Orange County, New YorkEdit This Page

Boundary Changes

Record Loss

Courthouse fire, 1774

Historical Signpost: "A log structure, with whipping posts and stocks was erected on this Tappan green c. 1691. Here justice was administered to all of Orange County, which then included present Rockland. A more permament courthouse and "gaol," built in 1739, was destroyed by fire in 1774. New City became the seat of government when the County of Rockland was set off from Orange in 1798.

Orange County New York Genealogy Resources

Bible Records

• 1581–1917 New York, Family Bible Records at Ancestry– ($); Index. Database is a collection of genealogically important records taken from the Bibles of colony and state residents. Reveals the Bible's original owner, brief record of descendants,and a particular event such as birth or marriage as recorded in Bible.
  

Biography

Business Records and Commerce

Cemeteries

Cemetery records often reveal birth, death, relationship, military, and religious information.

Some cemetery records are also available at Heritage Quest (LAR).

Individual cemeteries in Orange County:

• Pinehill Cemetery, Middletown
• St. Francis Cemetery, New Windsor
• Wallkill Valley Cemetery, Walden on

All Orange County Cemeteries listed on Billion Graves:

Agudath Achim Cemetery — Port Jervis, Orange, New York, United States

Belknap Cemetery — Newburgh, Orange, New York, United States

Berea Cemetery — Montgomery, Orange, New York, United States

Beth Shalom Cemetery — Warwick, Orange, New York, United States

Bethlehem Presbyterian — Cornwall, Orange, New York, United States

Brick Church Cemetery — Montgomery, Orange, New York, United States

Bull Cemetery — Washingtonville, Orange, New York, United States

Calvary Cemetery — New Windsor, Orange, New York, United States

Cedar Hill Cemetery — Newburgh, Orange, New York, United States

Cemetery of the Highlands — Woodbury, Orange, New York, United States

Chester Cemetery — Chester, Orange, New York, United States

Coleman Cemetery — Chester, Orange, New York, United States

Cosman Cemetery — Newburgh, Orange, New York, United States

Crawford Cemetery — Thompson Ridge, Orange, New York, United States

Edwards Cemetery — Cornwall, Orange, New York, United States

Galloways Cemetery — Woodbury, Orange, New York, United States

Gate of Heaven Cemetery — Monroe, Orange, New York, United States

Greycourt Cemetery — Chester, Orange, New York, United States

Heard Cemetery — Chester, Orange, New York, United States

Highland Cemetery — Newburgh, Orange, New York, United States

Hillside Cemetery — Middletown, Orange, New York, United States

Howell Cemetery — Pine Bush, Orange, New York, United States

Howells Cemetery — Mount Hope, Orange, New York, United States

Laurel Grove Cemetery — Port Jervis, Orange, New York, United States

Minisink Cemetery, Westtown, Orange, New York, United States

Mount Hope Cemetery — Otisville, Orange, New York, United States

Muliner Cenerery — Little Britain, Orange, New York, United States

Norton Cemetery — Chester, Orange, New York, United States

Pine Hill Cemetery — Middletown, Orange, New York, United States

Pinehill Cemetery — Middletown, Orange, New York, United States

Pleasant Hill Cemetery — New Windsor, Orange, New York, United States

Ridgebury Cemetery — Wawayanda, Orange, New York, United States

Riverside Cemetery — Montgomery, Orange, New York, United States

Roe Cemetery — Chester, Orange, New York, United States

Sacred Heart Cemetery — West Point, Orange, New York, United States

Saint Columbus Cemetery — Chester, Orange, New York, United States

Saint Davids Cemetery — Campbell Hall, Orange, New York, United States

Saint Georges Cemetery — Newburgh, Orange, New York, United States

Saint James Cemetery — Goshen, Orange, New York, United States

Saint Johns Cemetery — Goshen, Orange, New York, United States

Saint Josephs Cemetery — Florida, Orange, New York, United States

Saint Marys Cemetery — Port Jervis, Orange, New York, United States

Saint Marys Cemetery — Washingtonville, Orange, New York, United States

Saint Marys Cemetery — Montgomery, Orange, New York, United States

Saint Stephens Cemetery — Warwick, Orange, New York, United States

Saint Thomas Cemetery — Firthcliffe, Orange, New York, United States

Seamanville Cemetery — Monroe, Orange, New York, United States

Sears Cemetery — Chester, Orange, New York, United States

Seeley Cemetery — Port Jervis, Orange, New York, United States

Slate Hill Cemetery — Goshen, Orange, New York, United States

St. Francis — New Windsor, Orange, New York, United States

Sterling Cemetery — Tuxedo Park, Orange, New York, United States

Union Cemetery — Highland Falls, Orange, New York, United States

Union Cemetery — Slate Hill, Orange, New York, United States

Wallkill Cemetery — Middletown, Orange, New York, United States

Wallkill Valley Cemetery — Walden, Orange, New York, United States

Warwick Cemetery — Warwick, Orange, New York, United States

Webb Cemetery — Goshen, Orange, New York, United States

Willow Dell Cemetery — Cornwall-on-Hudson, Orange, New York, United States

Wisner Cemetery — Warwick, Orange, New York, United States

Woodhull Cemetery — Blooming Grove, Orange, New York, United States

Woodlawn Cemetery — New Windsor, Orange, New York, United States

Census

For information and tips on using and accessing online census records, see New York Census.

Federal

U.S. Census Mortality Schedules for New York, 1850-1880:

• Available online at Ancestry ($).
• Deaths are included for the 12 months prior to the census, 1849-50, 1859-60, 1869-70, and 1879-80 beginning 1 June and ending 31 May of the census year.^[3]
• Basic contents of the records include: Name, sex, age, color, marital status, place of birth, month of death, occupation, and cause of death. 1870 also has parents' birthplace. 1880 lists how long a resident of the county.
• Also on FHL Films 1415128–42 which can be ordered through any Family History Center.

State

New York State 1865 and 1875 Census Marriage, Mortality; and 1865 Soldier Mortality records:

• Images available online at New York State Census, 1865 and New York State Census, 1875. Click on the link to go to the page, then click on the ‘Browse through images’ link and select your county, then select an ancestor's town and browse to the end of the population schedule until you find the Marriage, Mortality, and 1865 soldier mortality schedules.
• Includes marriages and deaths for the 12 months prior to the census, ending 1 June of the census year.
• Marriage entry content: Husband's name, wife's name, ages and previous marital status, month and day and place of marriage, and church or civil ceremony.
• Death entry content: Name, age, sex, color, marital status, month and day of death, native state or country, occupation and cause of death.
• 1865 deaths of officers and enlisted men entry content: Name, age, marital status, citizenship status, enlistment date, original regiment, original rank, regiment at death, rank at death, promotions, death date and place, manner of death, surviving associates, and burial place.
• Also on microfilm. See the Family History Library line in the above State Census Chart. These can be ordered through any Family History Center.

Church Records

Church records are good substitutes for birth, marriage, and death information and are most often found on a local city/town or county level.  Published and manuscript church records can be found at public, university, and private libraries.

For a brief general history of denominations and a guide to finding various New York denomination's records, see New York Church Records Wiki page.

A few church records have been transcribed and posted at the Orange County NY GenWeb site. Heritage Quest (LAR) has a good collection of digitized transcribed church records from Orange County. Linkpendium identifies several church record collections available online.

Registers of the Reformed Church at Deerpark begin in 1716.

Evangelical Lutheran (Harrison Meeting) Church Records (1750-1798): Among the first settlers in the Towns of Montgomery and Crawford, then in Ulster County, but now in Orange County, New York were a group of German settlers. They organized a Lutheran church and built a log building in which this congregation met. The building burned down in the late 1700’s and the members of the congregation migrated to other nearby churches. However, a historical marker has been placed at the site of the old church and a few headstones, mostly unmarked, can still be found at the site located south of the Village of Montgomery near the junction of New York Highway 211 and Orange County Road 416. Images of the records of this church can be found on microfilm in the Family History Library, and are also available online at Urthman's Genealogy Blog.

• 1800s-1820s - Early Marriages Bethlehem Church, courtesy: NYGenWeb - free.

• 1829-1858 - Early Records of Marriages Dutch Reformed Church, Montgomery, NY 1829-1858, courtesy: NYGenWeb - free.
• 1730-1880 Reformed Dutch Church records in Ulster and Orange County FHL film 1405479 Item 3 Includes baptisms and marriages in Kingston 1766-1776, Catsbaan 1730-1760, Esopus 1790-1850, Clove, High Falls 1808-1850, Woodstock 1805-1880, Shokan 1799-1850, Walden 1793-1853, and Highland 1810-1860.

Additional Church Records

Additional church records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Orange County, New York Church Records  in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).

Court Records

Ancestors may have also been involved in municipal, state, or federal court cases. See also New York Court Records and United States Court Records.

Crime and Criminals

Directories

Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups

Gazetteers

Genealogy

• Rootsweb message board for Orange County, New York has many information threads about families that resided in that county. There is a search engine that allows you to search by surname and topic.
  

History

Land and Property

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See New York Land and Property for more details, especially about the papers generated in New York State by large speculative land companies.

Original land records in Orange County, New York began in [?dateyear?]. These records are housed at the [?repository?] in [?town?].

Online

Microforms

Books

Additional land records can sometimes be found using these catalogs:

• WorldCat using the search phase: Orange County, New York deeds. (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog.)
• Family History Library Catalog using the search phrase: 1, New York - Land and Property. (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search.)

The USGenWeb Archives includes abstracts of the following:

• 1695-1802 - Deed Books A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H.
• 1765-1785 - Mortgage Books A, B, C.

Additional resources

Additional resources for Orange County, New York land records may be found in the Orange County, New York – Land Records topic page of the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC). Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. Copies of books found in the FHLC may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the Family History Library Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

Maps

Migration

Military

Revolutionary War

Orange County men served in the 4th New York Regiment.^[4]

Civil War

Town registers. The New York town clerks kept a bound register of all soldiers from their town serving in the Civil War 1861-1865. Registers are arranged by county, and town. Some town registers are missing. The registers include an index at the start of each town.

Content. Many register entries include full name, residence, date and place of birth, parents names, marital status, date of enlistment and muster and rank, discharges, death, or promotion.

Access. The original registers are at the New York State Archives in Albany, New York. Microfilm copies are found at the Family History Library (FHL Film 1993401-37) and can be ordered for viewing at your local Family History Center. They are also indexed and available at Ancestry.com ($).

Available towns. Registers are available for: Blooming Grove · Chester · Crawford · Deerpark · Goshen · Greenville · Hamptonburgh · Minisink · Monroe · Montgomery · Mount Hope · Newburgh · Wallkill · Warwick · Wawayanda.

Regiments. Service men from Orange County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were formed in Orange County: ^[5]

- 3rd Regiment, New York Infantry

- 5th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 7th Veteran Regiment, New York Infantry

- 9th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 18th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 36th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 56th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 65th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 70th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 93rd Regiment, New York Infantry

- 98th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 115th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 124th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 153rd Regiment, New York Infantry

- 156th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 164th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 168th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 176th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 179th Regiment, New York Infantry

- 192nd Regiment, New York Infantry

Source Informaiton:

See "The Ruttenber collection"with Manuscripts of Civil War materials on Orange County collected by E.M. Ruttenber.

Naturalization and Citizenship

• 1824–1941 New York, Southern District Index to Petitions for Naturalization, 1828-1941 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index.
  

• 1917-1950 New York, Southern District Naturalization Index, 1917-1950 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index.
  

Indexes

• 1792-1989 Index to Petitions for Naturalization filed in New York City, 1792-1989 at Ancestry ($). This database is based on NARA's Soundex Index to Petitions for Naturalization filed in Federal, State, and Local Courts located in New York City, 1792-1989. All 5 boroughs are included.

The Family History Library has also acquired this comprehensive index for the years 1792 through 1906 on microfilm: FHL Film 1419807 (1st of 294 films). The courts this index covers are:

• City Court of Brooklyn, 1836-1894
• Kings County Court, 1806-1906
• New York City Marine Court, 1806-1849
• New York County Common Pleas Court, 1792-1895
• New York County Superior Court, 1828-1895
• New York City and County Supreme Court, 1868-1906
• Queens County Court, 1799-1906
• Queens County Surrogate Court, 1888-1898
• Richmond County Court, 1869-1906
• U.S. Circuit Court Southern District, 1846-1876
• U.S. District Court Eastern District, (Kings, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties), 1865-1906
• U.S. District Court Southern Court Southern District, (New York, Bronx and also Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Richmond, Rockland, Sullivan and Westchester counties), 1824-1906^[6]

Newspapers

Old Fulton NY Post Cards has the largest online collection of 400 New York 1795-2007 newspapers. The instructions for this quirky site are needed to get the most out of it.

• Search engine for all 400 newspapers.
• List of 400 newspapers 1795-2007 at this site.

• Wiki instructions for finding ancestors in Old Fulton NY Post Cards newspapers.
• Site's FAQ instructions about how to do searches.

Old Fulton NY Post Cards has the following Orange County, New York newspaper images:

• Warwick NY Dispatch 1885-1907

Obituaries

Periodicals

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• Joslyn, Roger D. "Indentures of the Poor Children of Orange County, 1829-1847, 1871, 1884, 1885," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 137, No. 4 (Oct. 2006):294-303; Vol. 138, No. 2 (Apr. 2007):138-143; Vol. 138, No. 3 (Jul. 2007):227-231. Digital version at New York Family History ($); FHL Book 974.7 B2n v. 137-138.

Probate Records

Probate records including original estates and wills for New York are held in the office of the Orange County, New York County Surrogate Court beginning in 1787, or when the county was formed. Prior to 1787, most are housed at the New York State Archives. See New York Probate Records for more information about using probate records.
Content:  Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.
Record types:  Wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distribution.

Probate Petitions

In 1830, state law required the Surrogate Court clerk to issue a probate petition for a deceased individual with property. This petition, unique to New York, usually lists the deceased's death date. It also lists the heirs, their relationship to the deceased, and their residence. ^{[7] [8]}

References

1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 490. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
2. ↑ Handybook, 478.
3. ↑ Arlene Eakle, and Johni Cerni, The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1984), 103. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27ts.
4. ↑ "4th New York Regiment," Valley Forge Legacy, http://valleyforgemusterroll.org/regiments/ny4.asp, accessed 31 May 2012.
5. ↑ Frederick Phisterer, New York in the War of the Rebellion, 3rd ed. (Albany, N.Y.: J. B. Lyon Company, 1912). Internet Archive digital copy; At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Film 1486494-96; Fiche 6083559-64; Book 974.7 M2p.
6. ↑ Family History Library Catalog, FamilySearch, accessed 6 December 2011, http://www.familysearch.org.
7. ↑ Alice Eichholz, Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources, 3rd ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Pub., 2004), 479. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27rb 2004.
8. ↑ Henry B. Hoff, "Navigating New York Probate," American Ancestors 12 (Fall 2011): 57.

These petitions are often found in the estate files and can be obtained from the Orange County Surrogate Court.

Online Abstracts and Indexes

• 1787-1846 - SAMPUBCO Browsable index of testators of wills.
• 1787-1835 Abstracts of Wills, Administrations and Guardianships in NY State, 1787 - 1835 at New York Ancestors ($); includes Orange County, New York.^[1]
  

Online Probate Records

Original New York, Orange County Probate Records, 1787-1938 (actually 1830-1931) are available free online at FamilySearch. To browse these records, click Historical Records below, then click "Browse through 359,950 images". Then select the time period and volume of interest.

• Historical Records - Orange County: Probate of wills, 1830-1931
  

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

New York, Orange County Probate Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Probate Records on Microfilm

• 1787–1941 Index to Surrogate's Records FHL Film 837263–837264
• 1785–1797 Orange County Wills, Transcribed FHL Film 825190 Item 1
• 1787–1916 Probate Records FHL Film 835417 (131 films)

Additional Probate Indexes and Abstracts

Additional probate indexes or abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Orange County, New York probate wills in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).

Repositories

Cornell University, Guide to Historical Resources in Orange County, New York Repositories. ([Ithaca, New York]: New York Historical Resources Center, Olin Library, Cornell University, 1989). At various libraries; FHL Book 974.731 A3. Includes index. Includes references to some family histories and genealogies.

Archives, Libraries and Museums

County Historian's Office

Courthouses

The Orange County Clerk's office has marriage, divorce, court land and census records. The Surrogate Court has probate records. For further information about where the records for Orange County are held, see the Orange County Courthouse page.

Family History Centers

Family History Centers (FHCs) are branches of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and are located all over the world. Their goal is to provide resources for family history research.

The main FHC for Orange County, New York is the Middletown New York Family History Center. For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the FHC directory.

Societies

• Central New York Genealogical Society^[2]
  Box 104, Calvin Station
  Syracuse, New York 13205
  E-mail: CNYSG@yahoo.com

Member queries; surname research list; online resources; six meetings/year; publishes Tree Talks (At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 974.7 B2t) quarterly with annual index.

Counties served: Albany, Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Oreleans, Oswego, Otsego, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Washington, Wayne, Warren, Wyoming, and Yates.

• Orange County Genealogical Society
  101 Main Street
  Goshen, New York 10924
  Email:nhsip@frontiernet.net
  Publishes The Orange County Genealogy Society Quarterly

The Society has a very large collection including:

• County Histories
• Biographical information on local residents and published genealogies
• Orange County church records and cemetery listings
• City directories for Middletown and Newburgh 1899 - 1950's
• Whig Press deaths and marriages 1851-1865
• Vertical files of family folders - over 3,000
• Well known quarterlies
• Military records
• Maps
• Microfilm of various Orange County records including marriages, naturalization, deeds, newspapers and more.

• The Hudson Valley Institute
  3399 North Road
  Poughkeepsie, New York 12601-1387
  Phone: 845-575-3052
  Email: hrvi@marist.edu

Social Groups Online

Taxation

Town Records

Town records in New York may include early births, marriages, deaths, divorces, local histories, selected military records, and town meeting minutes. For further details, try the links to individual town Wiki pages found in Places. See also:

• Gordon L. Remington, New York Towns, Villages, and Cities: A Guide to Genealogical Sources (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002). NEHGS online edition; At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 974.7 D27r. Alphabetical list including date founded, if a town history exists, church and cemetery sources, and if a Civil War register (TCR) exists.

Vital Records

Vital records of birth, marriage or death were first recorded at the local level in the village clerk, town clerk, or city clerk’s ledger book. If you know where a birth, marriage or death took place, a copy of the certificate or record may be obtained by writing to the town, village or city clerk.

See the heading Places on this wiki page for links to local community wiki pages and their available records. See New York Vital Records for a discussion about beginning dates and availability of vital records in New York.

Use substitute records for birth, marriage, and death information. These substitute records include Bible Records, Cemeteries, Church Records, Newspapers, and Probate Records.

Birth

Early births were recorded on the town level and the years vary by town. (List of towns) The New York State Department of Health (state level) began recording births in 1881. Births were not recorded on the county level.

Birth Substitutes

• 1640–1962 New York Births and Christenings, 1640-1962 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index.
  

• 1847–1849 Jeanne and Less Krish, Official Vital Records from the Various Towns of Orange County, New York, Births, Deaths, and Marriages 1847-1849: with a Supplement of Additional Marriage and Death Returns (Goshen, New York: Orange County Genealogical Society (New York), 2003). At various libraries; FHL Book 974.731 V28k. Includes indexes.
  

• See Town Clerks' Registers of Men who Served in the Civil War in the Civil War section of Military for birth information.
  

Marriage

Early marriages were sometimes recorded on the town level and the years vary by town. (List of towns) In 1880, town clerks were to record the marriage and a copy was sent to the New York State Department of Health (state level). Town clerks continue to record marriages. Marriages were recorded by the Orange County, New York clerk starting in 1908 and go until 1933.^[3]

• 1664–1784 New York. Secretary of State, Names of Persons for Whom Marriage Licenses Were Issued By the Secretary of the Province of New York, Previous to 1784 (Albany, New York: Weed, Parsons and Co., 1860). At Cornell University digital library-free; Internet Archive - free; Ancestry edition($); At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Film 514675 Item 1 or 930131 Item 2. Marriage bonds issued in the State of New York prior to 1784, and the earliest record dating 1664.
  

• 1908–1933 New York, County Marriages 1908–1935 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; FHL Film 829651 (first of 23 films). Index is through 1933, but licenses are to 1932
  

Marriage Substitutes

• 1686-1980 New York Marriages, 1686–1890 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.
  

• 1800–1855 New York Marriage Notices at Ancestry– ($); Index. This database is a collection of marriage notices published in newspapers around the state. Contains name of bride and groom, marriage date, marriage location, residence, and newspaper found in.
  

• 1801–1880 Barber Collection- Newspaper Marriages at Ancestry– ($); Index. Information extracted from the "Brooklyn Eagle" and the "New York Evening Post."
  

• 1828-1831 Barber, Gertrude A. Orange County Patriot: A Newspaper Published at Goshen, N.Y.: Marriages and Deaths from May 1828 to Dec. 1831. 1990. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
  

• 1847–1849 Jeanne and Less Krish, Official Vital Records from the Various Towns of Orange County, New York, Births, Deaths, and Marriages 1847-1849: with a Supplement of Additional Marriage and Death Returns (Goshen, New York: Orange County Genealogical Society (New York), 2003). At various libraries; FHL Book 974.731 V28k. Includes indexes.
  

• 1856–1863 Index to Marriages and Deaths in the New York Herald at Ancestry– ($); Index. These newspaper notices refer to people up and down the East Coast as well as midwesterners and persons from as far west as the State of California. Also browseable.
  

• 1864-5, 1874-5 See Marriage Schedule information in the State Census section of Census for marriage information for 1864-5, and 1874-5.
  

Divorce

Divorce judgment papers often include date and place of the marriage and the names and birthdates of any children. Local newspapers may publish notices of divorce actions.

Death

Early deaths were recorded on the town level and the years vary by town. (List of towns) The New York State Department of Health (state level) began recording deaths in 1881. Deaths were not recorded on the county level.

Death Substitutes

• 1795–1952 New York Deaths and Burials, 1795-1952 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. The entries are primarily from the IGI along with some entries derived from compiled and original records such as Family Records, Church Records, and Civil Registration. There may be entries that cite a specific source.
  

• 1801–1890 Barber Collection- Newspaper Deaths at Ancestry– ($); Index. Information extracted from the "Brooklyn Eagle" and the "New York Evening Post."
  

• 1820-1857 Weller, Caroline Still. Orange County, New York Deaths: From the Independent Republican, Goshen, New York. 1967. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
  

• 1828-1831 Barber, Gertrude A. Orange County Patriot: A Newspaper Published at Goshen, N.Y.: Marriages and Deaths from May 1828 to Dec. 1831. 1990. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
  

• 1847–1849 Jeanne and Less Krish, Official Vital Records from the Various Towns of Orange County, New York, Births, Deaths, and Marriages 1847-1849: with a Supplement of Additional Marriage and Death Returns (Goshen, New York: Orange County Genealogical Society (New York), 2003). At various libraries; FHL Book 974.731 V28k. Includes indexes.
  

• 1849-50, 1859-60, 1869-70, 1879-80 See Mortality Schedule information in the Federal Census section of Census for death information.
  

• 1856–1863 Index to Marriages and Deaths in the New York Herald at Ancestry– ($); Index. These newspaper notices refer to people up and down the East Coast as well as midwesterners and persons from as far west as the State of California. Also browseable.
  

• See Town Clerks' Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War in the Civil War section of Military for death information.
  

• 1864-5, 1874-5 See Mortality Schedule information in the State Census section of Census for death information for 1864-5, and 1874-5.
  

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Orange County births, marriages and deaths may be found in the New York, Orange– Vital Records topic page of the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC). Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. Copies of books found in the FHLC may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the Family History Library Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

Voting Registers

Orange County New York Places

Orange County New York Genealogy Websites

Wikipedia has more about this subject: Orange County, New York

• The Orange County NYGenWeb Project, an member of The NYGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.

Orange County New York Genealogy References

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