Collection Guides
The New York City Municipal Archives

The New York City historical vital records collection consists of records held by the New York City Municipal Archives that were created and/or maintained by City of New York agencies, and by municipalities that were once located in the present-day boundaries of the City of New York. These former municipalities were in Kings, Queens, Richmond, and Westchester counties but were dissolved or annexed prior to January 1, 1898 when modern-day New York City was established. Types of records represented in this collection include birth, marriage, and death registers, certificates, and indexes; marriage licenses; manumission, indentures, and apprenticeship records; and a small quantity of other kinds of vital records. The birth, manumission, indenture, and apprenticeship records of enslaved people provide documentation of people who have been systematically left out of “traditional” vital record keeping practices, and hopefully will be useful to genealogists, family history researchers, and those studying slavery in New York City and State. The material in this collection dates from 1760-1949 (with gaps), with the bulk of materials dating from 1847-1949.

When conducting genealogical and family history research in New York City and State, keep in mind that in New York State there are two separate vital records systems, one for New York State, and another for New York City. Furthermore, some municipalities decided to keep their own vital records independent of governmental or legal requirements. Prior to the creation of these modern vital record keeping systems, there were few record keeping practices that were created, adhered to, or enforced. Knowing the time period and geographic location an ancestor may have lived is key to locating vital records.

A vital record is “a record that documents significant life events, including births, deaths, marriages, and divorces.” (1)

Vital statistics are “public records required by law that document significant life events, such as births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and public health events.” (2)

A civil register is “A record of births, marriages, deaths, and other major events in citizens' lives.” (3)

Apart from the vital records held by the New York City Municipal Archives (NYCMA) that may include records documenting Lenape descendants, the NYCMA does not hold Lenape-created documentation of important life events of their diaspora. Researchers can contact the Lenape descendant nations and tribes themselves such as the Delaware Tribe of Indians (Oklahoma); the Delaware Nation (Oklahoma); the Mohican Nation Stockbridge-Munsee Band (Wisconsin); the Delaware Nation at Moraviantown (Ontario); and the Munsee-Delaware Nation (Ontario).

The NYCMA does not have traditional vital records from the Dutch and English colonial period, but it does have two collections that could serve as substitutes for vital records.

In the Netherlands, there were no formal Dutch laws requiring the creation of vital records (civil registration) until 1811. (4) Prior to 1811, life events such as births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials were recorded in church records both in the Netherlands and in its colonies. (5) The New Amsterdam Records, 1647-1862 (MSS-0040), is a small collection (4 cubic feet) consisting of court minutes and administrative records that contain some banns of matrimony and indentures of apprentices. Some of the New Amsterdam Records have been digitized and can be reviewed here.

In 1665, after the English conquest of New Netherland, England enacted the Duke of York’s Laws for the Government of the Colony of New York (“Duke’s Laws”) that included the law, “Births, Marriages and Burials to be Registered.” The law mandated a minister or town clerk in every parish to record births, marriages, and burials in that parish in a book provided for the registry. Though this law was generally not followed (and it was repealed in 1683), some records were created due to the law. The Old Town Records, circa 1630-1898 (MSS 0004), consist of records created and maintained by municipalities that were located in Kings, Queens, Richmond, and Westchester counties until their dissolvement, annexation, or consolidation into what is now modern-day New York City. Although the majority of these records date from the 1840s-1890s, there are some records from the Dutch and English colonial era that document significant life events such as the volume of Kings County marriages, circa 1630-1700, and there may be others. For example, town or court minutes can contain information about life events such as births, marriages, deaths, and burials even when not explicitly labelled or titled as such. (6)

From the period just after the American Revolution and into the 1840s, civil registration of vital records was generally not required in New York State or New York City. For this reason, NYCMA holds only a small amount of vital records from this period.

Death and burial records are some of the earliest vital records held by the New York City Municipal Archives. In July of 1795, yellow fever swept across New York City. In order to track the epidemic a register was created to record who had died that summer. In 1802, the New York City Board of Health began recording deaths and/or burials, but only sporadically. NYCMA holds New York City death registers from 1802-1804, 1808, 1812-1887. These early death records are in Subgroup 3, Series 3.3.

NYCMA holds birth, manumission, apprenticeship, and indenture records documenting people who were enslaved and living in Kings and Westchester counties. Although some of these records date from the 1760s-1780s, most date from 1799-1828 and are related to two New York State laws regarding the gradual manumission of enslaved people in the state—the Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery of 1799, and the Act Relative to Slaves and Servants of 1817. Both laws preceded the 1827 law abolishing slavery in the State of New York. These records are in Subgroup 4.

Although original marriage records held by the NYCMA chiefly begin in the late 1840s, there are microfilm copies of marriage records dating from 1829-1866 for the City of New York. These records are in Subgroup 2, Series 2.3.

Most of the vital records held by the New York City Municipal Archives date from 1847-1949. During this time several laws were passed in the New York State Legislature requiring the creation of birth, marriage, and death records by municipalities in the state. These laws transformed vital record keeping practices in New York City and in municipalities whose vital records are now held by the NYCMA, most notably laws passed in 1847, 1866, 1870, 1880, 1881, and 1913. The year 1866, when the New York State Legislature created the New York City Metropolitan Board of Health, marks the beginning of birth, marriage, and death certificates issued in the City of New York and in the City of Brooklyn (though Brooklyn had begun issuing death certificates in 1862).

Though the birth records held by the NYCMA date from circa 1760s-1909, most are from 1866-1909. There are birth registers, birth certificates, special and delayed birth certificates, and a small number of birth record indexes. Localities represented in the birth records include the City of New York/New York County, municipalities once located in Kings, Queens, Richmond, and Westchester counties, and the five boroughs of New York City that were created on January 1, 1898. Many of the birth records have been microfilmed and/or digitized. Birth records after 1909 are maintained by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The marriage records date from 1829-1949 with the bulk of the records dating from 1866-1949. Included are marriage registers, marriage certificates, delayed marriage certificates, marriage licenses, marriage contracts, chapel certificates, and marriage record indexes. Localities represented in the marriage records include the City of New York/New York County, municipalities once located in Kings, Queens, Richmond, and Westchester counties, and the five boroughs of New York City that were created on January 1, 1898. Many of the marriage records have been microfilmed and/or digitized. Marriage records after 1949 are maintained by the New York City Clerk.

Most of the death records date from 1866-1948, though the earliest death records date back to 1795. The death records are primarily death registers and death certificates, but there are also some death record indexes, a tenement house record of deaths in Manhattan, registers documenting deaths from yellow fever and cholera, permits to remove dead bodies, and a list of deaths and interments. Localities represented in the death records include the City of New York/New York County, municipalities once located in Kings, Queens, Richmond, and Westchester counties, and the five boroughs of New York City that were created on January 1, 1898. Many of the marriage records have been microfilmed and/or digitized. Death records after 1948 are maintained by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The New York City Municipal Archives also holds two small collections of vital records that are not specific to the past or present boundaries of New York City. These are the maritime birth, death, and marriage registrations, 1901-1948, and the death registers for United States soldiers serving in Cuba and Puerto Rico, 1898-1900.