Discovering New York Religious Records: An Overview
Religious records are among the most important categories of resources for family history researchers, especially those researching in New York State prior to the late 1800s.
There were very few government-kept vital records for the colony in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as the Dutch viewed this to be a function of the church and not the state. When the English took over administration in 1664, they took a similar approach. New York State didn't create laws that required civil vital recordkeeping until the 1840s, although some local government records from the mid-1800s and earlier can sporadically be found. As a result, religious records are excellent vital record substitutes.
This New York Family History School course will provide registrants with an understanding of New York’s religious history and introduce the foundational resources and methods for tracing ancestors from a variety of faiths. This course will cover religious records dating from the 1600s to the early 1900s.
Course Fee
- NYG&B Members: $129
- General Registration: $149
Please Note: This Family History School course is available for on-demand viewing. Registrants have 60 days from date of purchase to complete this course in its entirety. For example, if you purchase this course on December 15, 2026, you have until February 15, 2027, to complete it.
New York’s Religious History: An Overview
In this session we will: identify the major religious groups and belief systems that shaped New York’s history; explore key resources and reference works that provide insights into New York’s religious past; and trace the broad chronology and development of religious life in New York.
Led by D. Joshua Taylor
Key Collections and Resources for Locating Religious Records in New York
In this session we will: understand the nature of the major resources for discovering religious records; explore several of the major resources; and learn how to use the major resources to implement your search.
Led by Susan R. Miller
A Closer Look: Baptists
In this session we will: understand the history and development of the Baptist church in New York; discover what information Baptist church records might hold for genealogical research; and explore key record collections and repositories to use when tracing Baptist ancestors.
Led by D. Joshua Taylor
A Closer Look: Catholic
In this session we will: learn about the different types of Catholic records and understand where and how to access them.
Led by Kerri Tannenbaum
A Closer Look: Congregational and Presbyterian
In this session we will: learn the types of records typically created and maintained by the Congregational and Presbyterian churches; explore unique characteristics these records; and discover where and how to access them.
Led by Susan R. Miller
A Closer Look: Dutch Reformed (Dutch)
In this session we will: gain an understanding of the history of the Dutch Reformed Church; learn about the position of the church in the 16th–18th centuries; and discover the most useful records created by the church.
Led by John Boeren
A Closer Look: Eastern Rite Catholics and Eastern Orthodox
In this session we will: gain an understanding of the history of the Eastern Rite Catholic and Orthodox Churches in the United States; discuss the types of church records and how to make sense of them; and learn how to access relevant record collections.
Led by Michelle Tucker Chubenko
A Closer Look: Episcopal
In this session we will: learn the types of records typically created and maintained by the Episcopal Church; discover where and how to access those records; and explore their unique characteristics.
Led by Susan R. Miller
A Closer Look: Jewish
In this session we will: learn about Jewish-specific records and resources in New York with a special focus on newspapers, cemetery records, and landsmanschaften.
Led by Lara Diamond
A Closer Look: Lutheran
In this session we will: gain an understanding of the history of the Lutheran Church internationally; learn about Lutherans in New York State specifically; and discover sources of genealogical information about Lutherans.
Led by James Beidler
A Closer Look: Methodist
In this session we will: learn the types of records typically created and maintained by Methodist churches; discover where and how to access those records; and explore their unique characteristics.
Led by Susan R. Miller
A Closer Look: The Society of Friends (Quakers)
In this session we will: learn about the types of Quaker records; gain an understanding of how to access these records; and discuss some unique considerations for using them.
Led by Annette Burke Lyttle
A Closer Look: Other Organizations
In this session we will: understand the history and development of other religious organizations in New York; discover what information other church records might hold for genealogical research; and explore key record collections and repositories for tracing ancestors at other religious organizations.
Led by D. Joshua Taylor
About the Presenters
James M. Beidler, known internationally as one of the top people in the field of German genealogy, has authored four commercially published books, including three on German family history. He has been executive director of Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania on two occasions and was a reports editor for the globe-spanning research-for-hire firm Legacy Tree Genealogists for three years. Mr. Beidler also writes “Roots & Branches,” a weekly newspaper column and blog at www.roots-branches.com, is a German Life magazine columnist, and is editor emeritus of Der Kurier, the quarterly journal of the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society.
John Boeren is one of the few full-time genealogy professionals in the Netherlands with more than 35 years of experience. Through his business Antecedentia, he offers genealogical research, heritage trips, and transcriptions/translations. He frequently presents at international events. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Strathclyde (Genealogical, Paleographic and Heraldic Studies) and is a member of the Register of Qualified Genealogists (RQG) and the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG).
Michelle Tucker Chubenko, AG®, AGL™ specializes in the Mid-Atlantic region and Eastern European research. She is a founding member with the “Nashi Predky/Our Ancestors” Family History Group at the Ukrainian History and Education Center (Somerset, New Jersey) and in 2023, coordinated the institute course “Researching Your Ancestry in the Crownland of Galicia, Austria-Hungary”. Since 2021, she has hosted a monthly Q&A Zoom session , Have Questions? Get Answers for Research in Galicia. In April 2025, she published the Workbook for Research in Galicia, Austria- Hungary.
Lara Diamond began researching her own family around 1989. She has traced all branches of her family multiple generations back in Eastern Europe using Russian Empire-era and Austria-Hungarian Empire records. Most of her personal research is in modern-day Ukraine, with a smattering of Belarus and Poland. She has done client research leading to their ancestors in many parts of the former USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and more. She is president of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Maryland, JewishGen's Director of Subcarpathia Research, and a strategic advisor to JewishGen’s Ukraine research Division. She has lectured around the country and internationally on Jewish and Eastern European genealogy research as well as genetic genealogy. She also runs multiple district- and town-focused projects to collect documentation to assist all those researching ancestors from common towns. Lara blogs about her Eastern European and Jewish research at larasgenealogy.blogspot.com.
Annette Burke Lyttle, CG® Heritage Detective, LLC, providing professional genealogical services in research, education, and writing. She speaks on a variety of genealogical topics and loves helping people uncover and share their family stories. Annette is a course coordinator for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and the British Institute. She is a published writer whose research interests include Quaker ancestors and ancestral migrations in the US. She is past president of the Association of Professional Genealogists and editor of The Florida Genealogist.
An NYG&B member since 1993, Susan R. Miller oversees the NYG&B’s print and digital publications. She is the editor of the New York Researcher magazine and a managing editor of the New York Family History Research Guide and Gazetteer and the NYG&B county guide series. Susan also presents genealogical lectures on a national, regional, and local basis. A graduate of Brown University, Susan is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and several other genealogical and historical societies.
Kerri Tannenbaum is a professional genealogist and researcher who works with people looking to learn more about their family history. She specializes in New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Irish research. Kerri is a graduate of Boston University’s Certificate Program in Genealogical Research and the ProGen Peer Study Groups. She serves as contributing editor of the Irish Family History Forum newsletter, a recipient of many awards from the National Genealogical Society. She also serves as a guest lecturer and research consultant for several genealogy societies. Kerri founded her company Family Dot Connector LLC in 2018 and has served hundreds of clients since then. She lives on Long Island with her husband and two daughters.
D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS, FUGA is the President and CEO of the NYG&B and a nationally known and recognized genealogist. Previously, Joshua held senior leadership positions with Findmypast and the New England Historic Genealogical Society and has volunteered in leadership positions for the Federation of Genealogical Societies and other organizations. A prolific author and popular speaker, Joshua has been a coordinator for courses at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) and is the recipient of RootsTech’s Distinguished Presenter Award. He has been a featured genealogist on Who Do You Think You Are? and was a host on the PBS series Genealogy Roadshow. Joshua holds a Master of Library Science degree in Archival Management and a Master of Arts degree in History from Simmons University.
About the NYG&B's New York Family History School
The New York Family History School lets participants learn at their own pace through guided, on-demand sessions focusing on a specific family history topic. Registration includes access to multiple sessions for 60 days, syllabus materials, and a certificate of completion.