Fulton County, New York Guide

Fulton County is bordered by Hamilton, Saratoga, Herkimer, and Montgomery counties, New York.

Formed: April 18, 1838

Parent County: Montgomery

Daughter Counties: None

County Seat: City of Johnstown

Major Land Transactions: Kayaderosseras Patent 1708, Sacandaga Patent 1741, Kingsborough Patent 1753

 

Fulton County Map

 

Table of Contents

 


 

 

 

History

In 1704, Attorney General of the Province of New York, Sampson Broughton, effectively forced the Mohawks out of the area that became Fulton County by purchasing Mohawk territory under duplicitous terms. The terms of this sale, which were made deliberately vague to the Mohawks, compensated them for tract of land with “just enough acreage for one farm,” though Broughton seized 700,000 acres of their land instead.

The Mohawks were incensed by this seizure of their hunting ground, thus forcing Borough to halt settlements until after the conclusion of the French and Indian war in 1763.

Throughout the nineteenth century, Fulton county flourished, and attracted settlers well into the 20th century. At its apex, Fulton County lead the world in glove production, giving the city of  Gloversville a fitting name. As demand was growing for this new industry, many Fulton residents had a hand in this growing industry.  From skin dressers and dyers, to glove cutter and box manufacturers, to women sewing to the ever growing factories of all sizes, many contributed to its success. Though Fulton County’s economic heyday has receded, the county is now host to number of beautiful natural sites, including part of the Adirondack Park.

References: 

 


 

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies – County

Fulton County Clerk

Website: Fulton County Clerk

Address: County Office Building, 223 West Main Street, Johnstown, NY 12095

Phone: (518) 736-5555 

 

Fulton County - City, Town, and Village Clerks

Website: Fulton County – City, 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. 

 

Fulton County Surrogate's Court

Website: Fulton County Surrogate’s Court

Address: 223 West Main Street, Johnstown, NY 12095

Phone: (518) 736-5685

 

Fulton County Public Libraries

Website: Fulton County Public Libraries

Fulton is part of the Mohawk Valley Library System. Information on special collections relating to local history and genealogy.

 

Fulton County Historian

Website: Fulton County Historian

Address: County Office Building, 223 West Main Street, Johnstown, NY 12095

Phone: (518) 736-5667 

 

Fulton County - All Municipal Historians

Website: Fulton County – All Municipal Historians

 

Fulton County Historical Society and Museum

Website: Fulton County Historical Society and Museum

Address: 237 Kingsboro Ave, Gloversville, NY 12078

Phone: (518) 725-2203

Email: fultoncohist@frontier.com 

 


 

 

 

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

 

Central New York Genealogical Society 

Website: Central New York Genealogical Society

Address: PO Box 404, Colvin Station, Syracuse, NY 13205 

Email: cnygs@yahoo.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

 

Montgomery County Department of History and Archives

Website: Montgomery County Department of History and Archives

Address: Old Court House, 9 Park Street, PO Box 1500, Fonda, NY 12068-1500

Phone: (518) 853-8186

 


 

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Local

Alphabetized by location

Bleeker Historical Society 

Website: Bleecker Historical Society

Address: 575 County Highway 112, Gloversville, NY 12078

Email: bleeckerhistoricalsociety@gmail.com 

 

Gloversville Public Library: Historical Reference Room

Website: Gloversville Public Library: Historical Reference Room

Address: 58 East Fulton Street, Gloversville, NY 12078-3219

Phone: (518) 725-2819

Email: gpl@sals.edu 

 

Johnstown Historical Society

Website: Johnstown Historical Society

Address: 17 North William Street, Johnstown, NY 12095-2115

Phone: (518) 762-7076 

 

Johnstown Public Library: Local History Collection

Website: Johnstown Public Library: Local History Collection

Address: 38 South Market Street, Johnstown, NY 12095

Phone: (518) 762-8317  

 

Northville Public Library: Genealogy

Website: Genealogy & Local History Records at the Northville Public Library 

Address: 341 South Third Street, PO Box 1259, Northville, NY 12134

Phone: (518) 863-6922

Email: norlib@mvls.info 

 

Town of Perth Historical Society 

Address: Route 6, Amsterdam, NY 12010

Phone: (518) 842-9497

 


 

 

 

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 originals at Fulton County Clerk’s Office: 1845, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1905, 1915, 1925 (1892 is lost)
  • State originals at the NYSA: 1915, 1925
  • Microfilm at the FHL, NYPL, and NYSL
  • Many years are online at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com

 


 

 

 

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. The following collections include record images (browsable, but not searchable) that are organized by county:

Schenectady Digital History Archive

Links to libraries, archives, museums, and online projects for Fulton County as well as other genealogical resources

 

Maps

 

Other Records

 

 


 

 

 

Selected Bibliography

Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions

  • Becker, Edith van Heusen (Mrs. Frank N. Becker). “Cemetery Inscriptions in Mayfield, NY, Fulton Co. and Hagaman, Amsterdam, NY, Montgomery Co.” Typescript, n.d. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Becker, Edith van Heusen (Mrs. Frank N. Becker). “Cemetery Inscriptions: In the Vicinity of Montgomery and Fulton Counties, NY.” 5 vols. Typescript, 1923–1963. NYPL, New York.
  • County of Fulton 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.
  • Fulton County, NYG&B Church Surveys Collection. NYG&B, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: Fulton County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
  • Vosburgh, Royden Woodward, ed. “Records of the First Presbyterian Church of West Galway in the Town of Perth, Fulton County, N.Y.: Originally the First Presbyterian Church in Galloway.” Typescript, 1919. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Vosburgh, Royden Woodward, ed. “Records of the St. John’s Episcopal Church in the Village of Johnstown, Fulton County, N.Y.” Typescript, 1919. NYPL, New York. [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.

Other Resources

  • Campbell, William W. Annals of Tryon County: Or, the Border Warfare of New York, During the Revolution. New York, 1831.
  • Capital District Genealogical Society Newsletter. Albany: Capital District Genealogical Society, 1982–present. [capitaldistrictgenealogicalsociety.org]
  • Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Montgomery and Fulton Counties, NY, for 1869–70. Syracuse, 1869.
  • Engel, Herbert M. Shtetl in the Adirondacks: The Story of Gloversville and Its Jews. Fleischmanns, NY: Purple Mountain Press, 1991.
  • Frothingham, Washington. History of Fulton County: . . . With Town and Local . . . Fulton County Patriots. Syracuse, 1891.
  • Greene, Nelson. History of the Mohawk Valley, . . . 1614–1925; Covering the Six Counties of Schenectady, Schoharie, Montgomery, Fulton, Herkimer, and Oneida. Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1925.
  • History of Montgomery and Fulton Counties, NY: . . . Old Pioneers and Prominent Residents. Interlaken, NY: Heart of the Lakes Publishing, 1979.
  • Laird, Audrey, and Audrey Bowman. Black Heritage in Fulton County. Gloversville, NY: City of Gloversville Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution Committee, 1990.
  • Morrison, James F. A History of Fulton County in the Revolution. Gloversville, NY: Fulton County Bicentennial History Committee, 1977.
  • New Century Atlas of Montgomery and Fulton Counties, New York. Philadelphia: Century Map Co., 1905.
  • New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Fulton County, New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1984. [books.FamilySearch.org]
  • Nichols, Beach. Atlas of Montgomery and Fulton Counties, New York: From Actual Surveys by and under the Direction of B. Nichols. New York, 1867. [NYPL Digital Gallery]
  • Palmer, Robert M. Historical Fulton County, New York. Johnstown, NY: Fulton County Publicity, 1960.

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.