The Niagara County
NYGenWeb Project

Welcome to the USGenWeb site for Niagara County, New York!

Niagara County is located in western New York State. The county seat is Lockport, NY, first settled in 1816 and incorporated in 1865. Niagara County is most famous for its "Seventh Wonder of the World," Niagara Falls, which includes the Thundering Rapids, Bridal Veil Falls, and Horseshoe Falls.

In 1990, the county population was 220,756 in a land area of 523 square miles, an average of 422 people per square mile. Over 70% of the residents were urban. Eighty-five percent were born in New York State, but reported their ancestries as German, Irish, Italian, English, or Polish (in that order).

Niagara County was formed from Genesee in 1808. (Genesee was formed from Ontario County in 1802. Ontario was formed from Montgomery in 1789. Montgomery was formed from Albany County in 1772, but was known as Tryon County until 1784. Albany County was one of the original counties of New York State.)

Here's where to find the major types of information and links on these pages:

• Genealogy resources, including:
  

  General genealogy resources
  Area resources: NY/general; Western NY; Niagara-specific
  Baptismal lists, cemeteries, census records, land records/deeds, ship passenger information, vital records, wills
  Genealogical societies
  Home pages of researchers with Niagara ties
  Stories of Niagara County people

• History resources, including:
  

  Books, historians, historical societies/museums, historical information, libraries, maps, military resources, newspapers, and pictures.

• Travel and local info, including:
  

  Historical attractions, lodging and transportation, general information on Niagara County places, and regions which border Niagara County.

• Other links, including organizations and schools.
   
• Lookups, which for now includes both lookup offers and projects to get data online.
   
• Queries about Niagara County ancestors.
   
• Mailing lists discussing Niagara genealogy.
   
• About this site:

  Information on the site coordinators, how to contact us for suggestions, and general credits.