National Archives at New York City

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Genealogy Resources

We offer free public access, through our agency's subscriptions, to Ancestry.com and Fold3 at all NARA facilities nationwide. Come to the New York facility to use our computers for your family history research. Our knowledgeable staff can also assist with a multitude of genealogical questions.

The most widely used records for family history research are listed below. Click on a title to read more about any particular type of record.

 

For additional genealogical information, visit NARA's Genealogy Main Page.

Census Records

Our office provides access to Federal population census schedules, taken every 10 years, for all states and territories for the years 1790-1940 (though nearly all of the 1890 schedules were destroyed by fire in 1921) via online databases. We also maintain certain non-population and other special schedules taken for various years on microfilm.

Published indexes for all years

  • Online Databases: Ancestry has online indexes and scanned images of the entire U.S. Federal Census, every 10 years, 1790 - 1940.
  • The National Archives released the 1940 census online, where you can find the census images, maps, and more.

Other Census Schedules

  • Manufacturing Schedules Contained In The 1810 Population Census Schedules Of New York State
  • Nonpopulation Census Schedules For Hawaii, 1930: Agriculture
  • Non-Population census schedules for Puerto Rico (1930) and the Virgin Islands (1917 and 1930)
  • Population and Agricultural census schedules for Puerto Rico, 1935
  • 1935 Census Of Business: Schedules Of Advertising Agencies

For more information

Census Records after 1940

Census Records after 1940 are not available through the National Archives. However, you may be able to access certain records for specific legal reasons through the U.S. Census Bureau. Please see the U.S. Census FactFinder (the section on Access to Closed Records) for more information. We believe you need the U.S. Census Bureau's Form BC-600, which you can download here. For any questions contact the U.S. Census Bureau directly (www.census.gov or call 812-218-3046).


Naturalization Records

Now you can order copies of naturalization records online

Naturalization records are records of immigrants who applied for American citizenship through the courts.

Please see our researcher page on Naturalization Records, where you can access a complete list of our naturalization holdings and indexes (with online indexes available as indicated). You can also read general information on researching naturalization records (including naturalizations filed in local/non-Federal courts and naturalization records pertaining to women before 1922), and instructions for obtaining copies at our facility and through the mail.

Passenger Arrival Records

General Information

Immigration records, also known as "passenger arrival records," can provide genealogical information including:

  • a person's nationality, place of birth
  • ship name and date of entry to the United States
  • age, height, eye and hair color
  • profession
  • place of last residence
  • name and address of relatives they are joining in the U.S.
  • amount of money they are carrying, etc.

It can be useful to research other genealogy sources to aid your search for passenger arrival records. Naturalization records, for example, particularly after 1906, can contain specific details of a person's legal entry into the U.S. -- the exact date and means (ship name, for example) of arrival. Census records often show year of immigration.

Passenger arrival records in New York

At the New York office, we provide access to digitzed copies of the lists for the Port of New York, 1820-1957, and all other major U.S. ports, as well as Canadian Border Crossing Records. Read more about our New York passenger arrival records including links to online indexes and information on obtaining copies.

Other passenger arrival records nationwide

Please see a complete list of passenger arrival microfilm available at the National Archives. Not all of this microfilm is available at the New York office.

All passenger list microfilm is available at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Some of the microfilm is also available at National Archives locations across the country, but you should contact the individual offices to check on their passenger list holdings.

You can also search the Microfilm Catalog to see which locations have the microfilm you are seeking. Type in Passenger as the keyword.

For more information, see:

Customs Records

American seamen from New York and New Jersey are documented in U.S. Customs Service records. Researchers will need to know what ports individual seamen may have shipped out of in order to effectively use these records. To locate crew lists it is usually necessary to know the vessel name and port

Please inquire about using these records before visiting, since the records listed above do not exist for every port in all time periods.

Information may include:

  • Place of Birth
  • Town of Residence
  • Physical Description
  • Names of Relatives

Specific Types of Records Include:

  • Crew Lists
  • Shipping Articles (which document payments)
  • Records of Seamen's Protection (issues for identification)
  • Case files of Deceased and Deserted Seamen
  • Marine Hospital Returns of Seamen (not medical records, documents money withheld for dues)

Draft and Military Service Records

Most of the National Archives' military records are maintained by other locations. Additional information can be found at: Military Records.

The microfilm index to Compiled Military Service Records of Revolutionary War Soldiers is available for us at our office. These records cover all states and are indexed by name.

Records of the Office of the Provost Marshall General's Bureau (Civil War) for New York and New Jersey are available to view by appointment. These records consist mostly of volumes pertaining to recruitment, retention, and drafting of individuals for military service by the Federal government beginning in 1863. The records are arranged by state and thereunder by draft board. The records for New York consist of 31 districts, records for several state mustering points, and records of the Park and Broome barracks at lower Manhattan. The records for New Jersey consist of 5 districts, staff offices, and the Draft Rendezvous Station at Trenton.

Chinese Exclusion Act Case Files

Chinese Exclusion Act Case Files are a valuable resource for the study of Chinese immigration and Chinese-American travel, trade, and social and family history from the late-19th to mid-20th century.

A typical Chinese Exclusion Act case file contains information such as the subject's name, place and date of birth, physical appearance, occupation, names and relationships of other family members, and family history.

Materials in the files may include:

  • Applications
  • Certificates of identity and residency
  • Correspondence
  • INS findings, recommendations, and decisions
  • Maps of immigrant family residences and villages in China
  • Original marriage certificates
  • Individual and family photographs
  • Transcripts of INS interrogations and special boards of inquiry
  • Witness statements and affidavits

The records are indexed by the individual's name. Please note, Privacy Act restrictions may apply to some cases. For more information go to Chinese Immigration and the Chinese in the United States.

Reference Information Paper 99, 1996: Records in the Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration.

Freedmen's Bureau and Records Pertaining to African American Families

Digitized copies of records of the Assistant Commissioners of the Freedmen's Bureau in the Southern states as well as the registers of Depositors in the branches of the Freedmen's Savings and Trust Co., 1865-1878 (with index), and the District of Columbia Emancipation records of the Act of 1862.

These records often provide considerable information regarding African American family relations, marriages, births, deaths, occupations, and places of residence.

Materials in the files may include:

  • Names of slave owners
  • Information concerning black military service
  • Plantation conditions
  • Manumission
  • Property ownership
  • Migration

Additional records include the Compiled Military Service Records of the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiments.

Dawes Commission Final Cards of the Five Civilized Tribes

Microfilm copies of the Final Cards of the Five Civilized Tribes as well as indexes to the Eastern Cherokee Applications.

An act of Congress approved in 1893 established a commission to negotiate agreements with the Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Cherokee Indian tribes. As part of a process to divide tribal land into plots to be divided among the members of the tribe, the Dawes Commission either accepted or rejected applicants for tribal membership based on whether the tribal government had previously recognized the applicant as a member of the tribe and other legal requirements.

Applicants were categorized as Citizens by Blood, Citizens by Marriage, Minor Citizens by Blood, New Born Citizens by Blood, Freedmen (African Americans formerly enslaved by tribal members), New Born Freedmen, and Minor Freedmen. The Final Cards include both approved and rejected names. Most rolls give the name, age, sex, degree of Indian blood, and roll and census card number of each person.


Vital Records

Birth, marriage, and death records -- so-called vital records -- were never done at the Federal level so we do not have them at the National Archives. Instead, you should research local entities like the county or city of residence. If the individuals in question were in New York City, for example, you should start with the New York City Municipal Archives. Their web site has good information on their holdings and procedures: http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/vitalrecords/home.shtml.

However, we do have indexes researchers can use in our research room for some vital records series pertaining to New York City and New York State (outside New York City).

New York City

Researcher note: We offer the following databases for free public use at our facility. The actual records are in the custody of the New York City Municipal Archives. You must contact the Municipal Archives directly for access to these records:

  • New York City - Manhattan - Death Index 1891-1948
  • New York City - all boroughs - Death index 1912-1919
  • New York City - all boroughs - Grooms Index 1908-1936
  • Brooklyn and Manhattan - Grooms Index 1895-1897
  • Brooklyn, Queens, and Bronx Bride Index up to 1936

The web sites of the German Genealogy Group and the Italian Genealogical Group also provide free vital records indexes for New York City.

New York State Vital Records -- Excludes New York City (Microfiche Indexes)

Researcher note: We have the following indexes on microfiche for free public use at our facility. The actual birth, marriage, and death certificates are in custody of the New York State Department of Health, 800 North Pearl Street, Menands, NY 12204; phone 518-474-3077; website www.health.state.ny.us. You must contact the State Department of Health directly for access to these records:

  • Alphabetical/Soundex Index to New York State Birth Records, 1881 - 1937
  • Alphabetical/Soundex Index to New York State Marriage Records, 1881 - 1964
  • Alphabetical/Soundex Index to New York State Death Records, 1880 - 1964

Other Resources for Vital Records

Other Historical Resources

We hold vast quantities of records over and above the microfilmed resources commonly used for genealogical research. Many of these records contain information pertinent to local history. It is highly probable that there are many records pertaining to your community, making these records worthy of further research.

Examples include:

  • Copyright dispute cases, relating to many arts
  • Bankruptcy case papers, including Depression-era files
  • Civil War correspondence letters

Please see our Historical Documents page for more information on how to use these records.

Please see our Guide to Archival Holdings at the National Archives at New York City for a complete list of our holdings.

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