninhabited. However, some of the lands in present Washington County were used for hunting by the Mohawks from the west and most likely the Mohicans from the south. Originally created as Charlotte County on March 12, 1772 and named after Princess Charlotte, partner of George III, the county was renamed in honor of George Washington in 1784 because of the negative sentiment towards British royalty after the Revolutionary War. Washington County split off from Albany County originally and many counties has annexed land or split from Washington County since that event. Territory was surrendered to create Clinton County in 1788, to create Warren County in 1813, to cede disputed territory to Vermont in 1790, and to annex some territory to Albany County in 1791.
Washington County boasts 17 towns that include nine villages with a current county seat at the Village of Forth Edward and a past county seat at Hudson Falls. A major land transaction of Washington County is the Saratoga Patent of 1684. Major industries of Washington County include agriculture, mining, and logging. During the early to mid-1800’s, there was an influx of Francophone Canadians and Irish.
References: The Encyclopedia of New York State p. 1660
Repositories, Resources, and Societies – County
Washington County Clerk
Website: Washington County Clerk
Address: Municipal Center, Building A, 383 Broadway, Fort Edward, NY 12828
Phone: (518) 746-2170
Washington County - Town and Village Clerks
Website: Washington 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.
Washington County Surrogate's Court
Website: Washington County Surrogate’s Court
Address: 383 Broadway, Fort Edward, NY 12828
Phone: (518) 746-2515
Washington County Archives
Website: Washington County Archives
Address: Municipal Center, Building A (Basement), 383 Broadway, Fort Edward, NY 12828
Phone: (518) 746-2136
Washington County Public Libraries
Website: Washington County Public Libraries
Washington is part of the Southern Adirondack Library System. Many libraries hold genealogy and local history collections, including maps and newspapers. For example, Bancroft Public Library has digitized transcriptions of cemetery records, Easton Library’s holdings include records of the Quakers, and Cambridge Public Library holds the Washington County Post, 1849–present. Also see listings below for Pember Library and Greenwich Library.
Washington County Historical Society
Website: Washington County Historical Society
Address: 167 Broadway, Fort Edward, NY 12828
Phone: (518) 747-9108
Email: wchs@wchs-ny.org
Washington County Historian
Website: Washington County Historian
Address: Municipal Center, Building A, Records Room, 383 Broadway, Fort Edward, NY 12828
Phone: (518) 746-2178
Email: wchist@co.washington.ny.us
Washington County - All Municipal Historians
Website: Town Historians of Washington County
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
Adirondack Experience Museum Library
Website: Adirondack Experience Museum Library
Address: 9097 NY-30, Blue Mountain Lake, NY 12812
Phone: (518) 352-7311
Capital District Genealogical Society
Website: Capital District Genealogical Society
Address: Empire State Plaza Station, PO Box 2175, Albany, NY 12220
Email: contactcdgs@gmail.com
Fulton-Montgomery Community College: The Kenneth R. Dorn Regional History Study Center at Evans Library
Website: The Kenneth R. Dorn Regional History Study Center
Address: 2805 State Highway 67, Johnstown, NY 12095
Phone: (518) 212 - 7685
Email: libinfo@fmcc.edu
Northeastern New York Genealogical Society
Website: Northeastern New York Genealogical Society
Address: 195 Sunnyside Road, Queensbury, NY 12804
Phone: (518) 743-0734
Email: mail@warrencountyhistoricalsociety.org
In mid-2014, the Northeastern Historical Society began working closely with the Warren County Historical Society and the organizations may merge in the future. Patents: The Northeastern New York Genealogical Society Bulletin, published bi-monthly since 1962, covers Warren, Washington, Saratoga and Essex counties.
Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Local
Alphabetized by location
Dr. Asa Fitch Historical Society
Website: Dr. Asa Fitch Historical Society
Address: 342 Scotts Lake Road, Salem, NY 12865
Phone: (518) 854-3888
Fort Edward Historical Association and Old Fort House Museum
Website: Fort Edward Historical Association and Old Fort House Museum
Address: 22 & 29 Lower Broadway, PO Box 106, Fort Edward, NY 12828
Phone: (518) 747-9600
Email: old-fort-house-museum@juno.com
Rogers Island Visitors Center
Website: Rogers Island Visitors Center
Address: 11 Rogers Island Drive, PO Box 208, Fort Edward, NY 12828
Phone: (518) 747-3693
Email: rogersisland@gmail.com
Pember Library: Local History Collection
Website: Pember Library: Local History Collection
Address: 33 West Main Street, Granville, NY 12832
Phone: (518) 642-2525
Email: pember.library@gmail.com
Greenwich Library: I. V. H. Gill Room
Website: Greenwich Library: I. V. H. Gill Room
Address: 148 Main Street, Greenwich, NY 12834
Phone: (518) 692-7157
Hartford Museum and Howard Hanna Memorial Civil War Enlistment Center
Website: Hartford Museum and Howard Hanna Memorial Civil War Enlistment Center
Mailing Address: Town of Hartford, PO Box 214 Hartford, NY 12838
Museum Address: 165 Hartford Main Street, Granville, NY 12832
Phone: (518) 632-5993
The Archives of the Town of Salem, NY
Website: The Archives of the Town of Salem, NY
Address: PO Box 575, Town Hall, 214 Main Street, Salem, NY 12865
Phone: (518) 854-3277
Skenesborough Museum
Website: Skenesborough Museum
Mailing Address: PO Box 238, Whitehall, NY 12887
Museum Address: Skenesborough Museum, Skenesborough Drive, Whitehall, NY 12887
Phone: 518-499-0716
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 Washington County Clerk’s Office: 1825, 1835, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, 1925 (1845 is 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:
NYGenWeb Project: Washington 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.
Newspapers
- Old Fulton New York Postcards - Provides free access to a vast collection of digitized New York newspapers, including six titles for Washington County.
Other Records
- New York, Probate Records, 1629–1971 - Includes wills, letters of administration, and guardianship papers.
Selected Bibliography
Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions
- Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Abstracts of Wills of Washington County, New York, 1788–1825.” Typescript, 1937. New York State Library, Albany. [Ancestry.com]
- Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Cemetery Located at Putnam, Washington County, NY.” Typescript, 1931. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
- Barber, Gertrude Audrey. “Meadow Knoll Cemetery Located at Putnam, Washington County, NY.” Typescript, 1932. NYPL, New York.
- Barnello, Kathleen, Joan Green, Joyce Mason, and Harold Witter. “Abstract of the 1825 New York State Census of Washington County, New York.” Syracuse: Central New York Genealogical Society, 1998. Originally published in Tree Talks, vol. 38, no. 4 (1998): 1–92. Index: 94–144, introduction: iii–xi.
- Bates, Loretta. Those Called Paupers. Queensbury, NY: The Author, 2013. Includes a listing of 600 children in poorhouse records 1829-1853 with name, birth date, and to whom indentured.
- County of Washington 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.
- Fitch, Asa, comp. The Asa Fitch Papers. Fort Campbell, KY: Sleeper Co., 1997.
- Hill, Mrs. H. C. “Graveyard Inscriptions from the Towns of Easton and Greenwich, Washington County, NY.” Typescript, 1916. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
- Hulslander, Laura P. Abstracts of Deeds of Washington County, New York. Colorado Springs, CO: The Sleeper Co., 1991.
- Hulslander, Laura P. Washington County, New York, Vital Records, 1847–1849. New York: The Author, 1993.
- Jackson, Mary S., and Edward F. Death Notices from Washington County, New York, Newspapers, 1799–1880. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1995.
- Jackson, Mary S., and Edward F. Marriage Notices from Washington County, New York, Newspapers, 1799–1880. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, Inc., 1995.
- Moore, Charles B. Cemetery Records of the Township of [Argyle, Cambridge, Dresden, Easton, Fort Ann, Granville, Hampton, Hartford, Hebron, Jackson, Kingsbury, Putnam, Salem, White Creek, Whitehall] Washington County, New York. 12 vols. Glens Falls, NY: Historical Data Services, 1993–2009. Index available from Berkshire Family History Association.
- Vosburgh, Royden Woodward, ed. “Records of the Protestant Presbyterian Congregation of Cambridge in the Village of Cambridge, Washington County, NY.” Typescript, 1916. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
- Washington County, NYG&B Church Surveys Collection. NYG&B, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
Other Resources
- Capital District Genealogical Society Newsletter. Albany: Capital District Genealogical Society, 1982–present. [capitaldistrict genealogicalsociety.org]
- Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Washington County, NY, for 1871. Syracuse, 1871.
- Corey, Allen. Gazetteer of the County of Washington, NY: Comprising a Correct Statistical and Miscellaneous History of the County and Several Towns. Schuylerville, NY, 1849. [Ancestry.com]
- Fitch, Asa. Early History of the Town of Salem: From Its First Settlement in 1761 to the Close of the Revolutionary War, Together with Incidents of Pioneer Days in Other Towns of Washington County, NY. Salem, NY: Salem Press, 1927.
- Fitch, Asa. “History of Washington County, NY.” Manuscript, n.d. NYPL, New York. Also see Index by Kenneth Perry.
- Fitch, Asa, and Laura P. Hulslander. The Asa Fitch Papers. Fort Camp-bell, KY: Sleeper Co., 1997–1998. Transcribes the first three volumes of notes on early residents of Washington County compiled by Asa Fitch (1809–1879); his manuscript is held by the NYPL.
- Foley, Janet W. Early Settlers of New York State: Their Ancestors and Descendants. 9 vols. Akron, NY: 1934–1942. Reprint, 2 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993.
- Gibson, James, and William H. Hill. History of Washington County, New York: The Gibson Papers; The History of Washington Academy; The Bench and Bar of Washington County for a Century. Fort Edward, NY: Honeywood Press, 1932. Index available from Berkshire Family History Association.
- Guide to Local Historical Materials: A Union List of Holdings of Public Libraries in Saratoga, Warren, Washington and Hamilton Counties. Saratoga Springs, NY: Southern Adirondack Library System, 1977.
- Hill, William H. Old Fort Edward Before 1800: An Account of The Historic Ground Now Occupied by the Village of Fort Edward, New York. Fort Edward, NY: n.p, 1929.
- History and Biography of Washington County and the Town of Queensbury, New York. New York, 1894.
- Johnson, Crisfield. History of Washington County, New York with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia, 1878.
- McLean, J. P. An Historical Account of the Settlements of Scotch Highlanders in America. Cleveland, OH: Helman-Taylor, 1900.
- New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Washington County, New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1983. [books.FamilySearch.org]
- Perry, Kenneth A. The Fitch Gazetteer: An Annotated Index to Dr. Asa Fitch’s Manuscript History of Washington County, NY. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1999. Published in four volumes.
- The Patents: The Northeastern New York Genealogical Society Newsletter. Queensbury, NY: Northeastern New York Genealogical Society, 1981–present. [www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nywarren/community/nnygs.htm]
- Salem Historical Committee. The Salem Book: Records of the Past and Glimpses of the Present. Salem, NY: Salem Review Press, 1896.
- Stone, William L. Washington County, New York: Its History to the Close of the Nineteenth Century. New York: New York History Co., 1901. Index available from Berkshire Family History Association.
- Stone & Stewart. New Topographical Atlas of Washington County, New York: From Actual Surveys Especially For This Atlas. Philadelphia, 1866.
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.