NYC Vital Records Are Online Now in New York: A Guide

Were your ancestors European immigrants? It is estimated that 85% of immigrants in the century starting in 1820 arrived in New York City, which progressively displaced Boston as the chief port of entry to the United States. Some families arrived from the old country and headed west right away, joining relatives already established, or enticed by amazing claims about land made by the American railroads. However, many others arrived young, found work, married someone from their home country (or not), and started families. Germans, Irish, English, Italian, Polish, Eastern Europeans… their stories are told in the vital records — the civil registrations — begun in the cities of New York and Brooklyn in 1866, and in all 5 boroughs of NYC — New York County or Manhattan, the Bronx, Kings County or Brooklyn, Queens County, and Richmond County or Staten Island — by the time of “consolidation” in 1898. Note that because of its huge volume, New York City vital records are kept in the city; all other New York State vital records are in the local town records and in the central repository in Albany.

9 million certificates online!

Last month, New York’s Department of Records & Information Services (DORIS) which manages the Municipal Archives suddenly opened online to the public  without charge — 9.3 million digitized birth, marriage, and death certificates, some 70% of the total 13.3 million records. You can read more about the collection here. Unfortunately, it is not as easy as it should be to find a certificate with a name search. Let’s look at why.

You can read much more in the Geneanet web site at: https://bit.ly/39jVyJJ.