Broome County, New York Guide

Broome County is located in the south-central region of New York, on the border with Pennsylvania. The Chenango River joins the Susquehanna River in the county.  Its county seat is Binghamton.

County Formed: 1806

Parent County: Tioga

Daughter Counties: None

Major Land Transactions: Boston Ten Towns

Broome County Map
Map of Broome County
 

Table of Contents

 

 

History

Broome County was formed from Tioga County in 1806. Broome County constructed its own canal to connect to the Erie Canal in the north, which became functional in 1837. Although the canal was not a financial success, it did succeed in bringing settlers and goods into the region. During the Civil War and through the late nineteenth century, the number of manufacturing companies greatly increased in the area. In the 20th century, the locally-founded company IBM (International Business Machines) became one of the county’s major employers.  Initially made up of inhabitants of English, Scottish, and Scots Irish descent, the county’s demographics were changed drastically by a wave of Irish and German immigrants during the mid-19th century. An influx of Eastern Europeans and Southern Europeans arrived a few decades later.

Selected from: Encyclopedia of New York State, 225-227

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - County

 

Broome County Clerk

Website: Broome County Clerk

Address: Edwin L. Crawford County Office Building, 3rd Floor; PO Box 2062, Binghamton, NY 13902

Phone: (607) 778-2256

Email: clerkinfo@co.broome.ny.us

 

Broome County – City, Town, and Village Clerks

Website: Broome 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.

 

Broome County Surrogate’s Court

Website: Broome County Surrogate’s Court

Address: 92 Court Street, Binghamton, NY 13901

Phone: (607) 778-2111

 

Broome County Public Libraries

Broome is part of the Four County Library System. See listing below for Broome County Local History and Genealogy Center which is located on the 2nd floor of the Broome County Public Library. Many hold genealogy and local history collections. For example, Vestal Public Library holds local yearbooks and 20th-century newspapers and the Mary Wilcox Memorial Library holds yearbooks and the Whitney Point Reporter, 1897–2008.

 

Broome County Local History and Genealogy Center

Website: Broome County Local History and Genealogy Center

Address: Broome County Public Library, 2nd Floor; 185 Court Street, Binghamton, NY 13901

Phone: (607) 778-3572 

 

Broome County Historical Society

Website: Broome County Historical Society

Address: Local History and Genealogy Center, Broome County Public Library, 2nd Floor; 185 Court Street,Binghamton, NY 13091 

Phone: (607) 778-3578 

 

Broome County Historian

Website: Broome County Historian

Address: Local History and Genealogy Center, Broome County Public Library, 2nd Floor; 185 Court Street, Binghamton, NY 13901

Phone: (607) 778-2076

Email: gsmith@co.broome.ny.us

 

Broome County – All Municipal Historians

While not authorized to answer genealogical inquiries, city, town, and village historians can provide valuable historical information and research advice; some maintain collections and webpages which may include transcribed records, local histories, and other genealogical material. 

 

Broome County Military History Collection: Old Stone House Museum

Address: 22 Chestnut Street, Windsor, NY 13865-4105

Phone: (607) 655-1491

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Regional

 

Binghampton University SUNY: Glenne G. Bartle Library 

Website: Binghamton University SUNY: Glenne G. Bartle Library

Address: PO Box 6012, Vestal Parkway East, Binghamton, NY 13902

Phone: (607) 777-2194

Email: refquest@binghamton.edu

 

Central New York Genealogical Society 

Website: Central New York Genealogical Society

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

Email: cnygs@yahoo.com

 

Southern Tier Genealogical Society 

Website: Southern Tier Genealogical Society

Address: PO Box 680, Vestal, NY 13850

Email: plainj@ieee.org

 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Local

Alphabetized by location

 

Binghamton City Clerk

Website: Binghamton City Clerk

Address: Binghamton City Hall, 1st Floor, 38 Hawley St. Binghamton, NY 13901

Phone: (607) 772-7005 

 

Binghamton Office of Vital Statistics

Website: Binghamton Office of Vital Statistics

Address: Binghamton City Hall, 38 Hawley St. Binghamton, NY 13901

Phone: (607) 772-7029

 

Chenango Schoolhouse Museum 

Website: Chenango Schoolhouse Museum

Office Address: Corner of River Rd. and Patch Rd. Kattelville, NY 13901

Mailing Address: 1529 State Route 12, Binghamton, NY 13901

Phone: (607) 648-9650

Email: historian@townofchenango.com

 

Old Onaquaga Historical Society and Colesville/Windsor Museum 

Website: Old Onaquaga Historical Society and Colesville/Windsor Museum

Address: St. Luke’s Church, PO Box 318, Harpursville, NY 13787

Phone: (607) 693-1222

 

Town of Kirkwood Historical Society and Museum 

Website: Town of Kirkwood Historical Society and Museum

Address: Old Schoolhouse, Veterans River Park, Main Street, Kirkwood, NY 13795

Phone: (607) 775-0811

 

 

 

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.

Access on Findmypast:

1790

1800

1810

1820

1830

1840

1850

1860

1870

1880

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

State Census Records

 

  • County originals at the Broome County Historical Society: 1825*, 1835,1845, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, State originals at the NYSA: 1915, 1925
  • Microfilm at the FHL, NYPL, NYSHA, and NYSL; many years are online at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com.
  • 1825 originals are incomplete; they include statistics for all towns; complete population schedules for towns of Lisle and Windsor; and partial population schedules for the towns of Chenango, Colesville, Conklin, Sanford, and Union.

 

 

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.

Deaths and Burial Records

Military Records

Newspapers

Other Records

Ethnic Groups and Organizations

Maps

Transportation

 

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Selected Bibliography

 

  • Card, Lester. “Broome County Surrogate Records, 1811–1843.” Typescript, 1930. NYPL, New York.
  • County of Broome 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 for a listing by county of the New York record sets that were transcribed by the DAR before 1998.
  • Elliott, Letti. “Broome County, New York, Cemetery Records.” Microfilm of typescript, 1940. NYPL, New York.
  • Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: Broome County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
  • Sawyer, Ray C. “Death Notices Published in the Broome County Republican, a Weekly Newspaper of Binghamton, New York, 1831–1870.” Typescript, 1942. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Sawyer, Ray C. “Marriage Announcements in the Broome County Republican, a Weekly Newspaper of Binghamton, New York.” Typescript, 1941. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Sawyer, Ray C. “Record of the First Presbyterian Church of Chenango Point, Broome County, New York, Later Changed to Binghamton, NY.” Typescript, 1944. NYPL, New York. Includes lists of pastors and members, marriages, deaths, and baptisms.
  • 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.

 

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.