Important sources for colonial New York research are the various censuses, assessment rolls (including tax and rate lists), oaths of allegiance, and other lists created under the Dutch and English administrations. Given here is a checklist of published pre-1750 lists (including FHL microfilms), all of which are available at The NYG&B Library. County-wide lists precede those arranged by smaller jurisdictions (which for some counties were only towns). The checklist is not intended to include all pre-1750 New York lists as the following categories have been excluded:
- Military muster rolls;
- Palatine lists (already covered in the works of Henry Z Jones, Jr.);
- Lists of a limited portion of the local population; several of these are cited in John D. Stemmons' useful work, The United States Census Compendium (1973) at pp. 82-88; and
- Lists generated at the local level that appear only in published town or church records or histories.
Some exceptions have been made, especially for (3) and (4) above, to include lists because they have been misdated, because they might be overlooked, or for some other reason.
Calendar of Historical Manuscripts was reviewed for unpublished relevant material that might still exist in New York Colonial Manuscripts at the New York State Archives. However, Diane Snyder Ptak, C.A.L.S., of Albany, determined that none survived the 1911 fire, with the exception of a small portion of a 1702 census of Brooklyn.
Abbreviations
| Andros | The Andros Papers Files of the Provincial Secretary of New York During the Administration of Governor Sir Edmund Andros 1674-1680, ed. by Peter R. & Florence A. Christoph, 3 vols., 1989-91 [N.Y. G 55.2] |
| Annals | Annals of Albany, by Joel Munsell, 10 vols., 1849-59 [N.Y. L AL13.6] |
| Buck | Dutchess County, NY Tax Lists, 1718-1787, by Clifford M. Buck, 1991 [N.Y. Co. D951.301] |
| Cal.State Pprs. | Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, America and the West Indies, Public Record Office, 44 vols., 1860-1969 [pages in the Library's Manuscript Coll.] |
| CDNY | Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York, ed. by E.B. O'Callaghan and Berthold Fernow, 15 vols., 1856-87 [N.Y. G 21] |
| Clearwater | The History of Ulster County, New York, by Alphonso T. Clearwater, 1907 [N.Y. CO. UL7.8] |
| CNYHS | Collections of The New-York Historical Society, 1868 [N.Y. G 10] |
| DHNY | The Documentary History of the State of New-York, ed. by E.B. O'Callaghan, 4 vols., 1849-51 [N.Y. G 22] |
| Gandy | The Association Oath Rolls of the British Plantations [New York, Virginia, Etc.] A.D. 1696, ed. by Wallace Gandy, 1922 [Great Britain G 61] |
| Icon. | The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909, by I.N. Phelps Stokes, 6 vols., 1915-28 [N.Y.C. G 9] |
| ER | Ecclesiastical Records, State of New York, 7 vols., 1901-16[N.Y. G 11.1] |
| F & I | Freeholders & Inhabitants |
| JLIH | The Journal of Long Island History, 1961-82 [L. I. G 23] |
| Lists | Lists of Inhabitants of Colonial New York Excerpted from The Documentary History of the State of New-York, by Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan, 1979 [N.Y. G 22.1] |
| MCC | Minutes of the Common Council of the City of New York, 1675-1776, 8 vols. 1905 [N.Y.C. G 3] |
| Nat. | Denizations, Naturalizations, and Oaths of Allegiance in Colonial New York, by Kenneth Scott and Kenn Stryker-Rodda, 1975 [N.Y. G 12.3] |
| NGSQ | National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 1912- [CS 42 N4] |
| NJMis. | Historical and Genealogical Miscellany: Data Relating to. . . New York and New Jersey, by John E. Stillwell, 5 vols., 1930-32, repr. 1970 [N.J. G 321 |
| OBTR | Oyster Bay Town Records, 8 vols., 1916-40 [N.Y. L OY8] |
| Peyer | "Jamaica, Long Island 1656-1776: A Study of the Roots of American Urbanism," by Jean B. Peyer, 1974 (Ph.D. dissertation) [N.Y. L Q31.68 J35] |
| Suff.Co.Reg. | Suffolk County Historical Society Register, 1975- [N.Y. CO. SU29.4] |
| Supvsrs.bk. | Book of The Supervisors of Dutchess County N. Y., A.D. 1718-1722, n.d. [N.Y. CO. D858] |
| Supvsrs.mf. | Dutchess Co., N.Y. Records of Supervisors 1717-1779. 3 reels. [NYG&B microfilm 15.3-15.5] |
| TAG | The American Genealogist, 1922- [CS 42 A51 ] |
| Waller | History of the Town of Flushing, Long Island, New York, by Henry D. Waller, 1899, repr.1975 [N.Y. L F675.21] |
| Wilson | Memorial History of the City of New York, by James Grant Wilson, 4 vols., 1892 [N.Y.C. G 10] |
Albany County
| 1653 | oath | Annals 2:185 |
| 1701 | F & I | CDNY 4:939 |
|
By Jurisdiction |
||
| 1684 | freeholders | Rec. 3:71, 104 (Schenectady) |
| 1697 | census | Annals 9:81-89 |
| 1699 | oath | Annals 3:275-80 |
| 1702 | freeholders | Cal.State Pprs. 20:622-23 |
| 1720 | freeholders | DHNY 1:370-73; Lists 18-21 |
| 1742 | freeholders | Annals 2:186-90 (Albany and Rensselaerswyck) |
Dutchess County
| 1714 | census | DHNY 1:368; Lists 16 |
| 1718-1750+ | tax lists | Supvsrs.bk.; Supvsrs.mf.; Buck |
| 1740 | census | DHNY 4:205; Lists 253 |
Kings County
|
By Town |
||
| 1675 | rate list | DHNY 4:141-60; Andros 1:493-515 (all but Gravesend) |
| 1676 | rate list | DHNY 2:470-93; Lists 90-113; Andros 1:551-78 (all but Gravesend) |
| 1683 | rate list | DHNY 2:493-511; Lists 113-31 |
| 1686 | church list | Rec. 120:148 (Flatlands) |
| 1687 | oath | DHNY 1:659-61; Lists 37-39; Nat. 90-93 |
| 1698 | census | DHNY 3:133-38; Lists 175-80 (New Utrecht also in JLIH 14:54) |
| 1709 | assessment | TAG 37:1 (Flatbush) |
| 1713 | F & I | Rec. 117:225 (Brooklyn) |
| 1731 | census | DHNY 4:188-200; Lists 236-48; Rec. 123:84 (year not 1738) |
New York County
| 1639 | oath | Nat. 76 |
| 1639 | map | Icon. 2:181 |
| 1657-1750+ | freemen | CNYHS 1885 |
| 1660 | map | Icon. 2:209 |
| 1664 | remonstrance | CDNY 2:249 |
| 1664 | oath | CDNY 3:74; Nat. 78 |
| 1665 | inhabitants | Wilson 1:338 |
| 1673 | oath | Nat. 84, 86 |
| 1674 | tax list | CDNY 2:699; Wilson 1:362 |
| 1675 | oath | Nat. 86 |
| 1676 | tax list | MCC 1:29; Rec. 2:36 |
| 1677 | tax list | MCC 1:43, 50 |
| 1688 | church list | NGSQ 49:131; de Halve Maen 55:1:10 |
| 1695-99 | tax lists | CNYHS 1910-11 |
| 1696 | oath | Gandy pp. 33-47 |
| 1699-1709 | tax lists | FHL microfilm #484,033 |
| 1701 | F & I | CDNY 4:934 |
| 1702 | F & I | CDNY 4:1006 |
| 1703 | census | DHNY 1:611; Lists 22 |
| 1721-33 | tax lists | FHL microfilm #484,033 (1730 in Rec. vol. 95) |
| 1737 | petition | DHNY 3:484 |
Orange County
| 1687 | oath | Nat. 93 |
| 1702 | census | DHNY 1:366; Lists 14; The Rockland Record 2:65 |
| 1712 | census | The Rockland Record 2:22 |
| 1715 | inhabitants | Rec.103:226 |
Queens County
| 1702 | freeholders | Cal.State Pprs. 20:621; Rec. 47:93 |
|
By Town |
||
| 1673 | oath | DHNY 1:658; Lists 36; Nat. 83, 99 (Hempstead and Oyster Bay) |
| 1675 | tax list | DHNY 2:459-62; Lists 79-87; Andros 1:539-47 (Flushing and Newtown) |
| 1678 | tax list | CDNY 14:738; Andros 3:465 (Newtown) |
| 1683 | rate list | DHNY 2:512-29; Lists 132-49 |
| 1688 | tax list | NGSQ 69:34 (Flushing) |
| 1688 | vital stats. | DHNY 3:197 (Jamaica) |
| 1698 | census | DHNY 1:661; Lists 39 (Flushng); Rec. 45:54 (Hempstead); TAG 24:133 (Newtown) |
| 1711 | provisions | Waller 249 (Flushing); Peyer, list App. E (Jamaica); OBTR 3:709 (Oyster Bay) |
Richmond County
| 1655 | list | Rec. 34:210 |
| 1701 | F & I | CDNY 4:938, 942 |
| 1702 | freeholders | Cal.State Pprs. 20:622 |
| "1706" | census | NJMis. 1:149; TAG 36:67* |
Suffolk County
| 1738 | freeholders | DHNY 4:200; Lists 248; Suff. Co. Reg. 12:78 (year not 1737) |
|
By Town |
||
| 1675 | tax list | DHNY 2:441-58; 468-69; Lists 61-78, 88-89; Andros 1:521-38 (not Smithtown or Southampton) |
| 1678 | tax list | CDNY 14:736; Andros 3:463 (East Hampton) |
| 1683 | rate list | DHNY 2:530-42; Lists 150-62 |
| 1686 | census | Rec. 30:120 (Southold) |
| 1698 | census | DHNY 1:665-73; Lists 43-51 (Southampton and Southold) |
| 1719 | petition | DHNY 3:389 (Brookhaven) |
Ulster County
| 1680 | petition | DHNY 3:965; ER 1:683; Andros 3:380 (year not 1676) |
| 1687 | oath | DHNY 1:279; Lists 1; Nat. 87 (year not 1689) |
| 1701 | F & I | CDNY 4:938, 941 |
| 1709 | tax list | Rec. 62:147, 272 |
| 1709-10 | tax list | Rec. 62:275 |
|
By Jurisdiction |
||
| 1711-12 | tax list | Rec. 62:281-83, 370-77 |
| 1714-15 | tax list | Clearwater pp. 67-71 |
| 1718-19 | tax list | Rec. 62:377-78; 63:86-90 |
| 1720-21 | tax list | Rec. 63:199-203 |
| 1728 | tax list | DHNY 3:969-71; Lists 223-26 |
Westchester County
|
By Jurisdiction |
||
| 1673 | oath | Nat. 84-85 (Eastchester, Fordham and Westchester) |
| 1675 | tax list | CDNY 13:488-89; Andros 1:516-19 (Eastchester and Westchester) |
| 1683 | rate list | CDNY 13:574 (Westchester) |
| 1698 | census | Rec. 38:129?35,218-19 (Eastchester, Fordham and Westchester); Rec. 59:103-05 (Mamaroneck, Morrisania and New Rochelle) |
| 1698 | oath | Rec. 59:66-68 (Eastchester, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Westchester and Yonkers) |
| 1710 | inhabitants | DHNY 3:946-47; Lists 220-21; Rec. 38:221-22 (Eastchester and New Rochelle); Rec. 38:219?21 (Bedford and Westchester) |
* This article suggests that the date of the Staten Island census was 1708 or 1709, rather than 1706. Further study, however, suggests that the census cannot be assigned to any one year, but rather may be a composite of the 1706 and late 1708 censuses alluded to by Lord Cornbury (NJMis. 1:149).
by Henry B. Hoff, CG, FASG, FGBS
Originally published in The NYG&B Newsletter, Fall 1992
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