Erie (and some Onondaga County) New York Research Guide -- created by Leslie Watson Tomlinson for ProGen 11
Subject
History
State
New York Historical Background
New York History & Genealogy
Erie County
Erie County -- rootsweb
Erie County -- usgennet
Buffalo
The History of Buffalo, New York
The History of the City of Buffalo and Erie County With Illustrations and Biographical
Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers
Genealogy & Local History in Buffalo, NY
Local villages and towns
West Seneca
An Outline of West Seneca History
The Town of West Seneca
History of West Seneca
The Changing Scenes of West Seneca
Just for Old Times Sake
A History of the Town of West Seneca
Lancaster
The Town of Lancaster
History of Lancaster
Lancaster history
Village of Lancaster, N.Y., incorporated 1849
Depew
History of Depew
Elma
History of Elma
History of the Town of Elma, Erie County, N.Y., 1620 to 1901
The Centuries in Elma: a Compilation of Historical Accounts by Many Authors Relative
to the History of the Town of Elma, Erie, New York
Cheektowaga
History of Cheektowaga
Website or Repository
Notes
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/RG/frameset_rg.asp?Dest=G1&Aid=&Gid
=&Lid=&Sid=&Did=&Juris1=&Event=&Year=&Gloss=&Sub=&Tab=&Entry=&Guide
=NY_T3_HistoricalBack.ASP
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/state/
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyerie/
A few paragraphs about the county with some working links to other
websites
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/county/erie1/
http://www.buffaloah.com/h/histindex.html
Indexed by people, places and events
http://64.30.240.5/buffhist/eriehome.html
Edited by H. Perry Smith, In Two Volumes
http://openlibrary.org/books/OL20470525M/History_of_the_City_of_Buffalo_and_
Erie_County_With_Illustrations_and_...
http://www.buffaloresearch.com/local.html
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyerie/west_seneca/french.htm
Frank James Lankes, West Seneca Historical Society
J.H. French, Gazetteer of the State of New York (Syracuse, New York: R.
Pearsall Smith, 1860), p. 293
http://history.rays-place.com/ny/w-seneca-ny.htm
Lankes, Frank James, 1895- Published in collaboration with the
observance of New Yorks year of history.
Lankes, Frank James, 1895Weller, Ethelyn
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyerie/lancaster/french.htm
http://history.rays-place.com/ny/lancaster-ny.htm
http://lancasterpast.com/sesqui/Welcome.html
J.H. French, Gazetteer of the State of New York (Syracuse, New York: R.
Pearsall Smith, 1860), p. 291 - 292.
From the Office of the Historian, Village of Lancaster, NY. In four parts.
quasquicentennial commemorative book : July 4, 5, 6, 1974.
http://www.villageofdepew.org/villageHistory.php
http://history.rays-place.com/ny/elma-ny.htm
http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=12060&cj=1&o_xid=000296875 Jackman, Warren
6&o_lid=0002968756
http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=12120&cj=1&o_xid=000296875
6&o_lid=0002968756
http://history.rays-place.com/ny/cheektowaga-ny.htm
Government websites
State
Erie County
County Clerk
Historian
Buffalo
Birth, Death & Marriage Records for the City of Buffalo ONLY
http://wwww.erie.gov/erie/
http://www2.erie.gov/clerk/
http://wwww.erie.gov/erie/?county-historian.html
http://www.city-buffalo.com/
http://www.citybuffalo.com/Home/City_Departments/City_Clerk/BirthDeathMarriageRecords
Erie County Clerk's Office
92 Franklin Street
Buffalo, NY 14202
(716) 858-8785
Birth records start at 1878 to present. Phone: (716) 851-5440
Death records start at 1852 to present. Phone: (716) 851-5437
Marriage records start at 1877 to present. Phone: (716) 851-5444
Birth, Death & Marriage records are available at the Buffalo City Clerk's
Office located on the 13th floor of City Hall.
Local villages and towns
Elma
West Seneca
Lancaster
Cheektowaga
http://www.elmanewyork.com/default.php
http://www.westseneca.net/
http://www.erie.gov/lancaster/
http://www.tocny.org/
Town's website
Contains town history, lists of historical cemeteries
Town historian and historical society contacts listed
Genealogical search services may be conducted through the Town Clerk's
Office, located at 3301 Broadway, for those records filed with the Town of
Cheektowaga
Libraries
Buffalo and Erie County Public Library
Genealogy Index
June P. Zintz Memorial Library of the Western New York Genealogical Society
College libraries
Cornell University Library-New York State Historical Literature
http://www.buffalolib.org/index.asp
http://www.buffalolib.org/libraries/collections/genealogy/index.asp
http://www.wnygs.org/library.html
Buffalo State College
Canisius College
University at Buffalo
Onondaga Public Library
http://library.buffalostate.edu/
http://library.canisius.edu/
http://library.buffalo.edu/
http://www.onlib.org
http://ebooks.library.cornell.edu/n/nys//
Located in the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library
Selected monographs, pamphlets and other materials with expired
copyrights chosen from the Cornell Library's extensive collection of New
York State Literature. These were materials that were brittle and
decaying and in need of rescue.
http://www.onlib.org/web/lh/databases_list.htm
Archives
New York State Archives
Online library
Genealogy Records
http://www.archives.nysed.gov/aindex.shtml
http://nysl.nysed.gov:80/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x7yk4jgGSY/ARCHIVES/242400020/60/5
02/X
http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_genealogy.shtml
Genealogy / History Societies
New York Historical Societies and Associations
Western New York Genealogical Society (WNYGS)
Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society (BECHS)
Library Index
Central New York Genealogical Society
Lancaster New York Historical Society
Lancaster New York Historian
http://www.nyhistory.com/links/historical_societies.htm
http://www.wnygs.org/
http://www.buffalohistory.org/
http://www.buffalohistory.org/library/index.htm
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nycnygs/
http://lancasterpast.com/society/
http://lancasterpast.com/
West Seneca Historical Society
http://www.westseneca.net/index.php?q=historical_society
(c) 2013, Leslie Watson Tomlinson. All Rights Reserved.
40 Clark Street, 14086-2104, phone 716-681-7719. The hours are
Sunday 2-5 and if there is someone taking the post of historian he/she is
scheduled there Sunday 3-5.
City Directories
Buffalo online directories
Buffalo offline directories
East Side Surnames from the 1890 Buffalo City Directory
Buffalo (Erie County, New York) suburban directory of householders / compiled and
published
Maxwell Publications Inc., directory publishers.
Buffalo citybydirectories
http://www.buffaloresearch.com/onlinedirectories.html
Provides links to and lists locations of directories
http://www.buffaloresearch.com/citydir.html
Lists offline directories
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jillaine/Buffalo/streetsurnam Buffalo East Side Neighborhood
es.html
http://www.footnote.com/
Atlases / Gazetteers
Land/Tax
Maps
Historic Map Works Website
Erie County - 1866
West Seneca - 1866
West Seneca - 1880
West Seneca - 1938
Elma - 1866
David Rumsey Historic Map Collection - Buffalo
Historic Maps of Buffalo, Erie County, and Western NY
Erie County - 1880
1894 City of Buffalo Atlas
Street name changes
Historic USGS Maps of New England & NY
Buffalo - 1849
map and atlas shop:
http://www.historicmapworks.com/
Amazingly detailed maps including some directories and illustrations of
buildings. For purchase or viewing.
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Atlas/US/8197/NY/
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/38381/West+Seneca++Middle+Ebene
zer/Erie+County+1866/New+York/
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/16941/Swormsville++West+Seneca/E
rie+County+1880/New+York/
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/76957/West+Seneca+++Gardenville/
Erie+County+1938/New+York/
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/38358/Elma++Upper+Ebenezer/Erie+
County+1866/New+York/
http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~26308~1110071
?id=1-1-26308-1110071&name=Buffalo.
http://www.buffaloresearch.com/maps.html
http://www.harvestofhistory.org/object_enlarge.html?ps_id=179
Illustrated Historical Atlas of Erie County New York. New York: F.W.
Beers, 1880.
http://www.erie.gov/atlases/buff_94/city_atlas.html
Awesome detailed maps of Buffalo in sections inc. wards
http://wnyroots.tripod.com/index-buffalo-streets.html
http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/nhtopos.htm
http://www.archivaria.com/GdDhistory/Buffalo1849.jpg
http://www.wardmaps.com/
Churches
Christ Lutheran Church, Fox & Broadway
Selected Birth & Marriage for some Erie County churches
Church Records in Microfilm and Print
Saint John's Church (Springbrook, N.Y.) [Baptisms]
Trinity in Lancaster
Upstate NY Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
First Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Buffalo
WNYGS June Partridge Zintz Memorial Library
The original records are housed in the Lutheran Archives in Philadelphia,
but the Western New York Genealogical Society was able to borrow them
and have them microfilmed. They are now available to researchers in the
WNYGS June Partridge Zintz Memorial Library, which is housed in the
Grosvenor Room in the main branch Buffalo & Erie Co Public Library on
Lafayette Square in downtown Buffalo.
https://www.familysearch.org/
Only 2 available 2/2011:
St. Paul's Lutheran Church (Eggertsville, New York)
Methodist Episcopal Church (Williamsville, New York)
http://www.buffalolib.org/libraries/collections/genealogy/pdfs/SubjectGuides/Chur Great sources from the Buffalo library
chRecords2010.pdf
9 v. Our Lady of Victory Rectory, [1852-1919]
1092 Main St
Buffalo, NY 14209
(716) 883-8966
www.upstatenysynod.org
WNYGS
Holy Trinity (Old) Lutheran
Also known as German Lutheran Trinity and German Evangelical
Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity
WNYGS
Saint Peter United Evangelical
Book form
RBR
F129
.B8 B621
(records 1840-1853 are transcriptions; other records are included)
1841-1982
Goodell & Maple Streets, Buffalo
1836-1876
360 Genesee Street, Buffalo
(In a 10 volume set.)
1847-1968
Cemeteries
Erie county cemeteries
Erie county cemeteries
Concordia Cemetery Association (Buffalo, NY)
http://www.delicious.com/BECHS/cemeteries
http://wnyroots.tripod.com/
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jillaine/concordia/
Cemetery Holdings for Erie County, New York on Microfilm
Erie County, New York--Online Cemetery Listings
Erie County, New York--Master Cemetery List
Onondaga County Cemetery Locations
Historical Cemeteries of West Seneca
Erie County Cemetery Records
List of Cemeteries in Erie County - Findagrave
http://wnyroots.tripod.com/index-micr-library.html
http://wnyroots.tripod.com/index-2.html
http://wnyroots.tripod.com/index-master.html
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyononda/cemeteries.html
http://www.westseneca.net/index.php?q=node/93
http://www.newyork-genealogy.com/Erie-County-Cemetery-Records.cfm
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=csr&CScnty=1992
http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/mapCems.cgi?countryer=4&stater=36&countyId=1992
http://www.onlib.org/dbtw-wpd/Textbase/woodlawn_query.html
Map of Cemeteries in Erie County - Findagrave
Woodlawn cemetery db
Effective September 2004, this is the "official" web site of the Concordia
Cemetery Association
Special Collections Department tin the Buffalo & Erie County Library
Listed by cemeteries
Listed by townships
For Syracuse
Vital Records
Buffalo Deaths
http://www.buffalonydeaths.com/
Genealogical Records in Buffalo & Erie County: A Quick Guide
New York State Dept. of Health
Where To Get Vital Records in Erie County, New York
Divorce related message board info
http://www.buffaloresearch.com/vital.html
http://www.health.ny.gov/vital_records/genealogy.htm
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/county/erie1/ervital.htm
http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.erie/1
1965.2.1/mb.ashx%3Fr=an
Deaths at Buffalo Psychiatric Center
Online New York Death Records, Indexes & Obituaries
New York State Library - Vital Records
Cheektowaga vitals
Wedekindt Funeral Home
Index years: 1872-2009; Jan provides lookup for Death Notices and
Marriage licenses. Excellent service, $3 each and can email.
Buffalo Psychiatric Center
400 Forest Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14213
Phone: 716-885-2261
http://www.deathindexes.com/newyork/
http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/genealogy/vitrec.htm
http://www.tocny.org/Departments/TownClerk.aspx
E. Wedekindt. The funeral homes were run by a man and his 3 sons at 4 different
locations.
Censuses
About the New York State Census Records 1825-1925
Erie county censuses
New York State Census
Censuses for New York State in the Grosvenor Room
New York Federal Census Population Schedules, 1790 to 1920
Links to Online Census Records Erie Co., New York
New York State Census Records
http://www.genealogybranches.com/newyorkcensus.html
Guide is for New York City and State censuses taken between the federal
census years or made separately from the federal census.
http://www.worldcat.org/profiles/BECHS/lists/1571109
Census Indexes at BECHS
http://www.frontiernet.net/~halsey1/ny/ny-census.htm
Great info
http://www.buffalolib.org/libraries/collections/genealogy/pdfs/SubjectGuides/Cens
uses%20for%20NY%20State.pdf
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/RG/frameset_rg.asp?Dest=G1&Aid=&Gid
=&Lid=&Sid=&Did=&Juris1=&Event=&Year=&Gloss=&Sub=&Tab=&Entry=&Guide
=NY_BMT3_PopulationSchedules1790-1920.ASP
http://www.census-online.com/links/NY/Erie/
http://www.americanancestors.org/new-york-state-census-records/
About article
(c) 2013, Leslie Watson Tomlinson. All Rights Reserved.
German-related
Study of the history of Buffalo, New York and the study of German Language and Literature http://www.archivaria.com/
German-American History in Buffalo, NY
History of Germans in Buffalo and Erie County, New York
Military
Research notebook for history of Buffalo, New York and the German
language and literature. It contains a translation of Buffalo and Its
German Community, Illustrated, from the German-American Historical
and Biographical Society, 1911-12, and The History of the Germans in
Buffalo and Erie County, N.Y. with biographies and illustrations of the
aforementioned German-Americans who have influenced the
development of the City of Buffalo.
Published and printed by Reinecke & Zesch. Buffalo, N.Y., U.S.A. 1898, in
addition to other related works.
http://www.buffaloah.com/h/ger/illus/index.html
http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=30328&cj=1&o_xid=000154695 includes historical sketches of villages round Buffalo
2&o_lid=0001546952
Villages of interest in surrounding area
Periodicals
Erie Canal
About the Erie Canal
History of the Erie Canal
Erie Water West: A History of the Erie Canal, 1792-1854
http://www.eriecanal.org/
http://www.history.rochester.edu/canal/
http://books.google.com/books?id=AwEyBgTzLrkC&pg=PA274&dq=germans+arriv Shaw, Ronald E. Account of trip on canal
ing+erie+canal&hl=en&ei=vx8uTePLPMGp8AbHtLzpCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=
result&resnum=7&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBjgK#v=onepage&q&f=false
Local Civic Groups
Fraternal Organizations
Newspapers
Old New York State Historical Newspaper Pages
http://www.fultonhistory.com
NYS Newspapers on Microfilm at the New York State Library
Northern New York Historical Newspapers
http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/nysnp/city1.htm
http://news.nnyln.net/
Awesome resource for old New York newspapers, inc. some from Buffalo.
Hints: Try name in Boolean search, do your searches with quotes and
also try searching with first two initials and last name. Also you can put
address in and run a search with just the number and the street name
but not reference to city or street, road, avenue etc. i.e.: "250 Carlton"
you sometimes get lucky on the address search.
http://news.nnyln.net/index.html
Periodicals
Lancaster Legend
New York State Newspaper Project
http://lancasterpast.com/legend.htm
The Lancaster Legend, published by the Office of the Village Historian
and used as a newsletter by the Lancaster New York Historical Society
not online, the catalog that now appears on Chronicling America is at
There is a list of what papers are available in each county. Under each
http://www.neh.gov/divisions/preservation/featured-project/turning-the-page-the- county is an alphabetical listing of the name of the village, town or city.
us-newspaper-program-1982-2011
Each library has listed the title of the newspapers it owns for that locatity
and the issues it has available. The list often includes college and
universtiy libraries. Update: USNP has been succeeded by the National
Digital Newspaper Program, run by NEH and LC, and it’s the newspapers
digitized by this program that are on Chronicling America – 5 million
pages’ worth, by the latest count!
Books
Non-fiction
Suggested reads from BuffaloResearch
http://www.buffaloresearch.com/fulltext.html
Full-text nonfiction books (monographs) and periodicals with a Buffalo,
NY connection
Fiction
City of Light
San Antonio Library
Belfer, Lauren. Provides portrait of life in upper middle class in Buffalo
circa 1900. Description of the Pan-American Exposition and importance
of Niagara Falls for providing power to Buffalo
Online Research Aids and Wikis
Buffalo Research
University at Buffalo - Finding aids
Linkpendium Erie County
Buffalo and Erie County Public Library -- Genealogy subject guides
Buffalo wiki
Erie County wiki
New York wiki
New York Genealogy links
Cyndi's List for New York
Cyndi's List for Erie County
Making of America on Cornell Univ site
New York Research at FamilySearch
http://www.buffaloresearch.com/
How to research Buffalo Architecture, Buildings and more
http://www.wnylegacy.org/cdm4/index_UB_findingaids.php
http://www.linkpendium.com/genealogy/USA/NY/Erie/
http://www.buffalolib.org/libraries/collections/genealogy/subjectguides.asp#5
Awesome guides, chock full of info and not to be missed.
https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Buffalo,_New_York
https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Erie_County,_New_York
https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/New_York_Genealogy
http://www.newyork-genealogy.com/index.cfm
An extensive directory of New York genealogy resources
http://www.cyndislist.com/ny.htm
http://www.cyndislist.com/ny-local.htm
http://moa.cit.cornell.edu/
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/rg/frameset_rg.asp?Dest=G1&Aid=&Gid
=&Lid=&Sid=&Did=&Juris1=&Event=&Year=&Gloss=&Sub=&Tab=&Entry=&Guide
=New_York.ASP
Immigration
Castle Garden
http://www.castlegarden.org/
Miscellaneous
Buffalo Adoption website
Western New York Legacy Digital Collection
http://buffalo-ny.adoption.com/
http://www.wnylegacy.org/index.php
New York Heritage Digital Collections
http://www.nyheritage.org/
Collections
http://www.newyorkheritage.org/browsecollections.php
http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/explore/dgexplore.cfm?topic=all
New York Public Library Digital Gallery
Harvest of History
http://www.harvestofhistory.org/primary_sources.html
RedBook, American State, County, and Town Sources
Pdf saved on CD
Buffalo NY Board of Education
Buffalo Crime Reports
New York records at Ancestry
http://www.buffaloschools.org/
http://www.bpdny.org/Home/Statistics/CrimeReports
http://search.ancestry.com/search/CardCatalog.aspx ccat=hc=25%26dbSort=1%26title=new york%26keyword=%26
(c) 2013, Leslie Watson Tomlinson. All Rights Reserved.
from Erie msg board 11/28/2010
Soon to be merged with http://www.nyheritage.org./ Includes collections
of newspapers, postcards, letters, etc.
Collections about New York State's people, places, and institutions.
Brings together freely accessible digital collections from libraries,
museums and archives from all over the state.
maps and images of buffalo, etc.
Maps, photos, diaries, etc. relating to agriculture and rural life in New
York from the Farmers Museum and the New York State Historical
Association.
Edited by Alice Eicholtz. Resources for history, vital records, census, land,
probate, church, military, and much more