Vitals - Staten Island, Richmond County, NY Genealogical Resources

Vitals: Births, Marriages, and Deaths

Staten Island, Richmond County, NY
Genealogy Resources
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Adoption Births Baptisms Marriages Deaths

Early SI Vitals Summary

Film	Item	Town	Vital	Year(s)
1376368	1	Port Richmond	Deaths	1888-1897
		Port Richmond	Births	1888-1897
		Port Richmond	Marriages	1888-1897
	2	Edgewater	Births	1885-1897
		Edgewater	Marriages	1885-1897
	3	Edgewater	Deaths	1885-1897
	4	Castleton	Births	1881-1897
		Castleton	Marriages	1882-18987
	5	Castleton	Deaths	1881-1888
1376369	1	Castleton	Deaths	1888-1897
	2	Castleton	Births	1847-1850
		Northfield	Births	1847-1849
		Southfield	Births	1848-1849
		Southfield, Castleton	Births	1850
		Southfield	Births	1851-1852
		?
		Castleton	Marriages	1848-1849
		Northfield	Marriages	1847-1849
		Southfield	Marriages	1848-1849
		Southfield, Castleton	Marriages	1850
		Southfield	Marriages	1852
		Westfield	Marriages	1849
		Tottenville	Marriages	1864-1865
		Castleton	Deaths	1848-1849
		Northfield	Deaths	1847-1849
		Southfield	Deaths	1848
		Sailors retreat	Deaths	1848
		Southfield	Deaths	1850
		Southfield	Deaths	1852
		Westfield	Deaths	1849
		?	Births	1848
	3	Northfield	Deaths	1872-1873
		Northfield	Deaths	1881-1897
		Northfield	Births	1882-1897
		Northfield	Marriages	1882-1897
	4	Southfield	Stillbirths	1880s
		Southfield	Deaths	1882-1897
		Southfield	Deaths	1893
		Southfield	Births	1882-1897
		Southfield	Marriages	1882-1892
		?	Stillbirths	1880s
	5	Westfield	Deaths	1882-1897
		Westfield	Births	1882-1897
		Westfield	Marriages	1882-1897
	6	Middletown	Deaths	1882-1897
		Middletown	Births	1882-1897
		Middletown	Marriages	1882-1897
	7	Tottenville	Births	1890-1897
		Tottenville	Deaths	1890-1897
		Tottenville	Marriages	1890-1897

Adoption

NYS adoption records are sealed forever.

Lakeview Home for Unwed Mothers on Staten Island run by Louise Wise Services (Jewish) was open from ? till the late 1970s.

As Agency Closes, Emotions Spill Out - an article

Posted by Reg Niles, 24 Nov 2004: Yesterday the Adoption News Service issued the news that the records of Louise Wise Services, the New York City adoption agency that closed earlier this year, are in the custody of Spence-Chapin, which is located in Manhattan.
Louise Wise Services used a maternity home on Staten Island and Jewish babies were born in two hospitals there---Staten Island Hospital and St. Vincent's.

Births

1696-1790	RDC of PR Baptisms
c. 1847 - c. 1851	There is a spattering of births recorded in Early Staten Island Vital Records. The records are available in 1) Helplist, 2) NYC Municipal Archives (but they will not do a mail search - you must go in person and request the microfilms from behind the counter), and 3) the Family History Library film number 1376369. See chart.
c. 1852 - c. 1880	There are no births recorded in official records.
c. 1881 - 1897	Many but not all births are recorded in Early Staten Island Vital Records. The records are available in 1) Helplist, 2) NYC Municipal Archives (but they will not do a mail search - you must go in person and request the microfilms from behind the counter), and 3) the Family History Library film number 1376369. (Where is a Family History Center near me?) See chart.
1898 - 1909	The records (indexes and birth certificates) are available at the NYC Municipal Archives. You can request a mail search or go in person. Indexes, but not records, are also available at the New York Public Library. Also, at the Municipal Archives behind the counter is a birth index by address 1898-1907.
1910 - 1923	The records are available from the NYC Department of Health. Indexes, but not records, are also available at the New York Public Library.
1924 --->	These records are available from the NYC Department of Health, but they are covered by New York's 75-year privacy law. (The person must be proven deceased and you must be a descendant.) Some people, however, have gotten birth certificates by sending a copy of the death certificate, without proving descendancy. Indexes through 1982 are also available at the New York Public Library.
Another idea	There might be a baptismal record. If you have a good idea of the church (here's a list of current Staten Island churches from Infospace) call/write them or see the helplist.

Baptisms

Thanks, Pam!

The published baptismal records for Staten Island (Vol. IV of the Collections of the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society), indexed by Tobias Alexander Wright) 1909, includes records from the Reformed Dutch Church of Port Richmond, the United Brethren Moravian Church, and St Andrews Church.

Family genealogies from the Staten Island Historical Society, from 1600's : Butts family genealogical correspondence, from 1800's Staten Island Historical Society (Staten Island, New York) FHL Films #509177 - 509185

Index and gen. data cards : BMD, baptisms, deeds, mortgages and other records from Staten Island and at the Historical Society, from 1600,f Historical Records Survey (New York). FHL Films #539053 - 539071

Marriages

1665-1800	Early New Jersey Marriages Relating to Staten Islanders
1666-1799	More Early NJ Marriages
1790-1811	Dutch Marriages 1790-1811
1764-1863	Moravian Church marriages
c. 1847 - c. 1851	There is a spattering of marriages recorded in Early Staten Island Vital Records. The records are available in 1) Helplist, 2) NYC Municipal Archives (but they will not do a mail search - you must go in person and request the microfilms from behind the counter), and 3) the Family History Library film number 1376369. See chart.
c. 1852 - c. 1880	There are no marriages recorded in official records.
1874 - 1875	Carol Race has transcribed census schedule marriages.
c. 1881 - 1897	Many but not all marriages are recorded in Early Staten Island Vital Records. The records are available in 1) Helplist, 2) NYC Municipal Archives (but they will not do a mail search - you must go in person and request the microfilms from behind the counter), and 3) the Family History Library film number 1376369. (Where is a Family History Center near me?) See chart. Note The Department of Health says that marriage certificates between 1881 and 1898 are on file in their office. Indexes only are also at the NYS Archives. Helpful hint: familysearch.org has indexed them here. If you find a hit, you can request the "FHL microfilm" to your local FHC . If the film is 1376368 or 1376369, you can email Janet for a lookup.
1898 - 1937	The records (groom indexes and marriage certificates) are available at the NYC Municipal Archives. You can request a mail search or go in person. Grooms' indexes, but not records, are also available at the New York Public Library.
1898 - 1937	Grooms are indexed at www.germangenealogygroup.com and www.italiangen.org Also a very useful Search Tool at stevemorse.org.
1898 - 1937	Brides are indexed at www.germangenealogygroup.com and www.italiangen.org Also a very useful Search Tool at stevemorse.org.
1938 --->	Write to City Clerk (marriage records), 1 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007. They are covered by a 50-year privacy law, but NYC may vary from NYS.
Another idea	There might be a church marriage record. If you have a good idea of the church (here's a list of current Staten Island churches from Infospace) call/write them or see the helplist.
? - ?	County Clerk? (Overlap)

Deaths

Death Records

1665 - 1754 See Probate below.

c. 1847 - c. 1851 There is a spattering of deaths recorded in Early Staten Island Vital Records. The records are available in 1) Helplist, 2) NYC Municipal Archives (but they will not do a mail search - you must go in person and request the microfilms from behind the counter), and 3) the Family History Library film numbers 1376368, 1376369. Please note: for this time frame, parents' names are not noted. See chart.
The early Northfield deaths (1847-1848) have been transcribed and are linked to the images. Please see Early Northfield Deaths.

1849-1850 Some records are transcribed in the 1850 Mortality Schedules - this one is Marine Hospital, Irish names. Marine Hospital, all names is coming soon.

c. 1852 - c. 1880 There are no deaths recorded in official records.

1874 - 1875 Carol Race has transcribed census schedule deaths.

c. 1881 - 1897 Many but not all deaths are recorded in Early Staten Island Vital Records. The records are available in 1) Helplist, 2) NYC Municipal Archives (but they will not do a mail search - you must go in person and request the microfilms from behind the counter), and 3) the Family History Library film number 1376369. (Where is a Family History Center near me?) See chart. Usually the records contain cemetery name.

The person querying should also consider the NYS records which partially duplicate what's in the MA but MAY have a record not in the MA. The State vitals are indexed at the National Archives, Houston & Varick Sts. Should that person find an indexed record of interest, then application can be made to charming NYS to get a copy. That takes a while and costs $11."

Some death records have been transcribed at Edgewater, 1895, 1897.
1898 - 1948 The records are available at the NYC Municipal Archives. You can request a mail search or go in person. Indexes at http://stevemorse.org/vital/nydeath.html. Indexes, but not records, are also available at the New York Public Library.

1900 - 1911 "The Italian Genealogy Group has finally put the NYC Death index on line. It covers 1891-1899 in Manhattan and 1900-1911 for All-Boros. I don't know how far along it is, the page is still listed as under construction but take a look and see what you think. This group does a lot of work for the genealogical community and your membership would be appreciated but it is not necessary to join the group to use their databases. You can find the site at www.italiangen.org Membership is $20 per year and if I must say so myself, I'm the editor, the newsletter alone is worth the price of admission. Consider it and enjoy the databases. Tony" NYC Death Index Database
1949 ---> They are covered by a 50-year privacy law. Some people have gotten death certificates for recent deaths for non-ancestors, but I wouldn't necesarily specify that it's for genealogy. People often say "family records."

1949 ---> These records are available from the NYC Department of Health, but they are covered by New York's 50-year privacy law. (The person must be proven deceased and you must be a descendant.) Indexes through 1982 are also available at the New York Public Library.

1957 - 1962 Staten Island Deaths 1957-1962

Another idea There might be a church burial record. If you have a good idea of the church (here's a list of current Staten Island churches from Infospace) call/write them or see the helplist.

The Social Security Death Index

If the person is deceased, e.g. on Ancestry's SSDI or Rootsweb's SSDI, you can request a copy of anyone's SS-5. Cost is $27 with SSN and $29? without. Generally they had to be working around 1934, when Social Security started. To find out about ordering the SS-5, you can order online at: https://s044a90.ssa.gov/apps7/efoiassa/internet/SSA711.jsp but I find that hard to read so you might try http://members.aol.com/rechtman/ssafaq.html#Section2. It will take a few months to arrive. I would have to look at my old ones to see the info it has, but i know it has current address & current employer (as of when they filled out the info) as well as birth date. The person must be deceased; if they aren't on the SSDI (which is only a limited subset of the people with social security numbers) then the SSA must have proof of death to send you the information. For one of my relatives, he wasn't on the SSDI but his widow had submitted a death certificate to collect her benefits, so I was able to order his info.

Obituaries Please see our new Obituaries page for complete information.

Cemeteries Please see our Cemeteries page for a very detailed list of cemeteries (active and abandoned) in Staten Island.

Probate

From Lynn:I have spent many hours at Surrogates Court in S.I. First of all bring your patience. Lots and Lots of quarters, two rolls, maybe even three. Turn on your microfilm printers as soon as you get there, they take awhile to warm up (unless you are fortunate and they replaced them). They take lunch, I believe 1 - 2 p.m. or is it 1:30 - 2:30?. I think that they open at 9 a.m. and close at 3:30 or 4:00 p.m. There is a security desk, so I don't know about camera's?
Check the files draws (which is index cards per name) but, I have found that they are not all recorded there. There are two sets of many big old large books, per alpha, by last name, under the index card file boxes, check both sets of REGULAR wills and PROBATE wills. I have found that a lot is recorded in the PROBATE will books. You will be required to fill out the appropriate forms to obtain the microfiche of the wills. Make sure that you put in whether it is from the REGULAR will book or the PROBATE will book.
Ask if they have the actual file. They have a lot of them in hard copy, but, it has been my experience that unless you ask/insist/throw a little fit, you get the microfiche copy which can/may/has been be incomplete.
Across the street from Surrogates court is the Buildings Dept. There is so much to be found at the Buildings Dept. with a last name, date and address, you may find more than in the wills. Once entering the Buildings Dept. to the right way in the back is a room of old books, per year, per alpha. Just looking up your last names, may uncover so much more than the wills. Don't bother asking assistance from the Bldgs Dept. employee's they cannot help you. Go directly to the back. This section has a number of Title Search employees, ask anyone, they will direct you.
May take more than one visit, but, rest assured, when you exit Surrogates Court to the right and turn right, is the Side Street Cafe, which is worth visiting.
From William: Yes, the tips about bringing your quarters was great. I brought two rolls($20) but wish I had brought 3 or 4 rolls. Some of the will files were 40 pages.
The tips about checking both the wills and probate files also work well.
My most difficult part of the visit was finding the right room. (Basement!). I was sent the 2nd and 3rd floor first.
Abstracts of Wills in early NY.
Will Testators Indexes Online for New York County to 1754. (Note: many Richmond county Wills were filed in New York County.)
Staten Island has probate records, but it's very expensive if you can't go yourself. More details soon.
There is a Will Index for ancestry subscribers, currently 1665-1790.
You can read and post wills and abstracts at our GenConnect Wills Board.

Miscellaneous submitted vitals

Early Staten Island Vitals

Film	Item	Town	Years	Title
1376368	1	Village of Port Richmond	2/16/1888-12/30/1897	Deaths
			2/10/1888-12/24/1897	Births
			2/8/1888-12/19/1897	Marriages
	2	Village of Edgewater	8/23/1885-12/22/1897	Births
			8/27/1885-12/30/1897	Marriages
	3	Village of Edgewater	9/5/1885-12/29/1897	Deaths
	4	Town of Castleton	1/3/1882-12/30/1897	Births
			2/21/1882-12/30/1897	Marriages
	5	Town of Castleton	1/2/1881-1/10/1887	Deaths
		Village of New Brighton	1/11/1887-12/28/1888	Deaths
1376369	1	Castleton	1881-1897	BMD
	2	Castleton	1848-1850	BMD
		Northfield	1847-1850	BMD
		Southfield	1848-1853	BMD
		Westfield	1849	MD
		Tottenville	1864-1865	Marriages
	3	Northfield	1881-1897	BMD
	4	Southfield	1881-1897	BMD
	5	Westfield	1882-1897	BMD
	6	Middletown	1882-1897	BMD
	7	Tottenville	1890-1897	BMD

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1665 - 1754	See Probate below.
c. 1847 - c. 1851	There is a spattering of deaths recorded in Early Staten Island Vital Records. The records are available in 1) Helplist, 2) NYC Municipal Archives (but they will not do a mail search - you must go in person and request the microfilms from behind the counter), and 3) the Family History Library film numbers 1376368, 1376369. Please note: for this time frame, parents' names are not noted. See chart. The early Northfield deaths (1847-1848) have been transcribed and are linked to the images. Please see Early Northfield Deaths.
1849-1850	Some records are transcribed in the 1850 Mortality Schedules - this one is Marine Hospital, Irish names. Marine Hospital, all names is coming soon.
c. 1852 - c. 1880	There are no deaths recorded in official records.
1874 - 1875	Carol Race has transcribed census schedule deaths.
c. 1881 - 1897	Many but not all deaths are recorded in Early Staten Island Vital Records. The records are available in 1) Helplist, 2) NYC Municipal Archives (but they will not do a mail search - you must go in person and request the microfilms from behind the counter), and 3) the Family History Library film number 1376369. (Where is a Family History Center near me?) See chart. Usually the records contain cemetery name.
The person querying should also consider the NYS records which partially duplicate what's in the MA but MAY have a record not in the MA. The State vitals are indexed at the National Archives, Houston & Varick Sts. Should that person find an indexed record of interest, then application can be made to charming NYS to get a copy. That takes a while and costs $11."
Some death records have been transcribed at Edgewater, 1895, 1897.
1898 - 1948	The records are available at the NYC Municipal Archives. You can request a mail search or go in person. Indexes at http://stevemorse.org/vital/nydeath.html. Indexes, but not records, are also available at the New York Public Library.
1900 - 1911	"The Italian Genealogy Group has finally put the NYC Death index on line. It covers 1891-1899 in Manhattan and 1900-1911 for All-Boros. I don't know how far along it is, the page is still listed as under construction but take a look and see what you think. This group does a lot of work for the genealogical community and your membership would be appreciated but it is not necessary to join the group to use their databases. You can find the site at www.italiangen.org Membership is $20 per year and if I must say so myself, I'm the editor, the newsletter alone is worth the price of admission. Consider it and enjoy the databases. Tony" NYC Death Index Database
1949 --->	They are covered by a 50-year privacy law. Some people have gotten death certificates for recent deaths for non-ancestors, but I wouldn't necesarily specify that it's for genealogy. People often say "family records."
1949 --->	These records are available from the NYC Department of Health, but they are covered by New York's 50-year privacy law. (The person must be proven deceased and you must be a descendant.) Indexes through 1982 are also available at the New York Public Library.
1957 - 1962	Staten Island Deaths 1957-1962
Another idea	There might be a church burial record. If you have a good idea of the church (here's a list of current Staten Island churches from Infospace) call/write them or see the helplist.