New York Land Records: An Introduction – Registration

Sessions

Presenters

Land Records in New York: History and Context

In this session we will: gain an understanding of the history of land records; learn about the ways in which historical dates impact land records; discuss key methods and resources to know before researching land records.

Led by D. Joshua Taylor

County Land Transactions

In this session we will: explore different types of deeds; gain an understanding of available indexes and how they lead to the recorded deed; understand how to locate deeds online and on-site.

Led by Jeanette Sheliga

Leases and Tenants

In this session we will: understand the history of leases and tenant farmers; identify potential records and repositories to use to document those leasing land; discover additional methods for tracing those who did not own property.

Led by Jane E. Wilcox

State Title Transfers

In this session we will: understand the history of state title transfers in New York; identify key record sets to identify state title transfers; explore the information needed for finding state title transfers.

Led by Susan R. Miller

Land Companies: A Brief Overview

In this session we will: understand why land companies formed in the post-Revolutionary War period and how they operated; grasp the extent and duration of land company operation in New York State; become familiar with some of the major land companies and the types of records they left behind.

Led by Skip Duett

Skip Duett is a professional genealogist, speaker, and author specializing in New York land records.  An instructor at Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR), he has been published in the National Genealogical Quarterly and the New York Researcher. He serves on the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society (NYG&B) Family History Advisory Committee. He is actively researching and writing about the full spectrum of land records in Upstate New York.

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, New York State Archives Guide: For Family Historians, Biographers, and Historical Researchers, and New York City Municipal Archives Guide and a managing editor of the New York Family History Research Guide and Gazetteer. A graduate of Brown University, Susan is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and several other genealogical and historical societies. 

Jeanette Sheliga of Jeanette's Genealogy lives in Lockport, New York, and has been lecturing about genealogy since 2011. Jeanette is the President of the Virtual Genealogical Association (VGA), and she holds positions in local, state, and national societies. Jeannette has completed the study groups of ProGen 49 and ProGen Practicum 02 and has attended many genealogy institutes.

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 College.

Jane E. Wilcox, FGBS, serves on the New York State Archives and the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society’s (NYG&B) Family History Advisory Committees. She authored New York State Archives Guide: For Family Historians, Biographers, and Historical Researchers.