NYGenWeb
Westchester County, NY
Westchester County, NY
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Westchester County, NY |
This page was last updated: Thursday, 05-Apr-2012 09:39:45 MDT
The Fordham Patent was granted in 1671 to John Archer, and included 1,253 acres in the present town of West Farms. Fordham was later a village originally located in Westchester County, and was incorporated in the late 19th century into The Bronx County which is today one of the New York City counties and/or buroughs. When looking for vital records for Fordham, you will need to check both counties, as well as the records located at the NYC Municipal Archives.
Read the following article which explains the change in boundaries and governmental jurisdictions. Before the Five-Borough City: The Old Cities, Towns and Villages That Came Together to Form "Greater New York" by Harry Macy, Jr., F.A.S.G., F.G.B.S, Originally published in The NYG&B Newsletter, Winter 1998
In the article entitled "The Borough Town of Westchester, An Address Delivered by Fordham Morris, on the 28th day of October, 1896" is mention of the establishment of several churches in Fordham.
See also the Eastchester Historical Society.
Boundaries: See the entry for Fordham at Wikipedia for details on its boundaries.
Read this information about Dick Hillenbrand's How to obtain copies of Vital Records for Genealogical Purposes in Upstate New York. His article also explains where to find copies of the NYS VR indexes around the state.
The web page for the New York State Dept. of Health can be found at http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/consumer/vr.htm.
See the NYC Municipal Archives for their holdings and look under "Manhattan".
The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society has an article online entitled New York City Vital Records Research which is a good guide to researching vital records in NYC.
See also the early records for Eastchester.
For more information at a county level, see the NYGenWeb Westchester County Resources page as well as the main site page.
For an index of naturalizations within Westchester county, see the web pages of the Westchester County Archives.
The NYG&B Socity has a number of excellent articles relating to genealogical research in New York City. Before to take a look to see what may relate to your own research.
The LDS Family History Library has the following church records relating to Fordham available for use at a Family History Center near where you live.
The Westchester County Historical Society has extensive manuscripts giving inventories of many old cemeteries located throughout the County.
Woodlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in what is today The Bronx County.
Be sure to check the following two web sites for any updates to cemetery listings:
Contact the Bronx County Historical Society which published "Old Cemetery in Fordham University" in their Bronx County Historical Society Journal [Vol. 8, No. 1, January 1971].
Carretta, Katherine A., compiler. A Guide to Listings of Old Cemetery Inscriptions and other Genealogical Aids for Westchester County, New York. [Westchester County Historical Society, 1977]
Horton, William P. Cemetery Inscriptions of Westchester County, NY. [Peekskill, NY: 1928] Copy available at New York Public Library's Genealogical & Local History Room.
Manville, Margaret. Revolutionary War Soldiers buried in Cemeteries in Westchester County, New York. [White Plains, NY: 1966] Copy available at New York Public Library's Genealogical & Local History Room.
Spies, Francis F. Inscriptions copied from gravestones in West Chester County yards with genealogical notes. Copy available at New York Public Library's Genealogical & Local History Room.
The Westchester County Historical Society also has extensive manuscripts giving inventories of many old cemeteries located throughout the County. Also check with the local historical society for information about the above cemeteries.
Have you looked at the cemetery listings here at the Westchester NYGenWeb site?
For an extensive collection of maps online, be sure to check out the David Rumsey Map Collection. Included in their collection is a complete set of Beers maps for New York including one for Fordham. Click on the image at the right to go to the Fordham map on the David Rumsey site and then you can enlarge the map to see the street and name details in Fordham.
The Map Division of the New York Public Research Library, which is located in Manhattan, has an extensive map collection. Their reprographics department can also make large copies of many of their histric maps for a fee.
Many town historical societies hold maps of their vicinities, including copies of the Sanborn insurance maps. Insurance maps were detailed to the point of showing each building on each street so that insurance companies knew what to pay the insurer in the event of fire or destruction. Be sure to inquire at such institutions as well as at local libraries.
Also, see additional information on the Maps page at this Westchester site.
The New York Public Library Genealogical and Local History Room of the Research Division is one of the foremost genealogical libraries in the country.
Another library which specializes in New York history is the library at the New York Historical Society which is open to the public for free.
Some census information for Westchester county can be found at the Census page.
Check the New York State Library page on New York State Census to see what years are available at the Library. Copies can be borrowed and viewed at an LDS Family History Center near where you reside.
Bronx County, created 1914, is included in the 1905 census of New York County.
Fuller, Elizabeth Griffen. Index to Westchester County Names in the Federal Censuses, 1790-1840 [Elmsford: Westchester Cty. Historical Society] 1994.
Also see the City Directories page on this Westchester Site.
The New York Public Library holds many city directories. So, be sure to check with them.
Attwood, Frederick L.. History of Fordham Manor Reformed Church: 2703 Reservoir Avenue, Bronx, New York, 1696-1946. Bronx, N.Y.?: The Church?, 1946. Note: A copy is available at Ancestry.com, a paid subscription service.
Fuller, Elizabeth Griffen. Index to Westchester County Names in the Federal Censuses, 1790-1840 [Elmsford: Westchester Cty. Historical Society] 1994.
Hermalyn, Gary, Editor. Genealogy in the Bronx: An Annotated Guide to Sources of Information [Bronx, NY: The Bronx County Historical Society 1986]
Mancini, Anthony. The Miracle of Pelham Bay Park. [New York: E.P. Dutton & Co.] c. 1982.
Pelletreau, William S., Am. M. Early Wills of Westchester County, New York 1664-1784 Pub. 1898. Cornell University Library has scanned this book and placed it on the web at the following address: http://digital.library.cornell.edu/pell0049
Scharf J. Thomas. History of Westchester County, New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms which have been annexed to New York City. [Philadelphia: L. E. Preston & Co.] c. 1886. 2 volumes. NOTE: Since republished by the Westchester County Historical Society which has copies for sale. For an index of personal names to this work, see the entry under "Fuller, Elizabeth G." found on the main Bibliography web page.
Taaffe, Thomas Gaffney, A.B. A History of St. John's College, Fordham, N. Y. [New York: The Catholic Publication Society Co., 1891]. A copy is available in various formats at the Internet Archives.
Waldron, William Watson. Huguenots of Westchester and Parish of Fordham. New York: W. H. Kelley & Brother, Publishers, 1864.
For other books with information relating to this town but covering a county-wide level, see the County section of the Bibliography page.
The Westchester County Genealogical Society has been publishing a series of articles in their monthly newsletter for some time which gives an overview of each town within the county. This Focus on (town name) [WCGS Newsletter, ] series includes a brief history of the town, a listing of some houses of worship, some cemeteries and often a bibliography. See the information about ordering back issues of the newsletter.
If you know any additional information relating to this town, please please contact the county coordinator for this web site.about adding it to this page.
See the article entitled "Annexed to New York" found in the 1873 issue of Harper's Weekly which includes several images.
If you have a scanned picture relating to any location within Westchester and would like to add it to this site, please please contact the county coordinator for this web site.with particulars.
Return to Westchester County's Town Index page.
Return to the main page for Westchester County at NYGenWeb.
Return to the NYGenWeb web site.
Copyright © 1996-2012 Cathy Horn. All rights reserved.
This web site was designed by and has been exclusively maintained since November 1996 by Cathy Horn.