If you've ever researched vital records in New York City, you know that they can be found in a good number of places, such as city registrars and county clerk's offices. This CD, created in collaboration with the Genealogical Research Library (GRL) in Ontario, Canada, contains records for "more than 410,000 individuals who were married in or near New York City between 1622 and 1899." The introduction notes that while over 90% of the marriages found on the CD were recorded in New York City, the remainder were recorded elsewhere in New York state. The introduction further notes that 300 of the records are from Connecticut or New Jersey. A quick examination of the dates shows that the majority are for the 19th century, although there are many entries from the 18th century as well.

The CD consists only of an informative introduction, and an index to the marriages. Both bride and groom are listed, and using the Search Expert feature you can search by surname, county, marriage location, marriage date, and marriage ID. Wildcards are allowed in the searches.

I was pleased to see that this marriage index contains references to the source of the information, including (in many cases) marriage certificate numbers, and the Family History Library (FHL) microfilm or fiche number of the actual records. In viewing a random selection of records, I found three basic sources of information: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (quarterly), 1932, selected extracts; Marriage Registers, Extracts from Manhattan (1869-1880) and Brooklyn (1895-1897); and Early Settlers of New York State, Their Ancestors and Descendants, Extracts from Vol.2, No.5 (Nov 1935).

Information available for each record includes:

• Individual's name
• Spouse
• Marriage Date
• Location
• County
• State
• Marriage ID
• Certificate Number
• Source Publication
• Page
• Publisher
• Date Published
• Comments (may include the FHL film number so you can locate the actual certificate)

   

December 2, 1998

Related Data on CD-ROM • Census Index: New York City, 1870 • Early Settlers of New York State, 1760-1942 • Family History: Genealogies of Long Island Families, 1600s-1800s • Family History: Mid-Atlantic Genealogies, 1340-1940 • Genealogical Records: Index to Upstate New York Source Records, 1685-1910 • Genealogical Records: New York • Marriage Index: Selected Areas of New York, 1639-1916 • Marriage Index: New York #2, 1740s-1880s • Military Records: New York Revolutionary War More Articles • How-To Guide: Marriage Date • How-To Guide: Finding a Spouse's Name • Peeling the Big Apple: NYC Research Helpful Web Sites • New York On the Message Boards • GenForum: Marriage Records • GenForum: New York

A sample record can be seen below:

Margaret Lonsberry

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