Wayne County is bordered by Lake Ontario and the New York counties of Cayuga, Monroe, Ontario, and Seneca
County Formed: 1832
Parent County: Ontario; Seneca; Cayuga
Daughter Counties: None
Major Land Transactions: New Military Tract 1782 – 1791; Pre – Emption Line 1786; Treaty of Hartford Phelps and Gorham Purchase 1788
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
Archaeological evidence suggests humans inhabited Wayne County nearly 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. The Cayuga and Seneca tribes to the south included this area within their hunting and fishing ranges. The first Europeans to arrive were French traders in the late 1600s. In 1772, the traders made their first settlement inland, further ventures did not occur until 1789. Settlement was gradual due to disease, relative isolation, and the lack luster lands to the south and west. The 1840s saw an influx of incoming Irish and German immigrants, who settled close to the Erie Canal. Agriculture and small – and medium scale manufacturing are at the heart of Wayne County’s economy. Unlike less populated counties in New York, Wayne County has experienced steady growth since the 1920s. Major land transactions include New Military Tract of 1782 – 1791, the Pre – Emption Line of 1786, and the Treaty of Hartford Phelps and Gorham Purchase of 1788. Named after Revolution War General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, the county seat is located in the Town of Lyons.
References: The Encyclopedia of New York State p. 1678
Repositories, Resources, and Societies - County
Wayne County Clerk and Records Center
Website: Wayne County Clerk and Records Center
Address: 9 Pearl Street, PO Box 608, Lyons, NY 14489
Phone: (315) 946-7470
Wayne County - Town and Vilage Clerks
Website: Wayne 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.
Wayne County Surrogate’s Court
Address: Wayne County Hall of Justice, 54 Broad Street, Lyons, NY 14489
Phone: (315) 946-5430
Wayne County Public Libraries
Website: Wayne County Public Libraries
Wayne is part of the Pioneer Library System. Many hold genealogy and local history collections, including books and newspapers. For example, Clyde-Savannah Public Library has a digital archive of ten local newspapers, 1844–2003, and family files.
Wayne County Historian
Website: Wayne County Historian
Address: 9 Pearl Street, Suite 3, PO Box 608, Lyons, NY 14489
Phone: (315) 946-5470
Email: historian@co.wayne.ny.us
Wayne County - All Municipal Historians
Website: Wayne County – All Municipal Historians
While not authorized to answer genealogical inquiries, 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 more information visit the website of the Association of Public Historians of New York State.
Wayne County Historical Society and Museum of Wayne County History
Website: Wayne County Historical Society and Museum of Wayne County History
Address: 21 Butternut Street, Lyons, NY 14489
Phone: (315) 946-4943
Email: info@waynehistory.org
Wayne County New York Genealogical Society
Website: Wayne County New York Genealogical Society
Address: PO Box 502, Newark, NY 14513-0502
Email: info@wcnygs.com
Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Regional
SUNY at Oswego: Local History Collection
Address: Penfield Library, Special Collections, Oswego, NY 13126
Phone: (315) 312-3537
Email: archives@oswego.edu
Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Local
Alphabetized by location
Clyde-Savannah Public Library
Website: Clyde-Savannah Public Library
204 Glasgow Street, Clyde, NY 14433
Phone: (315) 923-7767
Email: ClydeLibraryDirector@owwl.org
Galen Historical Society
Website: Galen Historical Society
Address: PO Box 43, Clyde, NY 14433
Phone: (315) 573-6643
Email: Galenhistoricals@aol.com
Macedon Historical Society
Website: Macedon Historical Society
Address: 1185 Macedon Center Road, PO Box 303, Macedon NY 14502
Phone: (315) 455-3798
Newark-Arcadia Historical Society and Museum
Website: Newark-Arcadia Historical Society and Museum
Address: 120 High Street, Newark, NY 14513
Phone: (315) 331-6409
Email: arcadiahistory@gmail.com
Rose Historical Society
Address: 10798 Wolcott Road, North Rose, NY 14516-9622
Phone: (315) 587-4532
Historic Palmyra, Inc. at Palmyra Historical Museum
Website: Historic Palmyra, Inc. at Palmyra Historical Museum
Address: 132 Market Street, Palmyra, NY 14522
Phone: (315) 597-6981
Williamson-Pultney Historical Society
Website: Williamson-Pultneyville Historical Society
Address: 4130 Mill Street, PO Box 92, Pultneyville, NY 14538
Email: info@w-phs.org
Sodus Bay Historical Society
Website: Sodus Bay Historical Society
Address: 7606 North Ontario Street, PO Box 94, Sodus Point, NY 14555
Phone: (315) 483-4936
Email: sbhslighthouse@gmail.com
Walworth Historical Society and Museum
Website: Walworth Historical Society and Museum
Address: 2257 Academy Street, PO Box 142, Walworth, NY 14568
Phone: (315) 524-9205
Wolcott Historical Society
Website: Wolcott Historical Society
Address: PO Box 51, Wolcott, NY 14590
Phone: (315) 594-9494
Email: admin@wolcottnyhistory.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.
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
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County originals at Wayne County Historian’s Office: 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, 1925, (1825, 1835, 1845, and 1855* are lost)
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State originals at the NYSA: 1915, 1925
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Microfilm at the FHL, NYPL, NYSHA, and NYSL
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Many years are online at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com.
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Typescript at Wayne County Historian’s Office: 1885
Other 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:
“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 Wayne to view the available records sets.
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.
NYGenWeb Project: Wayne County
Part of the national, USGenWeb volunteer initiative, the website provides information and resources for county research, including an extensive selection of cemetery transcriptions, indexes, and census abstracts that can be accessed from the Historical Articles section of the website.
The website provides free access to a vast collection of digitized New York newspapers, including 27 titles for Wayne County.
Selected Bibliography
Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions
- County of Wayne 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: Wayne County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
- Meyer, Mary K., S. D. Van Alstine, and Harriet M. Wiles. Genealogical Abstracts from Palmyra, Wayne County, New York Newspapers, 1810–1854. Mount Airy, MD: Pipe Creek Publications, 1996.
- Wiles, Harriett M. “Cemetery Inscriptions from Palmyra Cemetery, Palmyra, Wayne County, N.Y.” 4 vols. Typescript, 1934–1938. NYPL, New York.
- Wiles, Harriett M. “Church Record of the Presbyterian Church of East Palmyra, Wayne County, New York.” Typescript, 1933. NYPL, New York.
- Wiles, Harriett M. “Church Records of the Western Presbyterian Church of Palmyra, Wayne County, New York.” Typescript, 1933. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
- Wiles, Harriett M. “Marriages and Deaths of Wayne County, New York: Copied from the Newark Weekly Courier, Published at Newark, New York.” Manuscript, 1941. NYPL, New York.
- Wiles, Harriett M. “Records of the Presbyterian Church of Lyons, Wayne County, Nw (sic) York”. Typescript, 1952. NYPL, New York.
- 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
- Barthel, Otto. New Century Atlas of Wayne County, New York, with Farm Records. Philadelphia: Century Map Co., 1904.
- Beers, D. G. & Co. Atlas of Wayne Co., New York, from Actual Surveys and Official Records. Philadelphia, 1874. [NYPL Digital Gallery]
- Cowles, George W. Historical and Biographical Record of Wayne County, New York. Salem, MA: Higginson Book Co., 1997.
- Cowles, George W. Landmarks of Wayne County, New York. Syracuse: D. Mason, 1895. Book includes biographies and family sketches. Index available from Berkshire Family History Association.
- Curtis, Vera. History of the Town of Marion, Wayne County, State of New York 1795–1937. Marion, NY: n.p., 1937.
- Espenschied, Lloyd. Early Wayne County Settlers and Their Rhineland Origins. Westminster, MD: Heritage Books, 2011. Originally published in the Lyons Republican and Clyde Times in 1958.
- Fay, Loren V. Wayne County, New York, Genealogical Research Secrets. Albany: L. V. Fay, 1982.
- 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.
- Jacobs, Stephen W. Wayne County: The Aesthetic Heritage of a Rural Area: A Catalog for the Environment. Lyons, NY: Wayne County Historical Society, 1979.
- McIntosh, W. H. History of Wayne County, New York: With Illustrations Descriptive of Its Scenery, Palatial Residences, Public Buildings, Fine Blocks, and Important Manufactories. Philadelphia, 1877.
- New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Wayne County, New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1981. [books.FamilySearch.org]
- Rochester Regional Library Council. Guide to Local History and Archives Collections in the Genesee Valley. Digitally published June 2006. The guide provides collection descriptions for 150 organizations in the region. http://rrlc.org/wp-content/uploads/uploads/2013/02/dhp_Local-History-Gu…
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.