The NYG&B’s latest collection, Church of the Transfiguration, is an ongoing, monumental project, and a key part of our Digitize New York initiative. Through this initiative, the NYG&B is partnering with organizations across New York State to preserve at-risk historical records and make them publicly accessible.
Affectionately known as the “Little Church Around the Corner”, this Manhattan Episcopalian parish has worked to serve marginalized communities since 1848, and today it claims to have performed the most marriages in New York City—resulting in tens of thousands of physical records spanning nearly 200 years.
After a nearly two-year collaboration on digital preservation work by the NYG&B, Church of the Transfiguration staff, and a cadre of dedicated volunteers, an initial rollout of publicly searchable marriage records were finally released in April 2024. These materials are part of an ongoing pipeline of records to be released in the coming months under this partnership.
Please join us for a panel discussion (both in person and livestreamed), moderated by the NYG&B, with Kalyn Loewer, the NYG&B’s Manager of Digital Collections; Pat Williams, Historical Society Chairperson for the Church of the Transfiguration; and some of the volunteers who worked on the project. The panelists will discuss how this collaboration has resulted in tens of thousands of accessible records; lessons learned from the project; and how this partnership can be a model for other organizations to participate in Digitize New York.
On May 9, 1–2 p.m., the NYG&B is also hosting an online webinar “Debuting Church of the Transfiguration Marriage Records” on how to search this new collection and what’s coming next. Learn more and register here.
Read a blog post by Kalyn Loewer, NYG&B Manager of Digital Collections, that examines the evolving, collaborative process taken with the Church of the Transfiguration to preserve and make accessible these records.