Beyond the Basics

This is the second in our series of ‘how to conduct research’ blogs in On the Record. It provides essential information about several lesser-known resources at the Municipal Archives that are relevant to the family historian or genealogist. This blog is adapted from a program “beyond the basics” Marcia Kirk recently recorded for a genealogy conference.

Most of the records discussed in this guide are available on microfilm at the Municipal Archives; a few have been digitized and are noted as such. The digitized records are available in our online gallery.

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Coroners’ Records

Coroners’ Inquest Records (also known as coroner’s reports) were created when a death was deemed suspicious. For example, if someone fell from a building, a Coroners’ inquest would be noted on the death certificate. The coroner record usually supplies more detailed information about the circumstances of a death than the death certificate filed by the Health Department.

They are available for all five boroughs from 1898 to 1917. For the period prior to consolidation in 1898, there are coroner records for Manhattan from 1853 to 1897; Kings County, from 1863 to 1896; and Queens from 1884 to 1897.

The ledger format coroner records for Manhattan are only available on microfilm. The Municipal Archives did not produce the microfilm and does not have the original ledgers. Some of the microfilm is a little difficult to read.

Coroner’s Inquest, January 13, 1909. The accidental death of a 36-year-old man, born in Ireland and struck by a rock “following blast” on December 30, 1908. Coroner’s Record Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

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Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

The Coroners’ Office was abolished by New York State law in 1915 and replaced with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), effective January 1, 1918. This office still exists. The OCME records include three series: indexes, ‘Accession’ docket books, and documents. The records date from 1918 to 1950 and are extant for all five Boroughs.

The first step in locating an OCME record is to search the microfilmed index to the Accession dockets. The index provides the case file number. In step two, using the case file number, the entry can be researched in the Accession docket book, also on microfilm. The Accession docket lists the name of the deceased, date of death, place of last residence, age, where the body was found and/or place of death, who reported the death, and the cause of death.

The Municipal Archives collection also includes the documents filed by the OCME pertaining to the death. These include police reports and autopsies. Copies of the documents can be requested (contact familyhistory@records.nyc.gov for ordering and fee information).

OCME ‘Accession’ Docket, Manhattan, 1940. NYC Municipal Archives.

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Bodies in Transit Registers

The Bodies in Transit Registers were created by the New York City (Manhattan) Department of Health. They date from 1859 to 1894.

This collection is digitized and available in the online gallery. Each body or corpse that came into, out of, or through Manhattan was recorded in the register. The entry includes the date the body transited through the city, the name of the deceased, age, cause of death, nativity, the name of the person accompanying the body, and the place of burial. For more information on this collection see our blog.

The registers list the body of John Brown on route to his burial in upstate New York, and Abraham Lincoln whose body lay in state at City Hall after his assassination. There are also many Civil War soldiers from both the north and the south listed in the registers. They had been killed in battle, or died from disease, and their bodies passed through Manhattan for burial in cemeteries outside the city.

Bodies in Transit Register, 1865. NYC Municipal Archives.

Bodies in Transit Register, 1865, see entry - Lincoln, Abraham, age: 56 years 2 months, birthplace: Kentucky; place of death: Washington, D.C., cause of death: pistol shot. NYC Municipal Archives.

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Estate Inventories

The Municipal Archives maintains a collection of Estate Inventories that provide lists of all the possessions of the deceased as tallied by a court-appointed appraiser. The collection comprises two series: 1784 to 1836, and 1830 to 1859, and include persons who were residents of Manhattan only (New York County). These microfilmed records are indexed, searchable by the name of the decedent or the appraiser. Researchers should also consult with the New York County Surrogates’ Court, and the New York County Clerk’s Division of Old Records for other series pertaining to estates. See the table below for more information.

Estate Inventory, NYC Municipal Archives.

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Letters of Guardianship

Another series that originated in the New York County Surrogate’s Court are the Letters of Guardianship. They date from 1811 to 1913. These are also Manhattan records and only available on microfilm. Each volume contains an index in the front of the volume.

Guardianship record, 1811. NYC Municipal Archives.

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 Almshouse Ledger Collection

History of Inmates, 1919. NYC Municipal Archives.

The Almshouse Ledgers are another fascinating collection which span 1758 to 1952. There are more than 400 volumes pertaining to the many city-run institutions on Blackwell Island, now named Roosevelt Island. They include the Almshouses, Lunatic Asylum, Workhouses, the Penitentiary, and various hospitals.

A sampling of the volumes from several different series have been digitized and are available in the online gallery. There is also a detailed finding aid for this collection with links to the digitized volumes. The finding aid explains the different series of records and the types of records available.  

Inmate History, 1895. NYC Municipal Archives.

The “Record of Inmates” lists residents of the Almshouse institution, not persons who were imprisoned. One of the important things about the Record of Inmates, especially for those of Irish or German ancestry, is that it includes the county in which the person was born as well as the town/city. The series provides a wealth of information including the name, date of admission to the institution, when discharged, nativity, naturalization information, occupation, and often the name and address of a family member. It also provides the “Habits of the father,” e.g. “temp” (temperate) meaning the person did not drink. (Alcoholism was a big problem.) The record will also note if the person was self-supporting, or in the poorhouse. If they were in the poorhouse, the question was asked “for how long?”

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New York County Jury Census

The Jury censuses were taken in 1816, 1819, and 1821. There is one volume for each Ward of the city; some volumes are missing. The purpose of the census was to determine eligibility to serve on a jury. The jury censuses have been digitized and are available online. There is also a finding aid for this collection.

The census records are arranged by ward and then by street. If the street address is not known, city directories can be consulted (available on the New York Public Library’s digital collections website).

The census includes both male and female heads of household. The census recorded the name of the head of the household, the house number and street, occupation, age, reason for exemption from serving on a jury (old age, etc.), and the total number of jurors in the particular household. The census designates white inhabitants, aliens, coloured (sic) inhabitants (not slaves), and Slaves and provides the total number of inhabitants in the household. (Slavery was not ended in New York State until 1827.)

1816 Jury Census, 1st Ward. Broadway numbers 1-58 containing 274 Inhabitants. NYC Municipal Archives.

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Police Census

Most family historians are probably aware that the 1890 U.S. Federal census was almost completely destroyed in a fire. Thankfully, New York City took its own census that year. City officials believed the federal census undercounted the population. The Police census is often used as a substitute for the 1890 Federal Census.

The street address of the person or family must be known to search the census at the Archives; it is not indexed by name. The census lists everyone in the household, their gender, and age. There is a street address index available at the Archives that provides the census volume number.

1890 Census. NYC Municipal Archives.

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Property Cards

One of the Archives’ more popular collections is the Property Cards. With federal funding from the Works Progress Administration, the cards were created by the Department of Finance to modernize the tax assessment process. The cards date from 1939 and were continuously updated through 1990. All five boroughs are included.

There is a small photographic print of the property taken in the 1940s attached to the card. The assessed valuation, conveyances, and mortgages are also recorded. A diagram of the building and the plot, and other information about the building including the zoning, classification, and the block and lot number can also be found.

The creators of these records probably did not anticipate that people would be using them for genealogical research. Some people even give them as gifts. The cards have not been microfilmed or digitized; copies can be requested (contact familyhistory@records.nyc.gov for ordering and fee information).   

Property Card, 7 Middagh Street, Brooklyn. NYC Municipal Archives.

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Tax Photos

The photographs that appear on the property card also exist as a separate collection known as the “tax photographs.”  The photographs have been digitized and can be viewed on the online gallery. There are two series of photographs: 1939 to 1941 (these images were affixed to the property card), and a second series dating from the mid-1980s.

The 1940s collection includes every building in all five boroughs except for empty lots and tax-exempt properties. The photos from the 1980s include empty lots and tax-exempt properties. There is a Guide to the 1940s Tax Department photographs available that provides additional information.  

1940 ‘Tax’ Photograph, Queens Block 3176, Lot 45. NYC Municipal Archives.

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HIV - AIDS Drug Development

Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, over 700,000 people have died from the illness in the United States and over 1.2 million people live with it in the country today. In the 1980s, the average life expectancy for HIV positive people was only one year, the diagnosis an almost certain death sentence. Today, the life expectancy (and quality of life) for those who are HIV positive is only slightly less than those without HIV. This is due to relentless activism and breakthrough medical advances that began to crystallize in the mid- 1990s. In a 1991 episode of WNYC-TV's New York Hotline hosted by Brian Lehrer, a panel of experts discussed the hopes and challenges of developing effective HIV/AIDS treatments and the ethics of experimental drug trials for a terminal illness while taking calls from the New Yorkers., one of the cities hit hardest by the epidemic.

What would eventually be called AIDS was first recognized on June 5th, 1981, in both Los Angeles and New York City as acute immune deficiencies in otherwise healthy young gay men. By 1991, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was at its peak and had become a serious cause for concern for many Americans. Questions about how the virus was spread, who was most at risk, the privacy of those infected (or tested), and how long it would take to find a cure or vaccine were part of the national dialogue. This was a drastic (dramatic?) change from the early 1980s when many Americans were deeply misinformed about the illness, convinced that it could only infect gay men. These misconceptions began to change as a number of public figures disclosed their HIV/AIDS diagnoses, such as actor Rock Hudson in 1984, and athlete Magic Johnson in 1991.

WNYC-TV Collection, New York Hotline: AIDS Treatments Episode #215. Progress on the development of AIDS treatments was agonizingly slow or surprisingly rapid, depending on who you talked to.

HIV was determined to be the cause of AIDS in 1984, with scientists at the National Cancer Institute building on research from the Paris based Pasteur Institute. Proper testis for the virus were not developed until 1985 and it took further time to refine and reduce the number of false positives. With adequate testing, research on treatments could begin. In 1987, six years after the start of the epidemic. the FDA approved AZT, the first drug to treat HIV. For many people, AZT would prove ineffective after a short period of time. This included Aldyn McKean, one of the founders of ACT UP, an HIV/AIDS advocacy group. McKean survived with HIV for over 10 years, allowing him to consistently agitate for faster research and more access to clinical trials.

President Ronald Reagan deliberately ignored  the existence of the epidemic until 1987 which furthered the belief of advocates and  those infected that the federal government did not take the threat that HIV/AIDS posed to American lives seriously, even as infection rates climbed year after year. Conversely, Reagan's Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop began an awareness campaign in 1986, including the distribution of over 100 million pamphlets titled “Understanding AIDS.” This pamphlet controversially advised people to wear condoms to prevent contracting the virus, much to the chagrin of the Reagan administration that had eschewed condoms and sex education in favor of an abstinence-based approach.

WNYC-TV Collection, New York Hotline: AIDS Treatments Episode #215. While medical experts and researchers urged a cautious approach, many with HIV/AIDS demanded access to experimental drugs to treat their condition.

But the demands of those who already had HIV for access to clinical trials of experimental new treatments grew louder.

 Although the medical community saw the rate of progress as a good sign, McKean and other advocates were dismayed at the lack of access to experimental drugs for people who had already been infected. In this episode of New York Hotline, McKean suggested that people with AIDS be allowed to make the decision themselves as to whether they wanted to take a drug that had already passed phase 1 clinical trials indicating it was safe for humans, but had not passed phase 2 or 3 trials proving its effectiveness. He also dismissed the idea that opening such trials early would reduce the veracity of the results, instead trying to center the debate around the patient and not the medical research protocols.

To be sure, many people were enrolled in phase 2 and 3 trials for drugs like AZT that ultimately led to the effective maintenance drugs used today. However, the people with access to those trials were primarily white men. Although the stereotype still persists that HIV/AIDS primarily impacts gay men, by 1991 AIDS became the number one killer of women aged 25-44 and the epidemic disproportionately affected people of color, particularly African Americans. As of 2018, African Americans make up 42% of new HIV infections in the United States. This lack of access to clinical trials, and the outsized impact of the epidemic on underserved communities is still being felt today.

WNYC-TV Collection, New York Hotline: AIDS Treatments Episode #215. The HIV/AIDS epidemic effects everyone, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation or age, but it has disproportionately affected African Americans.

In 1995, researchers created the first widely effective treatment for HIV/AIDS, called highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), more colloquially known as the AIDS cocktail. This treatment was a combination of AZT and other similar drugs that prevent the virus from replicating or being transmitted to others. At first, the treatment was a complicated regimen of many different pills taken at different times of the day. Over time, scientists were able to refine it into a single pill taken daily, drastically reducing the toll the virus took on patients and saving millions of lives. While a cure still has not been invented over 40 years after the virus was first recognized, recent medical breakthroughs like mRNA vaccines have given doctors- and patients- hope for the first time in a long time.

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The WNYC-TV collection at the Municipal Archives is composed of thousands of films and video tapes created from the 1940s to the 1990s. New York Hotline and other WNYC-TV programs highlighted important issues of the day such as the HIV/AIDS crisis, Nelson Mandela’s visit to the City and local elections. Over the past three years, the Archives has digitized more than 1,000 WNYC-TV programs and made them available to view online as part of an ongoing effort to preserve this unparalleled collection.

This Day in History

Reception Banquet Program for Charles Lindbergh, June 14, 1927. Mayor James J. Walker Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Interior, Reception Banquet Program for Charles Lindbergh, June 14, 1927. Mayor James J. Walker Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

We are all familiar with “This Day in History” reminders. They usually commemorate a notable event or person. On June 11, 1927, for example, President Calvin Coolidge awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross medal to American aviator Charles Lindbergh for his record-breaking non-stop flight across the Atlantic. Two days later, on June 13, New York City celebrated Lindbergh’s achievement with a ticker-tape parade, and on the 14th, the Mayor feted him at gala banquet. These occasions are well documented. But what documentation is there for the non-famous events of an ordinary June 11 in New York City?

This is where the photograph collections of the Municipal Archives demonstrate their exceptional value. Most of the pictures were created by agency staff photographers performing their assigned tasks such as documenting a road construction project, or bridge repair. Their jobs took them to all corners of the city, on a daily basis. And thanks to accurate date and place identification of their images, we can now travel back in time to see what was going on in the city on any given day. And it is probably accurate to say that what we now find fascinating or interesting in these pictures—the signs on the buildings, the cars in the street—often has nothing to do with the intended subject of the picture.   

Let’s take a look at what was going on in New York City on this date, June 11, through the eyes of the city’s dedicated photographers.

Brooklyn Bridge trolley terminal mezzanine, June 11, 1907. Photographer: Eugene de Salignac. Department of Bridges/Plant & Structures Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Eugene de Salignac was staff photographer of the Department of Bridges/Plant & Structures from 1906 to 1934. On June 11, 1907, he was assigned to photograph the Manhattan terminal of the trolley line that ran across the Brooklyn Bridge. His photograph captured City Hall, the Tweed Courthouse, and a tiny slice of the old Hall of Records on the right.

Williamsburg Bridge view of auto truck side, June 11, 1921. Photographer: Eugene de Salignac. Department of Bridges/Plant & Structures Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

On June 11, 1921, Department of Bridges staff photographer Eugene de Salignac took a picture of the agency’s new “Auto truck” near the Williamsburg Bridge.

Vernon Avenue, Queens, June 23, 1905. Photographer: Joseph Palmer. Department of Bridges/Plant & Structures Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Although this photograph dates about two weeks after June 11, it is an excellent example of how the city photographers used serendipitous moments to enhance their images.

Laying paving stones on the Queensboro Bridge, June 11, 1935. Department of Bridges/Plant & Structures Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Automobile accident on the Queensboro Bridge, June 11, 1920. Photographer: Eugene de Salignac.  Department of Bridges/Plant & Structures Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Fourth Avenue, looking south from East 13th Street, Manhattan, June 11, 1926. Photographer: Savastano Studio. Borough President Manhattan Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

More than a century ago, car traffic was already a feature of city life.

Riders on the Central Park Bridle Path, June 1937. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

New Yorkers took advantage of the pleasant June weather in 1937.

NYPD FDNY Intramural baseball game, Polo Grounds, June 11, 1938. New York Police Department Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives. 

The New York Times reported that more than 25,000 spectators at the Polo Grounds watched the New York Fire Department team defeat the Police Department in their annual intramural game. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia threw out the first ball from the grandstand and later presented the Mayor’s Trophy to the victorious Fire Department team.

Ribbon-Cutting, Heliport #2, June 11, 1953. Department of Marine and Aviation Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

On June 11, 1953, Department of Marine and Aviation Commissioner Edward F. Cavanagh, Jr. (center), dedicated Heliport #2, on Pier A in the Hudson River near the Battery.

Police helicopter landing at Heliport #2, June 11, 1953. Department of Marine and Aviation Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

An NYPD helicopter lands at the new Heliport #2 on Pier A during the dedication ceremony.

The Fulton Fish Market: An unpublished Works Progress Administration (WPA) manuscript

Our recent blog highlighting Municipal Archives collections that document the New Deal included a description of the records of the New York City Unit of the WPA Federal Writers’ Project. The NYC FWP provided meaningful employment for more than 300 writers, journalists, editors and photographers during the Great Depression. Although the collection includes research materials and draft manuscripts for 64 books, only a handful were published, notably the New York City Guide, and New York Panorama.

This week we are posting an article about the Fulton Fish Market from one of the unpublished manuscripts – Feeding the City. As is typical of many FWP manuscripts, the name of the author is not clear (it may have been “McLellan”), but it is dated: October 1940.

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“Manhattan Casts its Reflection in East River,” South Street, from pier, ca. 1937. WPA Art Project Photograph. Photographer: Suydam. WPA FWP Collection, Municipal Archives.

No other wholesale market anywhere offers such an extensive supply of sea food as Fulton Fish Market. London’s famous Billingsgate has long been the world’s largest fish market, but in variety Fulton far surpasses it. During the busy season, early spring to late fall, 160 varieties of fishes and shellfishes from all parts of the world are available here to the 1,633  retail outlets that cater to the City’s diverse tastes.

Fishing boats at the dock, East River, November 1937. WPA FWP Photograph. Photographer: E.M. Bofinger. WPA FWP Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives

Delivering halibut, Fulton Fish Market, ca. 1937. Fishery Council Photograph. WPA FWP Collection, Municipal Archives.  

The Department of Markets estimates that no more than one-quarter of these fishes and shellfishes arrive by boat. The bulk is brought in trailer trucks from railroad terminals and points along the coast. Fresh-water fishes such as eels and carps, bought by certain racial groups, are shipped in alive by rail or are water-borne by Hudson River barges. Freshly caught whole fishes come in by the boatload, but gutted and packaged fishes, both fresh and frozen, arrive by truck from sheds and icehouses adjoining the landing piers in the ports of Boston, Gloucester, and New Bedford. Enormous frozen swordfishes, stiff salt cods, and millions of tins of sardines, sprats, tunas, mackerels and kippered herrings arrive by tramp steamers and transatlantic freighters. Not more than 10 per cent comes from waters contiguous to the City. The major portion is from commercial fisheries whose boats operate on the Newfoundland Banks and off the New England coast, from Gulf fisheries, and those of the Pacific coast. The greater part of the live-lobster supply comes from Maine, while from South Africa come large shipments of frozen tails of the spiny lobster. Other varieties of frozen or preserved fishes and shellfishes come to Fulton Fish Market from points as far distant as Japan, the Baltic states, Portugal, North Africa, and Alaska. Dried and flaked fishes are shipped from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, from Maine and Massachusetts. From the Mississippi and its tributaries in the southern States and from the Great Lakes arrive the fresh-water fishes so important in the diet of the City’s Jewish population.

South Street, near Peck Slip, October 1938. WPA Art Project Photograph. Photographer: Libsohn.  WPA FWP Collection, Municipal Archives.   

The day’s work begins in Fulton Market at 2 a.m. when trawlers, draggers, and smacks draw into the docks along the lower East River to discharge their cargoes. Selling begins precisely at 6 a.m. when a gong clangs three times. Buyers, representing jobbers and retailers, scurry among the stalls of the market’s 100 wholesale dealers, making their selections. Stalls are on piers, in the market’s new buildings, and in the nine-block area west of South Street.

Fish vendors, South Street, ca. 1937. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph. Photographer: Clifford Sutcliffe. WPA FWP Collection, Municipal Archives.

Ninety per cent of the market’s sales are handled on a commission basis and selling must be concluded by one o’clock in the afternoon. After the boats unload, workmen begin wielding knives, cleavers, clippers, and scalers, preparing tons of fishes, and arranging them on beds of cracked ice for rush delivery to jobbers and retailers. The action along the waterfront is fast and furious since fish is one of the most perishable of commodities. 

Hundreds of trucks are unloaded along the sidewalks where countless crates, vaporous and dripping wet from over-night refrigeration, are piled high. Empty trucks rumbling away are replaced by others belatedly reaching their destination. Retailers’ and jobbers’ trucks are loading up, a seemingly interminable stream of vehicular traffic.

Sidewalk stand, Fulton Fish Market, October 1937. WPA FWP Photograph. WPA FWP Collection, Municipal Archives.

“Whale and five chickens,” shouts a floor salesman, moving about in thick-soled rubber boots. A handler disappears into a refrigerated compartment and emerges hugging a huge halibut and five small ones. He drops these into a barrel and the “whale and five chickens” are ready to be packed for the last lap of their journey from the salty depths to the neighborhood fish store.

Monday is the big day at Fulton Fish Market. Produce sold on Mondays is in the retailers’ stores on Tuesdays, and so the shrewd housewife does not have to wait until Thursday or Friday to shop for sea food. On Tuesdays, stocks are fresher and larger, and prices are apt to be lower than during the rush later in the week.

When South Street was a cobblestone thoroughfare, unpleasant odors hung over this 200-year-old market. Today odors are being banished, for South Street, 75 feet wide, is now paved with asphalt, and new buildings constructed between Piers 17 to 20 by the Department of Markets form the beginning of a model fish market.

Peck Slip and South Street, ca. 1937. WPA Federal Art Project Photograph. WPA FWP Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

The huskies who man the fishing boats are among the most picturesque of those who go to sea for their living. Many are of Norse origin. Others are down-easters whose Yankee forebears fished the banks along the North Atlantic coast; Portuguese, Italians, and Newfoundlanders also form a large group. Like other seafarers, these fishermen have their superstitions. Few will leave the piers on Fridays. When the Friday morning rush is over, they descend into their cabins and sleep until Saturday morning, or wander along South Street on shopping tours.

The entire supply of sea food once came by boat, but the fishing fleet is gradually diminishing. Skippers in the distant fishing grounds head their craft for home port, to load the catch into railway express cars or specially constructed trucks with insulated bodies, which rush to the wholesale markets. The airplane, too, enters into the picture, bringing from the west coast, southern, and Canadian waters luxury sea food such as turtle, terrapin, salmon, pompano, Florida crabmeat and stone crab, mountain stream trout, and frog’s legs. Many of these expensive products are packed in special tins and cartons for flight to LaGuardia Field, and are trucked to the market or delivered direct to retail outlets, clubs, and hotels.

Peck Slip, between Front and South Streets, ca. 1937. World Telegram Photograph. WPA FWP Collection, Municipal Archives.  

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New Yorkers expect many types of food to be available at stores and markets.  This manuscript shows that this is not something new but a long standing tradition.

Memorial Day

Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia places a wreath on the tomb of Captain Eddy Grant, a former New York Giants third baseman who died in 1918 during the World War I battle at Argonne Forest, France.  LaGuardia was joined by members of the 307th Infantry Regiment during the ceremony at the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan, May 30, 1935.  Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Photograph Collection.  NYC Municipal Archives.

On Memorial Day we honor the men and women who died while serving in the United States military.  Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. 

How to Research the Vital Records Collection

This is the first ‘how to conduct research’ blog in On the Record. It provides essential information about the vital records collections at the Municipal Archives. This blog is adapted from a program Marcia. Kirk recently recorded for a genealogy seminar. A subsequent blog will take us “beyond the basics.” Future blogs by subject-matter experts will provide instructions on how to research other Municipal Archives collections. 

What are vital records, and why are they important? Vital records document major events in a person’s life: people are born, sometimes they get married, and unfortunately, they die.

Historical records of births, deaths and marriages that occurred in New York City are maintained in the Municipal Archives. If the event occurred outside the five boroughs, the record would be on file at the New York State Department of Health in Albany, or in some instances, with the clerk of the local town. Births reported after 1910, and deaths reported after 1948 are available from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and marriages reported after 1949 are available from the Office of the City Clerk.

The holdings of the Municipal Archives include all extant vital records for the five boroughs as well as the towns and villages that were consolidated into the Greater City of New York in 1898. Municipal Archives Genealogy Collections

Researching the records

The birth, death and marriage records are filed and indexed according to the Borough where the event took place.

Most of the vital records are in a certificate format. The certificates are numbered consecutively beginning with certificate number one on January 1 of each year. The records of each Borough are filed separately.

To find a certificate, it is necessary to search an index to identify the Borough, year filed, and the certificate number.

Where are the indexes? 

Most of the indexes are available online. They are available on the local Italian and German genealogy organization website; at www.Ancestry.com; and at www.Familysearch.org. Most online indexes were created by people transcribing and/or machines reading the original hard-copy indexes which means there are mistakes in the online versions.

At the Municipal Archives researchers can view the online indexes as well as the original indexes. Sometimes it is necessary to go to the original indexes when a mistake is found in the on-line version.

Locating a certificate requires the researcher to use an index to search for the Borough, year filed and the certificate number.

Births records:

It is important to note that about 25% of births during the time correlated with the Municipal Archives holdings (prior to 1910) were not reported to City government. Children were born at home and sometimes the family or persons assisting at the birth did not know the requirement or perhaps were not literate in English. More consistent birth registrations began when new legislation was enacted in 1913. (The Municipal Archives birth holdings date prior to 1910.)

When conducting a search in the indexes it is really important to keep the search terms as broad as possible. Sometimes a person’s first name is not what it is thought to be.

I came across an unfamiliar name when researching my own family. I asked my Aunt who said, “oh, that’s cousin Dolly!” Another problem is one I encountered when researching my McCabe ancestors. McCabe is a common name and there are hundreds of people with the same name.

The Municipal Archives collection of birth records totals more than 2 million certificates.  All of them have been digitized. 

This is an unusual example.  The birth certificate documents twins; most of the time there would be two separate certificates numbered consecutively, but in this case, there is one certificate, with two numbers. 

Birth certificates contain lots of good information: the name of the person making the report – usually a doctor, but sometimes a midwife or perhaps a neighbor. There are the basics – name, race, date of birth, father’s name, age, occupation and birthplace. And most important, the mother’s name and her name before marriage, the number of children were born to her previously and the number still living.

Here is another example.

This is the actor Humphrey Bogart’s birth certificate. He was born at the Sloane Maternity Hospital on December 25, 1899. His original name was Bogart de Forest. But his mother’s name was Maude Humphrey. 

Special and Delayed birth certificates. 

They are not what you think. Sometimes, when searching in the birth index there is an “S” or a “D” after the certificate number. “S” means “Special,” and “D” means “Delayed.”

The “Special” and “Delayed” births were called that because the birth was reported to the Health Department long after the child was born, or in some instances, the record was amended (father’s name added, etc.) at a later date.

By the way, the Archives does not correct information on vital records – even if there is an obvious misspelling of a name. If a certificate must be amended for some legal purpose, the Archives staff will not make the change, but will instead provide an official letter stating that any vital record in the Municipal Archives cannot be amended.

In this example, Rosa was born April 2, 1900; however, the record was not filed until 1906. 

This is an example of a birth ledger.  Records for Manhattan and Brooklyn prior to 1866 and the other Boroughs prior to 1898 exist in this format.  The information recorded is essentially the same as would appear on a certificate.   

Geographic Birth Indexes

The standard birth index is arranged by last name. However, we also have another type of index for births – the ‘geographic’ index.  In this index the births are listed by place of birth.

In this example, these card lists all the births that took place at 410 and 411 West 54th Street, in Manhattan between 1880 and 1883.

There are geographic indexes for births from 1880 through 1909 for Manhattan, and from 1898 through 1909 for the other four Boroughs. 

Marriage Records

Marriage records are more complicated because there are two completely separate series:  The Health Department marriage certificates (1866-1937), and the City Clerk “licenses,” (1908-1949). When researching a marriage index, it is important to notice whether the index is for the Health Department certificates, or the City Clerk licenses.

For marriages prior to 1908, the only record is the Health Department certificate. In 1908, New York State passed a law that required any couple wishing to get married to first obtain a license. In New York City, the City Clerk issues these licenses.

The license record consists of three documents: 1) “affidavit,” filled out by the couple; 2) “license” issued by the Clerk; and 3) “certificate” filled out by person who performed the wedding ceremony.

The Health Department certificate series continued through 1937 which means that from 1908 to 1937, there are potentially two marriage records: the Health Department certificate and the City Clerk affidavit, license, and certificate. The basic information on each is the same except the City Clerk license series lists the country of birth of the parents of the bride and groom, and the bride’s occupation.

This is the Health Department record of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt’s 1905 marriage (Eleanor was a distant cousin of Franklin). The marriage was witnessed by Eleanor’s Uncle (and sitting President) Theodore Roosevelt and his wife Edith.

All of the Health Department marriage records have been digitized.

Marriage licenses

The index to the license series is available at www.Ancestry.com and on microfilm at the Municipal Archives. There are more than three million records in this series; digitization is underway. The list below shows the records currently available in digital format.

This is the affidavit F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre filled out for the license to marry at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 1920.

As noted in the above affidavit from F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre, there are three documents. The first is the affidavit filled out by the couple. It shows where they were living – in this case, both F. Scott and Zelda were residing at the same hotel in Manhattan. F. Scott was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. and was 23 years old. His parents’ names and their birthplaces are also recorded, along with his mother’s maiden name. It was his first marriage. Zelda was 19. She did not list an occupation; she was born in Montgomery Alabama.

The next document is the license, which is confusing as the document is titled: “New York State Department of Health.” The license contains essentially the same information as the affidavit.

The third document is the “certificate.  It was filled-out by the officiant and signed by the officiant and witnesses. It’s always a good idea to pay attention to the witnesses; you might find out about other family members and close friends.

F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre’s marriage license.

The next document is the license, and this is where it gets confusing as the document is titled: “New York State Department of Health.”  The license contains essentially the same information as the affidavit. 

F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre’s marriage certificate.

The third document is the “certificate. It was filled-out by the officiant and signed by the officiant and witnesses. It’s always a good idea to pay attention to the witnesses; you might find out about other family members and close friends.

Death records.

Information on the death certificate was not provided by the person in question, for obvious reasons. The information was supplied by someone other than the deceased, usually a family member. But because the information is supplied by someone other than the deceased, there can be mistakes. It’s best to keep that in mind when using information on death certificates. Another important point is that death certificates were filed according to the place of death, not the place of usual residence, or the burial place. 

Death certificates always indicate the place of burial. If the place is listed as “City Cemetery,” that means the “Potter’s Field” on Hart Island. The Archives has the burial records for the City Cemetery, in ledger format, on microfilm, dating from 1872 to the 1980s, but there are big gaps from the late 1950s through the 1970s due to loss of records from water damage from flooding on the Island. Also, note that the City Cemetery burial records are not indexed; names are listed by date of burial.  We suggest using the death certificate indexes to identify the date.

There are more than five million death certificates in the Municipal Archives collection. All death certificates filed in The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island have been digitized. The Manhattan certificates are partially digitized. The list below provides the description of what is currently available in digital format.

George Herman Ruth’s death certificate.

In this example, the deceased had been living at 110 Riverside Drive in Manhattan for 26 years. He was married. George Herman Ruth is of course the famous baseball player, Babe Ruth. He died in 1948 of natural causes and is buried in Gate of Heaven Cemetery which is in Westchester County.

Going back to the City Cemetery for a minute, we do have the burial records, in ledger format, on microfilm, dating from 1872 to the 1980s, but there are big gaps from the late 1950s through the 1970s due to loss of records from water damage due to floods on the Island. Also, note that the City Cemetery burial records are not indexed; names are listed by date of burial. We suggest using the death certificate indexes to identify the date.   

How to Access Vital Records

Although the Municipal Archives facilities remain closed to the public, copies of records may be ordered online or via regular mail. If the record has been digitized and you would like a PDF copy, we can email the record within about five days. PDF copies are not certified, however. If you request a record that has not been digitized, or if you need a certified hard copy, the current processing time can be eight weeks or longer.

Here are the certificates that are available in digital format:

We look forward to helping our patrons research their New York City roots and providing more in-depth ‘how-to’ guides to our rich collections.