Find your ancestors in millions of online records you can't find anywhere else.
Since 1869, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society has been preserving historical records that are useful to family history researchers investigating people from New York State.
Much of this material is now available to search and view on the web, and we're adding new online records all the time.
Explore All Online Collections
Below you will find a complete list of each online collection. Click the title of each collection to view a full description and search the collection individually.
| Collection Title | Collection Category |
Location |
Collection Type | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bible Records from the American Bible Society | Religious Records | All NY Counties | Indexed | View description |
| Beginning in 1987, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYG&B) and the American Bible Society undertook to make the family records documented in these Bibles accessible to researchers. NYG&B volunteers examined the ABS collection and identified 632 Bibles that contained records of interest. Read More | ||||
| New York Times Obituaries Index | Death | All NY Counties | Text | View description |
| A complete index to obituaries published in The New York Times between 1858 and 1968. Researchers may use the information found in this index to locate the full obituary in The New York Times archives. Read More | ||||
| NYG&B Family Files | Compiled Genealogies | All NY Counties | Text & Images | View description |
| This collection includes compiled genealogies that have been donated to the NYG&B by members and other researchers. Most of these volumes are text searchable, and some include family trees along with correspondence between researchers and families. Read More | ||||
| WPA Historical Records Survey - New York State Research Volumes | Research Aids | All NY Counties | Image Browse | View description |
| The Historical Records Survey Project was an ambitious attempt at hiring unemployed clergy members, researchers, historians, teachers and lawyers. This helped assemble historical records that were intrinsic to government and vital records from churches. Part of this initiative, was creating inventories of ecclesiastical records of every church in every state. Read More | ||||
| Female Descendants of William Brewster - Compiled Genealogies | Compiled Genealogies | All NY Counties | Image Browse | View description |
| Handwritten research notes on female descendants of William Brewster. In 1908, Emma C. Brewster wrote an authoritative genealogy of the descendants of Elder William Brewster of the Mayflower and Plymouth Colony. Due to practical constraints at the time, she included mainly male lines in her published work. Jones donated her unpublished, handwritten research notes on these female lines to the NYG&B in the early twentieth century. Read More | ||||
| Shipwrecked Passengers Bound for the Americas, 1817 - 1875 | Immigration | All NY Counties | Text | View description |
| This collection was researched and transcribed by NYG&B Fellow Frank A. Biebel in 2013. He states that the Act of 1819 "made no provision for the inevitable shipwreck(s), including survivors.” This lead to there being “no comprehensive list” of the names of the victims of the shipwrecks, leaving most of them unknown. Read More | ||||
| NYG&B Member Biographies | Biographies | All NY Counties | Indexed | View description |
| Biographical surveys filled out by NYG&B members in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This collection includes a searchable every-name index that covers all names mentioned in the responses, not just the names of NYG&B members. Read More | ||||
| Allegany County Cemetery Records | Cemetery | Allegany County | Image Browse | View description |
| Transcribed gravestone inscriptions from cemeteries in Allegany County, New York. Researchers can browse digital images of these records, but they cannot currently be searched. The collection page contains a complete list of all cemeteries available, including waypoint links to view images from each cemetery. Read More | ||||
| Broome County Histories and Directories | County Histories | Broome County | OCR | View description |
| Digitized histories and directories of Broome County, New York. These volumes provide crucial historical context and contain information on the people of Broome County. Researchers can search all volumes or browse volumes individually. The collection description contains an overview of each volume. Read More | ||||
| Cattaraugus County Cemetery Records | Cemetery | Cattaraugus County | Image Browse | View description |
| Transcribed gravestone inscriptions from cemeteries in Cattaraugus County, New York. Researchers can browse digital images of these records, but they cannot currently be searched. The collection page contains a complete list of all cemeteries available, including waypoint links to view images from each cemetery. Read More | ||||
| Cayuga County Religious Records | Religious Records | Cayuga County | Text & Images | View description |
| Transcribed genealogy records from churches in Cayuga County, New York. Researchers can browse digital images of these records, but they cannot currently be searched. The collection page contains a complete list of all congregations available, including waypoint links to images from each church. Read More | ||||
| Chemung County Histories and Directories | County Histories | Chemung County | OCR | View description |
| Digitized histories and directories of Chemung County, New York. These volumes provide crucial historical context and contain information on the people of Chemung County. Researchers can search all volumes or browse volumes individually. The collection description contains an overview of each volume. Read More | ||||
| Chenango County Histories and Directories | County Histories | Chenango County | OCR | View description |
| Digitized histories and directories of Chenango County, New York. These volumes provide crucial historical context and contain information on the people of Chenango County. Researchers can search all volumes or browse volumes individually. The collection description contains an overview of each volume. Read More | ||||
| Columbia County Religious Records | Religious Records | Columbia County | Text & Images | View description |
| Transcribed genealogy records from churches in Columbia County, New York. Some volumes are searchable, others can only be browsed by image. The collection page contains a complete list of all congregations available, including waypoint links to images from each church. Read More | ||||
| The Columbia (Periodical) | Periodicals | Columbia County | Text | View description |
| Issues of The Columbia contain a variety of extracted and transcribed records from Columbia County and beyond—many of which cannot be found anywhere else online. These materials often represent previously unpublished records from private individuals, churches, and other record holders. Read More | ||||