Welcome to

Dutchess County

About the US GenWeb Project

The US GenWeb is a well organized effort to organize the genealogy materials on the Internet. This project is supported by hundreds of volunteers all across the county. Basically, the system is organized by states, and counties with each county having a coordinator responsible for maintaining a site of resources which are available for that county. You'll also find files of genealogy records, also organized by state and county.

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About the New York GenWeb Project

A message was sent out over the GEN-NYS-L list in June 1996 asking if anyone would be interested in starting a New York State GenWeb page similiar to a highly successful project underway in Kentucky. Many people expressed an interest in this idea. About the same time, Jeff Murphy, coordinator of the KY GenWeb, decided to go national with the idea, and out of that grew the US GenWeb project, and the NY GenWeb project. At the same time, volunteers were found who were willing to coordinate the collection of databases and generally oversee the contents of the web page. Contact the volunteer shown on the county page if you have a desire to add your data to the database.  

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About Dutchess County, New York

Dutchess County was formed in 1683, one of the original counties of New York. Almost uninhabited until 1701, Dutchess County was administered by Ulster County from that time until at least 1713. Dutchess County is located in the Southeast corner of New York. It is bounded on the north by Columbia Co., NY, on the east by Litchfield Co., CT and Fairfield Co., CT, on the south by Putnam Co., NY, and on the west by Ulster and Orange Counties, NY. 

Some of the towns that make up Dutchess County  

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Where To Write for Vital Records

Birth, Death and Marriage Records    
In 1880 an attempt was made by the state to require the keeping of vital records. This law is the basis for the recording of births, marriages and deaths in New York today. The original record is made in the town, village or city in which the event took place, and a copy is sent to Albany.   

New York Department of Health

Vital Records Section, Genealogy Unit

Corning Tower Building, Empire State Plaza

Albany, NY   12237-002

Because of the large backlog of requests, there is likely to be a long delay for a response. It should also be noted that compliance with the 1880 law was slow, and many events were not recorded. Copies of vital record certificates, marked "for genealogical research only," can be issued at the state or local level. This applies only to births recorded at least seventy-five years ago and to marriages and deaths recorded fifty years ago and earlier.   

Divorce Records    
Since 1847 divorce actions in New York have been handled in the supreme court for the county in which the divorce was heard. New York divorce files, however, are sealed for one hundred years. In colonial times, petitions for divorce had to be made to the governor or legislature, and only a few were granted. The court of chancery granted divorces from 1787 to 1847. These older records are in the state archives.   

New York State Archives

New York Department of Education

Cultural Education Center, Room 11D40

Albany, NY 12230

(518) 474-8955

I've listed the address of the Dutchess County Records Management office. I don't know what, if any, vital records they maintain, but the phone number is listed so you can call them and ask.   

Dutchess County Records Management

170 Washington Street

Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

(845) 486-3677

A list addresses and phone numbers of town clerks and/or municipal offices where vital records may be obtained is available on the Dutchess County Genealogical Society Vital Records web page.

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How the Freedom of Information Law Can Help NY Researchers

Due to the diligent efforts of Cynthia Miles-Lewis of Schenectady County, it has been discovered that New York researchers DO have recourse when denied copies of records from county clerks, unless the requested record is covered under the Personal Privacy Protection Law. Click here to learn more about the Freedom of Information Law in New York and how it can help those of us doing genealogical research in New York.   

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  A Partial List of patriot civilian and military refugees from New York and Long Island "New York State - The battleground of the Revolutionary War"  
New York State Department of Health  
Declarations of Intent in NY 1832-1836 Intent to become a citizen
New York State Archives  
New York State Library

New York State Soldiers and Sailors

A Calendar of the American Revolution in New York  
Index to New York Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients  
Index to New York Revolutionary War Pension Lists 1801-1815  
New York Camp, Sons Of Spanish American War Veterans Limited lookups for descendants whose ancestors were veterans in the Spanish American War, Philippine Insurrection, and China Relief Expedition 1898-1902 from New York State.
New York Civil War veterans buried at Arlington National Cemetery
New York State Civil War Records
New York in the Revolution as colony and state
New York Revolutionary War Pension Lists 1792-1795      

To learn how to obtain copies of veterans records (military service records, pension application files or bounty-land warrant application files), click here.  

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Dutchess County Resources

Abstracts from Dutchess County Newspapers  
Amenia Tax Rolls 1740-1776  
Baptisms in the Hopewell Reformed Church 1758-1891  
Beekman History  
1714 Census of Dutchess County    
1790 Census of Dutchess County  
1820 Census of Dutchess County  
Catholic Churches  
Lutheran Churches  
Presbyterian Churches  
Reformed Churches  
Genealogical Societies and Libraries  
General History of Dutchess County from 1609 to 1876 by Phillip Henry Smith 
History of Dutchess County  
Dutchess Rev.War Major Ebenezer Robinson & the 7th Regiment Militia  
Historical Societies and Associations  
Interments in Dutchess County Cemeteries  
Marriages in the Hopewell Reformed Church 1766-1882  
Exerpts from Marriage Notices from Dutchess County, New York Newspapers 1826-1851  
Marriage Notices from New York Newspapers [selected].  
Municipal Historians  
Quaker Records Index (Dutchess County records on US GenNet)  
Rhinebeck Genealogy and History  
Sutherland Marriages in First Stanford Baptist Church  
Dutchess County Vital Records  Information compiled by DCGS.
Vital Records of Dutchess County Individuals extracted from Sharon, CT Records.

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Dutchess County Soldiers and Sailors

Dutchess County Militia - 3rd Regiment  
Dutchess County Pension Rolls of 1835  
Dutchess County Pension Rolls of 1885    

To learn how to obtain copies of veterans records (military service records, pension application files or bounty-land warrant application files), click here.    

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Genealogy-Related Links

Books We Own List   A Look-Up Resource  
Central New York Genealogical Society 40 years of abstracting pre-1860 data from 48 upstate NY counties.  
Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet  
Daughters of the American Revolution  
Deciphering Old Handwriting  
Family History Library Catalog  
Finding and Evaluating Local Histories by Myra Vanderpool Gormley
Genealogy Buff Surname research tool; searchable library of data files.
Hope Farm Press--over 2000 NY book titles  
Library of Congress
New York State Census Project New Horizons Genealogical Services has started a New York Census transcription project and they are in need of transcribers.  
Obituary Central Obituary archive and obituary search engine directory.  
Obituary Links Page State-by-state directory of obituary resources and archives.  
Palatine Families of New York Hank Jones well known series of books on the Palatine families of NY are now available on his web site.  
Search ships passenger lists to North America at The Olive Tree Genealogy  
Settlers of the Beekman Patent  Frank Doherty's excellent series on settlers in the Beekman Patent in Dutchess County in the 1700s.  
The Learning Center. Hints on searching census records, deeds, court records, and military records by Linda Haas Davenport.
The NY GenWeb Archives  
The US GenWeb Archives  
Upstate New York Genealogy  
Upstate New York Genealogy Blog  
WorldConnect  

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