Westchester County, New York Guide

Westchester County is bordered by Connecticut, New Jersey and the New York counties of Putnam, Rockland, and Bronx.

County Formed: November 1, 1683

Parent County: Original County

Daughter Counties: None (land cede to New York County 1874 and 1895, which became Bronx County in 1914)

Major Land Transactions: Fordham Manor 1671; Pelham Manor 1687; Philipsburg(h) Manor 1693; Cortlandt Manor; Morrisania Manor 1697; Scarsdale Manor 1701; Oblong (tract) 1731

Westchester County Map
Map of Westchester County

Table of Contents 

 

 

History

Westchester was created in 1683 as one of New York colony’s original 12 counties. However, parts of the Westchester would be annexed by New York County in 1874 and 1894 and by Bronx county in 1917. After Westchester established itself in the economy within New York State, it would be become known for the middle-class lifestyle available to people.

 

Native Americans

The first inhabitants of this area were the Algonkian tribe. Unfortunately, conflict arose between the Algonkian tribes and the settlers over land claims. Casualties from conflicts combined with foreign diseases brought by the Europeans greatly diminished the Native population. While natives remained on the land they sold for years, they gradually disappeared and by early nineteenth century, there were few Algonkian people left in Westchester.

 

European settlers

The first permanent settlers in Westchester county were Dutch-sponsored by the Dutch West India Company in the 1620s and 1630s. However, in 1644 after struggle for control over the territory, the Dutch surrendered the colony of New Netherland to the English. After which, the English began to settle in the area as well. The county would become a haven for religious dissenters in the late Seventeenth century. The Huguenots and Quakers arrived in Westchester first in the late seventeenth century then in the early 1700’s Jewish people were first reported in the county. Westchester became a popular destination for immigrants who had originally settled in New York City.

Westchester served as a battleground during the American Revolutionary War, as the county was among neutral territory between the two opposing sides. The county became a battleground during the revolution and was heavily damaged by both Americans and British. It took several years for Westchester to recover from the devastation caused by the war.

 

Economy

Westchester’s economy was primarily driven by trade with New York City and the Hudson River. The economy was primarily agrarian until the mid-nineteenth century, when industrial development allowed the economy to grow. In 1800, the Westchester Turnpike, the first commercial toll road was created, connecting Pelham to New Rochelle. Industry was introduced to the county and the economy started to expand. Gradually larger industries started to established themselves in the county leading to factories being created.

Two important effects of Westchester’s growing economy were the introduction of the Croton Aqueduct and the railroads. The Croton Aqueduct was built from 1837 to 1842 which allowed the Croton River to be a water source for New York City. The Croton Aqueduct is one of the greatest engineering achievements of the nineteenth century. In the 1840s the first railroads were built throughout the county. The towns served by the new railroad saw dramatic increases in population and economic output.   

 

Further reading: History of Westchester County, New York  By J. Thomas Scharf

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies – County

 

Westchester County Clerk

Website: Westchester County Clerk

Address: 110 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., White Plains, NY 10601

Phone: (914) 995-3080

Deeds, land records, maps, and property surveys; legal records; judgments and liens; divorce records; and trades licenses.  A searchable database of land and legal records is on the website. Naturalization records held at the County Archives; a collections description and an online index are at http://archives.westchestergov.com

 

Westchester County – City, Town, and Village Clerks

Website: Westchester County – City, Town, and Village Clerks

Birth, marriage, and death records are maintained by the clerk of the municipality in which the event occurred. Westchester is the only county in New York State where warrant tax rolls are retained by towns and not by the county. Unlike most city clerks, the Yonkers city clerk holds some vital records not available at the New York State Department of Health; see full listing below.

 

Westchester County Surrogate’s Court

Address: 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 19th Floor, White Plains, NY 10601

Phone: (914) 824-5656

 

Westchester County Archives (WCA)

Website: Westchester County Archives (WCA)

Address: 2199 Saw Mill River Road, Elmsford, NY 10523

Phone: (914) 231-1500

Email: archivesreferencedesk@westchestergov.com

 

Westchester County Historical Society (WCHS)

Website: Westchester County Historical Society (WCHS)

Address: 2199 Saw Mill River Road, Elmsford, NY 10523

Phone: (914) 592-4323

Email: info@westchesterhistory.com

The Society fulfills the role of county historian and shares a building with the WCA. Holdings include books, manuscripts, and pamphlets; Genealogy Collection with cemetery records, censuses, church records, family histories, marriages and deaths from local newspapers, genealogy files of over 2,800 families; maps and atlases (1700s–present); gazetteers, directories, and phone books; orphanage and almshouse records; newspapers, periodicals, scrapbooks, and pictures. Publishes the Westchester Historian (formerly the Westchester County Historical Bulletin) 1925–present. Online indexes to cemetery, church, and other collections, recent acquisitions, a list of libraries with local history collections, a list of local historians, and virtual archives.

 

Westchester County – All Municipal Historians

Website: Westchester 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.

 

Westchester County – Public Libraries

Website: Westchester County – Public Libraries

For the Westchester Library System (WLS). Most town and village libraries have special collections and archival materials relating to local history and genealogy including newspapers, maps, local histories, photographs, yearbooks, scrapbooks, pamphlets, and city directories. An overview of holdings can be found on each library’s website. Libraries with additional collections are listed below under Local Repositories & Resources.

 

Westchester County Genealogical Society

Website: Westchester County Genealogical Society

Address: PO Box 518, White Plains, NY 10603-0518

 

Historic Hudson Valley (HHV)

Website: Historic Hudson Valley (HHV)

Address: 639 Bedford Road, Pocantico Hills, NY 10591

Phone: (914) 631-8200

 

 

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

 

Hudson River Valley Heritage

Website: Hudson River Valley Heritage

Address: 21 S. Elting Corners Rd, Highland, NY 12528

Phone: (845) 883-9065

Email: info@hrvh.org

Hudson River Valley Institute

Website: Hudson River Valley Institute

Address: Marist College, 3399 North Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601-1387

Phone: (845) 575-3176

Email:hrvi@marist.edu

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Local

Alphabetized by location

 

Town of Bedford

Bedford Historical Society and Museum

Address: 612 Old Post Road, PO Box 49, Bedford, NY 10506

Phone: (914) 234-9751

Email: info@bedfordhistoricalsociety.org

Friends of Bedford Burying Grounds

Address: PO Box 152, Bedford, NY 10506 

Email: friendsofbedfordburyinggrounds@gmail.com  

Katonah Village Library and Katonah Historical Museum

Address: 26 Bedford Road, Katonah, NY 10536

Phone: (914) 232-1233

Email: katref@wlsmail.org

 

Town of Cortlandt

Van Cortlandtville Historical Society

Address: 297 Locust Avenue, Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567

Phone: (914) 736-7868

Email: society@vancort.net

Croton Historical Society

Address: One Van Wyck Street, Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520

Phone: (914) 271-4574

 

Town of Eastchester

Bronxville Historical Conservancy

Address: PO Box 989, Bronxville, NY 10708  

Bronxville Public Library, Local History Room

Address: 201 Pondfield Road, Bronxville, New York 10708

Phone: (914) 337-7680

Eastchester 350th Anniversary Inc.

Eastchester Historical Society and Marble School House

Address: 388 California Road, PO Box 37, Eastchester, NY 10709 

Phone: (914) 793-1900

Email: marbleschoolhouse@yahoo.com  

 

Town of Greenburgh

Ardsley Historical Society at Ardsley Public Library

Address: Ardsley Public Library, 2nd Floor; 9 American Legion Drive, PO Box 523, Ardsley, NY 10502

Phone: (914) 693-6027  

Dobbs Ferry Historical Society

Address: The Mead House,12 Elm Street, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522 

Phone: (914) 674-1007

Email: DFHistory@optimum.net

Hastings Historical Society

Address: 407 Broadway, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706

Phone: (914) 478-2249

Email: hhscottage@hastingshistorical.

Irvington Historical Society and History Center

Address: 131 Main Street, PO Box 23, Irvington, NY 10533

Phone: (914) 591-1020

Email: curator@irvingtonhistoricalsociety.org  

Historical Society, Inc. of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow

Address: One Grove Street, Tarrytown, NY 10591

Phone: (914) 631-8374 

Email: historyatgrove@aol.com 

Books, local directories, local newspapers (1875–present), subject files, photographs and postcards, maps and atlases, and manuscripts are available here. 

 

Town of Harrison

Harrison Historical Society and Charles Dawson History Center

Address: Two East Madison Street, West Harrison, NY 10604  

Mailing Address: PO Box 1696, Harrison, NY 10528

Phone: (914) 948-2550

Email: harrisonhistoricalsociety@gmail.com   

 

Town of Mamaroneck

Larchmont Historical Society and Archives

Address: Mamaroneck Town Center, 740 West Boston Post Road, PO Box 742, Mamaroneck, NY 10543

Phone: (914) 381-2239

Email: archives@larchmonthistory.org

Mamaroneck Historical Society at the Mamaroneck Public Library, Historical Research Room

Library: 136 Prospect Avenue, Mamaroneck, NY 10543

Phone: (914) 698-1250

Society Mailing Address: PO Box 776, Mamaroneck, NY 10543   

 

Town of Mount Kisco

Mount Kisco Historical Society

Address: PO Box 263, Mount Kisco, NY 10549  

Mount Kisco Public Library

Address: 100 East Main Street, Mount Kisco, NY 10549

Phone: (914) 666-8041

 

Town of Mount Pleasant

Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society

Address: 162 Macy Road, PO Box 11, Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510

Phone: (914) 941-7016

Email: mail@briarcliffhistory.org

Mount Pleasant Public Library: Local History Center

Address: 350 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570

Phone: (914) 769-0548 

Email: loc.hist@mountpleasantlibrary.org  

Friends of the Old Dutch Church & Burying Ground, Sleepy Hollow, NY

Address: PO Box 832, Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591

Phone: (914) 631-4497 

Email: info@odcfriends.org

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery: Information for Genealogists

Address: 540 North Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591

Phone: (914) 631-0081 

Email: info@sleepyhollowcemetery.org

Mount Pleasant Historical Society

Address: One Town Hall, Valhalla, NY 10595

Phone: (914) 769-4734

 

City of Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon Public Library: Virginia McCullen Moskowitz Local History Room

Address: 28 First Avenue, Mount Vernon, NY 10550

Phone: (914) 668-1840, ext. 227 

Email: mtvref@wlsmail.org

St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site

Address: 897 South Columbus Avenue, Mount Vernon, NY 10550

Phone: (914) 667-4116

 

Town of New Castle

Chappaqua Public Library

Address: 195 South Greeley Avenue, Chappaqua, NY 10514

Phone: (914) 238-4779

New Castle Historical Society

Address: The Horace Greeley House, 100 King Street, PO Box 55, Chappaqua, NY 10514

Phone: (914) 238-4666

Email: director@newcastlehs.org

North Castle Public Library

Armonk branch: 19 Whippoorwill Road East, Armonk, NY 10504

Phone: (914) 273-3887

 

City of New Rochelle

Huguenot & New Rochelle Historical Association and Thomas Paine Cottage

20 Sicard Avenue, New Rochelle, NY 10804-4131

Phone: (914) 633-1776

Email: PaineCottage@optonline.net

Iona College Ryan Library: Thomas Paine National Historical Association Collection

Address: 715 North Avenue, New Rochelle, NY 10801

Phone: (914) 633-2343

New Rochelle Public Library:  Local History Collection and the E. L. Doctorow Local History Room

Address: One Library Plaza, New Rochelle, NY 10801

Phone: (914) 632-7878 

Email: refdesk@nrpl.org

 

Town of North Castle

North Castle Historical Society

Address: 440 Bedford Road, Armonk, NY 10504

Phone: (914) 273-4510

Holdings include books, photographs, and maps.

 

Town of North Salem

North Salem Historical Society

Address: 81 Keeler Lane, North Salem, NY

Phone: (914) 274-7206

Email: northsalemhistoricalsociety@gmail.com

 

Town of Ossining

Ossining Historical Society Museum

Address: 196 Croton Avenue, Ossining, NY 10562

Phone: (914) 941-0001

Email: info@ossininghistorical.org

 

City of Peekskill

Field Library: Colin T. Naylor Jr.  Archives

Address: 4 Nelson Avenue, Peekskill, NY 10566

Phone: (914) 737-1212  

Peekskill Museum

Address: The Herrick House, 124 Union Avenue, PO Box 84, Peekskill, NY 10566

Phone: (914) 736-0473  

Email: info@peekskillmuseum.org

 

Town of Pelham

Pelham Preservation & Garden Society

Address: PO Box 8129, Pelham, NY 10803 

Email: info@pelhampreservationsociety.com

Historic Pelham

Email: historian@townofpelham.com

 

Town of Pound Ridge

Hiram Halle Memorial Library (Pound Ridge Library)

Address: 271 Westchester Avenue, Pound Ridge, NY 10576

Phone: (914) 764-5085  

Pound Ridge Historical Society and Museum & Library

Address: 255 Westchester Avenue, PO Box 51, Pound Ridge, NY 10576

Phone: (914) 764-4333

 

City of Rye

Rye Historical Society, Square House Museum & Knapp House Archives

Society Offices and Museum Address: One Purchase Street, Rye, NY 10580

Society Office and Musuem Phone: (914) 967-7588

Society Office and Musuem Email: ryehistory@verizon.net

Library and Archives Address: 265 Rye Beach Avenue, Rye, NY 10580

Library and Archives Phone: (914) 967-8657

 

Town of Rye

Port Chester Public Library

Address: One Haseco Avenue, Port Chester, NY 10573

Phone: (914) 939-6710  

 

Town of Scarsdale

Scarsdale Historical Society

Address: Cudner-Hyatt House, 937 White Plains Post Road, PO Box 431, Scarsdale, NY 10583

Phone: (914) 723-1744

Email: history@cloud9.net

Scarsdale Public Library

Address: 54 Olmsted Road, Scarsdale, NY 10583

Phone: (914) 722-1300  

 

Town of Somers

Somers Historical Society and Museum

Address: Somers Town Hall, 335 U.S. Route 202, Somers, NY 10589

Phone: (914) 277-4977

 

City of  White Plains

City of White Plains: City Archives

Address: 255 Main Street, White Plains, NY 10601-2409

Phone: (914) 422-1450

Email: webpo@ci.white-plains.ny.us

White Plains Historical Society

Address: Jacob Purdy House, 60 Park Avenue, White Plains, NY 10603

Phone: (914) 328-1776

Email: info@whiteplainshistory.org  

White Plains Public Library: Local History Collection

Address: 100 Martine Avenue, White Plains, NY 10601

Phone: (914) 422-1480   

 

City of Yonkers

Yonkers City Clerk

Address: City Hall, Room 107; 40 South Broadway, Yonkers, NY 10701

Phone: (914) 377-6020

Email: wp@mail.cloud9.net or webpo@ci.white-plains.ny.us

Yonkers Historical Society

Society Address: PO Box 190 • Yonkers, NY 10710

Collections Address: Grinton I. Will Library, 1500 Central Park Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10710

Phone: (914) 961-8940

Yonkers Public Library

Address: Riverfront Library, One Larkin Center, Yonkers, New York 10701 

Reference Desk Phone: (914) 375-7966 

Local History Librarian: (914) 337-1500 ext. 486

The Library’s Local History Room is accessible by appointment. The website provides access to selected online genealogy and local history resources.

Hudson River Museum (HRM)

Address: 511 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10701

Phone: (914)963-4550

 

Town of Yorktown

John C. Hart Memorial Library

Address: 1130 Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY 10588

Holdings include books, diaries, scrapbooks, ledgers, and newspapers.

Yorktown Historical Society

Address: Yorktown Town Hall, PO Box 355, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598

Phone: (914) 962-5722 ext. 440

Yorktown Museum and Doris & Cortland Auser Research Room

Address: Yorktown Community and Cultural Center, Top Floor; 1974 Commerce Street,Yorktown Heights, NY 10598

Phone: (914) 962-2970

Email: museum@yorktownny.org

 

 

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:

1790

1800

1810

1820

1830

1840

1850

1860

1870

1880

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

State Census Records

  • County original at the Scarsdale Public Library: 1845
  • County originals at the Westchester County Archives: 1905, 1915, 1925 (1825, 1835, 1855, 1865, 1875, and 1892 are lost)
  • Microfilm at the FHL, NYPL, NYSHA, and NYSL
  • Many years are online at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com.
  • State originals at the NYSA: 1915, 1925
  • Most of the 1845 New York state census for Westchester County is lost; see Walker for Scarsdale and Smith for Mamaroneck in Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions.

 

 

 

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.

NYGenWeb Project: Westchester County

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

 

Deaths and Burials

 

History

 

Military Records

 

Religious Records

 

Newspapers

  • Old Fulton New York Postcards; The website provides free access to a vast collection of digitized New York newspapers, including 18 titles for Westchester County.

 

Other Records

 

Ethnic Groups and Organizations

 

Historic Sites and Museums

 

Maps

 

Transportation

 

 

Selected Bibliography 

  • Bacon, Edgar M. First English Record Book of the Dutch Reformed Church in Sleepy Hollow, Formerly the Manor of Philipsburgh, Now the First Reformed Church of Tarrytown. Tarrytown, NY: Tarrytown Historical Society, 1931. The records cover 1791–1836.
  • Baird, Rev. Charles W. “Marriage Records of the Society of Friends in the Town of Harrison, N.Y. [Purchase Monthly Meeting, 1742–1785].” NYG&B Record, vol. 3, no. 1 (1872): 45–51. [NYG&B eLibrary] From the original records now on microfilm at the FHL.
  • Becker, E. Marie. “The 801 Westchester County Freeholders of 1763 and the Cortlandt Manor Land-Case which Occasioned Their Listing.” New-York Historical Society Quarterly, vol. 35 (July 1951): 312.
  • Bristol, Theresa Hall. “Abstracts of Wills Recorded at White Plains, Westchester County, N.Y., Subsequent to May 1, 1787.” NYG&B Record, vol. 55 (1924) no. 2: 143–154, no. 3: 262–269, no. 4: 330–338; vol. 56 (1925) no. 2: 118–126; vol. 57 (1926) no. 1: 5–10, no. 2: 102–107, no. 3: 248–253, no. 4: 320–325; vol. 58 (1927) no. 1: 40–44, no. 2: 143–149, no. 3: 202–208, no. 4: 381–388; vol. 59 (1928) no. 1: 26–32; vol. 60 (1929) no. 2: 149–155. Covers libers A–G, 1787–1812. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Bristol, Theresa Hall. “Westchester County, N.Y., Miscellanea.” NYG&B Record,  vol. 50 (1919) no. 3: 240–242; vol. 51 (1920) no. 1: 39–46, no. 3: 252–258; vol. 52 (1921) no. 1: 71–78, no. 2: 170–174, no. 3: 224–229, no. 4: 319–325; vol. 53 (1922) no. 1: 20–26, no. 3: 220–224, no. 4: 325–329; vol. 54 (1923) no. 1: 44–48, no. 2: 132–137, no. 3: 278–285, no. 4: 392–400; vol. 55 (1924) no. 1: 27–36, no. 2: 177–185, no. 3: 202–211, no. 4: 384–393; vol. 56 (1925) no. 2: 137–142, no. 3: 281–287, no. 4: 317–322. Abstracts of County Deed libers A–M, 1683–1801, and Mortgage libers A–E, 1755–1796. [NYG&B eLibrary] The original records are on microfilm at the FHL and the NYPL; the deeds are online at FamilySearch.org.
  • Bristol, Theresa Hall. “Westchester County, N.Y., Miscellanea.” NYG&B Record, vol. 57 (1926) no. 3: 240–248, no. 4: 315–319; vol. 58 (1927) no. 1: 34–39, no. 2: 102–110, no. 3: 242–245, no. 4: 348–351. Abstracts of deeds from three volumes of Rye land records. Covers Rye libers B, C, D (Liber A being lost), ca. 1670–1772. Includes Harrison to 1772. [NYG&B eLibrary] The complete original Rye town records 1660–1992 and village records of Port Chester are on microfilm at the NYSL.
  • Burhans, Samuel, Jr. “Records of Baptisms of the Reformed Dutch Church of Cortlandtown, Westchester County, New York [1741–1748 and 1781–1830].” NYG&B Record, vol. 73 (1942) no. 2: 136–143, no. 3: 190–199, no. 4: 281–286. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Canfield, Amos. “Westchester County, N.Y., Miscellanea: Abstracts from the Records of the Town of Westchester, New York . . . .” NYG&B Record, vol. 60 (1929) no. 2: 105–114, no. 3: 256–264, no. 4: 303–312. Covers Books 1–5, 1655–1725. [NYG&B eLibrary] Original records at MUNI; FHL film.
  • Cole, Rev. David. First Record Book of the “Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow” Organized in 1697 and Now the First Reformed Church, Tarrytown, N.Y. Yonkers Historical and Library Association, 1901. Reprint, Rhinebeck, NY: Palatine Transcripts, 1986. The church was originally called the Church of the Manor of Philipsburgh. Records cover 1697–1791.
  • Cox, John. “Quaker Records: Chappaqua Monthly Meeting: Westchester County, New York: To Which is Appended Chappaqua Burial Ground, Armonk Burial Ground.” Typescript, 1900. NYPL, New York. [Ancestry.com]
  • 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.
  • Daughters of the American Revolution, comps. Historical Records: Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties of New York State. 3 vols. Carmel, NY: Enoch Crosby Chapter, n.d.
  • Eardeley, William B., and Robert B. Miller. “St. Mark’s Episcopal Cemetery, Mount Kisco, NY.” Typescript, 1939. Transcriptions made 1909–1914 and copied 1939. [Ancestry.com]
  • Eastchester Historical Society. Burial Records of St. Paul's Church, Eastchester: 897 S. Columbus Avenue, Mt. Vernon, New York. Eastchester, NY: The Society, 1973.
  • Farrell, Charles, “Marriages by a Justice of the Peace in Morrisania.” NYG&B Record, vol. 129, no. 3 (1998): 189–90. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Fox, Dixon Ryan, and G. B. Harrington. The Minutes of the Court Sessions 1657–1696, Westchester County, New York. White Plains, NY: Westchester County Historical Society, 1924.
  • Frost, Josephine C., and Robert B. Miller. “Cemetery Inscriptions from Westchester County, NY.” Typescript, 1915. NYPL, New York.  Also titled “Eleven Westchester County Cemeteries.” Includes (sic): St. Mark Episcopal at Mt. Kisco; Travis, between Mt. Kisco and Bedford; Reformed Dutch, Elmsford; Zarr at Bedford; Bethel at Croton Village; on road from Poundridge to Bedford; Poundridge, Hobby, at Poundridge; Hoyt, on road from Poundridge to New Canaan; Cooke, Hastings on Hudson; Murphy’s Corners at Poundridge. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Frost, Josephine C., and Robert B. Miller. Cemetery Inscriptions from Westchester County, NY. N.d. Includes (sic): Tarrytown, Dutch Church Cemetery; Tarrytown, Old Dutch Church Cemetery; Sleepy Hollow Cemetery; Scarborough, Sparta Presbyterian Church Yard; Amawalk, Quaker Cemetery; Purchase Quaker Burial Ground; Chappaqua, Quaker Burial Ground; Croton Village, Bethel Cemetery; Mt. Kisco, St. Mark’s Episcopal and Methodist Church Yards. Microfilm, FHL.
  • Grundset, Eric G. “Some Suppliers to the Continental Army in Westchester County, 1780–1782.” NYG&B Record, vol. 142, no. 1 (2011): 65–72. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Haacker, Frederick C. Westchester County, New York, and the French and Indian Wars, 1755–1762: Muster Rolls. New York: F. C. Haacker, 1952. [Ancestry.com]
  • Harris, William A. “Records Related to Slave Manumissions: Pelham, New York.” NYG&B Record, vol. 123, no. 3 (1992): 145–147. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Horne, Field, “Customers and Others in the Ledger of Caleb Fowler of New Castle 1754–1760.” NYG&B Record, vol. 132, no. 3 (2001): 171–176. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Horne, Field. “New Rochelle Inhabitants, 1767 and 1771.” NYG&B Record, vol. 107, no. 4. (1976): 194–198 [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Horton, William P. “Burials in Hillside Cemetery, Peekskill, Westchester Co., New York. Vol. 1, inscriptions prior to 1888; vol. 2, 1888–1921. Typescript, 1928. NYPL, New York. [Vol. 1 only, NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Horton, William P. “Cemetery Inscriptions of Westchester County, New York.” 2 vols. Typescript, 1928. NYPL, New York. Vol. 1 includes Amawalk, Bedford Center, Elmsford, Groveville, North Castle, Ossining, Pleasantside, Shrub Oaks, Somers, Sunset, Tarrytown, Vancortlandtville, and Yorktown; vol. 2 includes in Peekskill. [Ancestry.com]
  • Horton, William P. “Graveyard Inscriptions, Westchester County.” Typescript, 1925. Including Selleck Yard (Croft’s Corners, north of Peekskill), Tompkins Cemetery and Tompkins Plot (near Ossining), and Lafayette Avenue (North Pleasantside). [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Kelly, Arthur C. M. Vital Records of the Cortlandtown Reformed Church, Montrose, N.Y., 1741–1894. Rhinebeck, NY: Kelly, 1980. See also Burhans “Records of Baptisms of the Reformed Dutch Church of Cortlandtown.”
  • Leach, Josiah G. The Journal of the Rev. Silas Constant, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Yorktown, N.Y. Philadelphia, 1903. Includes marriages 1784–1825.
  • Lustenberger, Anita A. “Cortlandt Manor Leases for Three-Lives.” NYG&B Record, vol. 133, no. 1 (2002): 19–22. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Lustenberger, Anita A. “North Salem, Westchester County, Presbyterian Church Members, 1856.” NYG&B Record, vol. 137, no. 3 (2006): 178. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Lustenberger, Anita A. “Tenants of the Commissioners of Sequestration in Westchester Co. 1778–1783.” NYG&B Record, vol. 123 (1992) no. 4: 203–206; vol. 124 (1993) no. 1: 30–33. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Lustenberger, Anita A. “Unrecorded Deeds, Westchester County [1722–1813].” NYG&B Record, vol. 139, no. 4 (2008): 283–284. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Mackenzie, Grenville. “Families of the Colonial Manor of Philipsburgh." Typescript, n.d. Westchester County Historical Society, Elmsford, NY. A name index to the typescript, which contains genealogical data on more than 200 tenant families prior to the Revolution, is accessible on the website; copies may be requested.
  • Manville, Margaret R. Revolutionary War Soldiers Buried in Cemeteries in Westchester County, New York. White Plains, NY: The Author, 1966.
  • Miller, Robert B. “New York Colonial Manuscripts.” NYG&B Record, vol. 38 (1907) no. 2: 129–135, 1698 census for Eastchester, Fordham, and Town of  Westchester; no. 3: 218–222, 1710 census of Bedford. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. “Freeholders to be Jurors, New Rochelle, Westchester County, 1811.” NYG&B Record, vol. 140, no. 4 (2009): 287–288. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. “Road List, New Rochelle, Westchester County, 1798.” NYG&B Record, vol. 140, no. 3 (2009): 207. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. “The Town Book of the Manor of Philipsburgh.” NYG&B Record, vol. 59, no. 3 (1928): 203–213. Record of “town” meetings 1742–1779. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Randolph, Howard S. F. “The Census of 1698 for Mamaroneck, Morrisania, and New Rochelle, Westchester County, New York.” NYG&B Record, vol. 59, no. 2 (1928): 103–107. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • “Records of the Church of Christ in Salem, Westchester County, New York [1752–1823].” NYG&B Record, vol. 31 (1900) nos. 2–4; vol. 32 (1901) nos. 1–4 ; vol. 33 (1902) nos. 1–4; vol. 34 (1903) nos. 1–4; vol. 35 nos. (1904) 1–2 . [NYG&B eLibrary] For page numbers, see the “Index to Articles in the Record by Title and by Author” on NewYorkFamilyHistory.org.
  • “Records of the French Church at New Rochelle, N.Y.” New-York Historical Society Quarterly, vol. 1 (1917): 77–81, covers 1703–1712.
  • “Records of the French Church at New Rochelle, New York, Subsequently Known as Trinity Church.” Typescript and manuscript, 1930–1950. NYPL, New York. Covers 1726–1727 and 1753–1765.
  • Sherman, Thomas T. “Vital Records of Christ’s Church at Rye, Westchester County, New York [1790–1879].” NYG&B Record, vol. 37 (1906) nos. 1, 2, 4; vol. 38 (1907) nos. 1–4; vol. 46 (1915) nos. 3–4; vol. 47 (1916) nos. 1–4; vol. 48 (1917) nos. 1–4. [NYG&B eLibrary] For page numbers, see the “Index to Articles in the Record by Title and by Author” on NewYorkFamilyHistory.org.
  • Smith, Mable W. “Unpublished 1845 Census of Mamaroneck, Westchester County, New York; 1850 Census of Mamaroneck, Westchester County, New York; Military Enlistments—Civil War, 1862.” Typescript, 1955–1956. DAR Library, Washington. [FHL microfilm]
  • Spies, Francis Ferdinand. “Rye, Westchester Co., N.Y., Inscriptions from the Graveyards.” Mt. Vernon, NY: The Author, 1932.
  • Spies, Francis Ferdinand. “Inscriptions from Quaker Burying Grounds with Notes: Purchase, West Chester Co; Chappaqua, West Chester Co.; Pawling, Dutchess Co. (Quaker Hill); Bethel, Dutchess Co., Index.” Typescript, 1923. [Ancestry.com]
  • Spies, Francis Ferdinand, and Mildred Struble. “Inscriptions from the Cemetery Yard of the Old Methodist Church in Pleasantville, NY.” Typescript, 1951. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • St. John’s Episcopal Church, Tuckahoe, NY, 1853–1939. Typescript, 1948. NYPL, New York. Selected records and registers of the church, which is located in the Colonial Heights neighborhood of Yonkers, NY. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Struble, Mildred, Mable Jordan, and Natalie Seth. “Deaths and Cemetery Inscriptions, Poundridge, Westchester County, NY—Accounts of an Unnamed Undertaker, 1860–1871; Tombstone Records of Eighteen Cemeteries.” Typescript, 1941. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Vosburgh, Royden Woodward. Records of the Reformed Church of Fordham in the Borough of the Bronx, City of New York, Formerly the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Fordham in the Town of West Farms, Westchester County, N.Y. New York: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1921. Covers 1793–1888.
  • Walker, Eldon L. “1845 New York State Census, Scarsdale, Westchester County, NY.” Westchester County Historical Bulletin, vol. 54, no. 3 (1978): 64–68.
  • Webb, Morrison DeSoto, “Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, Christ’s Church, Rye, Westchester County, 1880–1898.” NYG&B Record, vol. 141 (2010) no. 1: 43–52, no. 2: 142–146, no. 3: 230–234. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • “Westchester County Administrations 1707.” NYG&B Record, vol. 124, no. 2 (1993): 90–91. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Westchester County Almshouse. Records 1854–1908. Archival collection. NYSA,  Albany, NY.  NYSL microfilm.
  • Westchester County Church Surveys. Includes information about the archives of six churches in Westchester ca. 1900. Digitally published by New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 2012. [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.

Town Records

  • Town of Bedford. Bedford Historical Records. 9 vols. Bedford, NY: The Town, 1966–present. Includes land records, 1680–1800; cemetery records, 1681–1975; soldiers of the revolution; meeting minutes; genealogies.
  • Town of Eastchester. Records of the Town of Eastchester. 9 vols. Eastchester Historical Society, 1964–1966.
  • Town of Greenburgh. “Town and Village Records, 1845–1993.” NYSL microfilm.
  • Town of Harrison, and David N. Haviland, “Town/Village of Harrison Records, 1696–1966.” NYSL microfilm.
  • Town of Mamaroneck, and Mary O. C. English. Early Town Records of Mamaroneck, 1697–1881. Larchmont: Larchmont Public Library, 1979. The complete town records of Mamaroneck plus the village records of Mamaroneck and Larchmont to 1993 are on microfilm at the NYSL.
  • Town of New Rochelle, and Jeanne A. Forbes. Records of the Town of New Rochelle 1699–1828. New Rochelle, NY: Paragraph Press, 1916.
  • Town of North Castle, Richard N. Lander, and Barbara S. Massi. North Castle Historical Records: Minutes of Town Meetings, 1791–1848, Maps, Census of 1800, Census of 1850, Illustrations, Articles of Historical Interest.  Armonk, NY: The Town, 1986.
  • Town of Westchester. Records of the Town of Westchester, New York, 1665–1827. N.p., 1900. FHL microfilm. The Municipal Archives of New York City (MUNI) holds city, town, and village records, ca. 1663–1898, for places in the Bronx that were annexed from Westchester County, including Eastchester, Kingsbridge, Morrisiania, South Mount Vernon, Wakefield, Westchester, and Williamsbridge.

Other Resources

  • Akerly, Lucy D. The Morris Manor. Publication No. 4. New York: The Order of Colonial Lords of Manors in America, 1916.
  • Baird, Charles W. Chronicle of a Border Town, History of Rye, Westchester County, New York, 1660–1870, Including Harrison. New York, 1871.
  • Beers, J. B., & Co. County Atlas of Westchester, New York. New York, 1872. [NYPL Digital Gallery]
  • Bien, Joseph R. Atlas of Westchester County. New York: Julius Bien & Company, 1893. [NYPL Digital Gallery]
  • Bolton, Robert, Jr.  A History of the County of Westchester, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time. 2 vols. New York, 1848.
  • Bolton, Robert, Jr.. A History of Several Towns, Manors, and Patents of the County of  Westchester from Its First Settlement to the Present Time. 2 vols. New York, 1881. Includes genealogies of county families.
  • Bristol, Theresa Hall. “Genealogical Gleanings from Land and Probate Records at White Plains and Rye, New York.” NYG&B Record, vol. 49 (1918) no. 2: 170–176, no. 3: 292–303, no. 4: 381–389. Early families of White Plains, with map showing their landholdings. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Caro, Edythe Quinn. “The Hills” in the Mid-Nineteenth Century: The History of a Rural Afro-American Community in Westchester County, New York. Valhalla, NY: Westchester County Historical Society, 1988.
  • Cushman, Elisabeth. Historic Westchester, 1683–1933: Glimpses of County History. Tarrytown, NY: Westchester County Publishers, Inc., 1933.
  • Davis, Norman. Westchester Patriarchs: A Genealogical Dictionary of Westchester County, New York, Families Prior to 1755. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1988.
  • Dawson, Henry B. Westchester County, New York, during the American Revolution. New York, 1886.
  • De Lancey, Edward F., The Origin and History of Manors in New York and in the County of  Westchester. New York, 1886.  Also published as a chapter in Scharf’s History of  Westchester County below.
  • De Lancey, Edward F. “Original Family Records, Morris of Morrisania, Westchester Co., New York, ”NYG&B Record, vol.7, no. 1 (1876): 16–18.
  • Dunkak, Harry M. Freedom, Culture, Labor: The Irish of Early Westchester County, New York. New Rochelle, NY: Iona College Press, 1994.
  • Forliano, Richard, and Eloise L. Morgan, eds. Out of the Wilderness: The Emergence of Eastchester, Tuckahoe, and Bronxville, 1664–2014. Eastchester, NY: Eastchester 350th Celebration Committee, 2014.
  • French,  Alvah P. History of  Westchester County, New York. 5 vols. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1925–1927. [vols. 1–4, books.FamilySearch.org]
  • Fuller, Elizabeth Green. Indexes to Westchester County Names in the Federal Censuses, 1790–1840. Elmsford, NY:  Westchester County Historical Society, 1994.
  • Fuller, Elizabeth Green. Index to the Westchester Historian, vols. 1–65, 1925–1989. Elmsford, Westchester Historical Society.
  • Fuller, Elizabeth Green, and Diana D. Deichert. Index to the Westchester Historian, vols. 66–86, 1990–2012. Elmsford, Westchester  Historical Society.
  • Graziano, Jackie. “Westchester County Archives.” New York Researcher, Spring 2014; also a Research Aid on NewYorkFamilyHistory.org.
  • Griffin, Ernest F., ed. Westchester County and Its People, A Record. 3 vols. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing. Co., 1946 [HathiTrust.org]
  • Hall, Edward Hagaman. Philipse Manor Hall at Yonkers, NY: The Site, the Building, and Its Occupants. New York: American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, 1912.
  • Hoff, Henry B. “Hudson Valley Research: The East Side.” This extensive bibliography of resources in Westchester and other Hudson Valley counties was originally prepared for the NEHGS-NYG&B Joint Conference, Tarrytown, NY, July 25–26, 1997; digitally published on NewYorkFamilyHistory.org.
  • Hoff, Henry B. “MacKenzie’s Families of Philipsburgh.” NYG&B Newsletter (now New York Researcher), Fall 1994. Published on NewYorkFamilyHistory.org.
  • Horne, Field. “A Guide to the Churches and Their Records in Westchester County, New York, 1674–1880.” Typescript, 1977. NYPL, New York.
  • Horne, Field. “The Philipsburg Manor Rent Roll of 1760,” NYG&B Record, vol. 110, no. 2 (1979): 102–104.
  • Hufeland, Otto. A Check List of Books, Maps, Pictures, and Other Printed Matter Relating to the Counties of Westchester and Bronx. White Plains, NY: Westchester County Historical Society, 1929. [Ancestry.com]
  • Hufeland, Otto. Westchester County during the American Revolution. White Plains, NY: Westchester County Historical Society, 1926. [Ancestry.com]
  • Jacob Judd, ed. Van Cortlandt Family Papers [1748–1848]. 4 vols. Tarrytown, NY: Sleepy Hollow Restorations, 1976–1981.
  • Jordan, Alvin, and Maureen L. Koehl, eds. A History of the Town of Lewisboro, Westchester County, New York. South Salem, NY: Lewisboro History Book Committee, 1981. Reprinted, South Salem, NY: South Salem Library Association, 1994.
  • Kim, Sung B. Landlord and Tenant in Colonial New York: Manorial Society, 1664-1775. Chapel Hill: Published for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Va., by the University of North Carolina Press, 1978. See “A Note on Sources,” pp. 425–431, for detailed information about archival and printed material related to Westchester County’s historic Manors.
  • Kim, Sung B. “The Manor of Cortlandt and Its Tenants, 1697–1783,” PhD diss., Michigan State University, 1966.
  • Leggett, Theodore A., and Abraham Hatfield, eds. “Early Settlers of West Farms, Westchester County, N.Y.” NYG&B Record, vol. 44 (1913) nos. 3–4; vol. 45 (1914) nos. 1–4; vol. 46 (1915) nos. 1–4; vol. 47 (1916) nos. 1–2. [NYG&B eLibrary] For page numbers, see the “Index to Articles in the Record by Title and by Author” on NewYorkFamilyHistory.org.
  • Lewis Publishing. Biographical History of Westchester County, New York. 2 vols. Chicago, 1899.
  • Macy, Harry, Jr. “Westchester County Resources in the NYG&B Record.” NYG&B Newsletter (now New York Researcher), Spring 1998. Updated June 2011 and published as a Research Aid on NewYorkFamilyHistory.org.
  • McKernan, Maureen. “Old Families of Westchester.” Typescript, 1951. NYPL, New York. Clippings of a series of 22 articles.
  • Mellick, Harry C. W. The Manor of Fordham and Its Founder. New York: Fordham University Press, 1950
  • Morris, Fordham. The Borough Town of Westchester, An Address Delivered by Fordham Morris, October 28, 1896. White Plains, NY, 1896.
  • New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Westchester County, New York Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Library, 1991. [books.FamilySearch.org]
  • Pallen, Condé B., ed. New Rochelle, Her Part in the Great War: Historical and Biographical Sketches of Individuals and Organizations Who Rendered Valuable Service to Their Country During the Great World War. New Rochelle, NY: W. C. Tindall, 1920.
  • Pell, Captain Howland. The Pell Manor. Publication No. 5. New York: The Order of Colonial Lords of Manors in America, 1917.
  • Pelliana: Pell of Pelham. Vol. 1, nos. 1–6, 1934–1941; new series vol. 1, nos. 1 and 2, 1962–1965.  A series of pamphlets published privately by the Pell Family are at the NYPL; microfilm is at the FHL.
  • Raftery, Patrick J. The Cemeteries of Westchester County. 3 vols. Elmsford, NY: Westchester County Historical Society, 2011. This comprehensive reference is nearly 800 pages and includes more than 1,200 illustrations.
  • Raftery, Patrick J. “The Westchester County Historical Society.” New York Researcher, Winter 2013/2014; also a Research Aid on NewYorkFamilyHistory.org.
  • Remington, Gordon L., “Robert2 Huestis of Westchester County: His Ancestry and Descendants,”NYG&B Record, vol. 129 (1998) no. 1: 1–12, no. 2: 97–108, no. 3: 191–206, (A/C) 260–261, no. 4: 276–284; vol. 130 (1999) no. 1: 54–60. See vol. 129, no. 4: 277–279 for information relevant to Pelham Manor and Philipsburgh Manor. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Renino, Marjorie Chamberlain Herrmann, comp. The Guide to Genealogical Research for Westchester County, New York. Elmsford, NY: Westchester County Historical Society, 2003. This is an authoritative, and virtually exhaustive, guide.
  • Scharf, J. Thomas. History of  Westchester County, New York, Including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, Which Have Been Annexed to New York City. 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1886. Indexed by Elizabeth G. Fuller in 1988.
  • Seacord, Morgan H. Biographical Sketches and Index of the Huguenot Settlers of New Rochelle, 1687–1776. New Rochelle, NY: Huguenot and Historical Association of New Rochelle, 1941.
  • Shargel, Baila. The Jews of  Westchester: A Social History. Fleischmanns, NY: Purple Mountain Press, 1994.
  • Shonnard, Frederic. History of  Westchester County, New York, from Its Earliest Settlement to the Year 1900. Harrison, NY: Harbor Hill Books, 1974. [books.FamilySearch.org]
  • Smith, Henry T. Manual of Westchester County, Past and Present. White Plains, NY, 1898.
  • Swanson, Susan C., and E. G. Fuller. Westchester County, a Pictorial History. Norfolk,  VA: Donning Co., 1982
  • Weigold, Marilyn E. Westchester County: The Past Hundred Years, 1883–1983. Harrison, NY: Harbor Hill Books for Westchester County Historical Society,  Valhalla, 1984.
  • Weigold, Marilyn E., and Yonkers Historical Society. Yonkers in the Twentieth Century. Albany: SUNY Press, 2014.
  • Wheeler, Charles B. The Heathcote Manor of Scarsdale. Publication No. 11. New York: The Order of Colonial Lords of Manors in America, 1923.

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.