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Research

Court Records in the State Archives

The New York State Archives holds over 10,000 cubic feet of records of trial and appellate courts, dating from the 1660s to the 1990s. The State Archives holds almost all surviving records of trial and appellate courts exercising jurisdiction throughout the colony and state of New York during the period 1665-1847. The State Archives acquires post-1847 records of certain appellate courts, including the State Court of Appeals and to a lesser extent, the Second (Brooklyn) and Third (Albany) Departments of the Supreme Court Appellate Division.

Birth, Marriage, and Death Records

  • The indexes cover the entire state outside of New York City and start in June 1880 (deaths) or 1881 (marriages and births).
  • Birth indexes are made available after 75 years, marriage and death indexes after 50 years. Birth indexes have been made available through 1937 only.
  • An index entry states only the name of the person, date and place of event, and State certificate number. Indexes for certain years are arranged by SOUNDEX codes.

Prisons

Name Index 

The Name Index includes individual names appearing in the records of various state agencies whose records are held by the New York State Archives.   The following record series are represented in the name index:

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