Columbia County Free Genealogy Resources

Welcome to Holly’s webpage featuring links to Columbia County free genealogy resources. Be sure to bookmark this page so you can use it as a research guide. To stay informed about updates to this page, you are invited to join the Columbia County Genealogy Group on Facebook, where announcements will be made about the new resources that are added.

Some of the collections included are from the FamilySearch library catalog and are browsable only. This means they are not electronically indexed. They are digitized images from microfilm collections. For the browsable-only collections, the links provide the image number(s) of the pertinent records.

Columbia County free genealogy resources

You can scroll down to view all of the resources, or jump to a specific category by clicking one of the links below.

Categories


Bible Records

Typed transcriptions of family bible entries

Elting Family Bible, Collection [of cemetery records], Image 170

Hallenbeck Family Bible, Collection [of cemetery records], Images 157-158

Kipp Family Bible, Collection [of cemetery records], Image 166

Lasher, Savage, Starkweather Families, The Columbia, 1985 (volume 1), issue 2

Peterson Family, The Columbia – 1985 (Volume 1), issue 3

Shaffer Family Bible, Columbia County, New York, cemeteries private and scattered, Images 161-165

Stone Family, Collection [of cemetery records], Images Images 159-160

Taylor, Palmer Families, The Columbia, 1985 (volume 1), issue 1

Van Valkenberg Family Bible, Collection [of cemetery records], Image 167

Winslow Family Bible Records, Collection [of cemetery records], Images 168-169


Cemetery Inscriptions

Typed transcriptions listed alphabetically by location

Austerlitz, First Austerlitz Cemetery, Columbia County, New York, cemeteries private and scattered, Images 5-12

Austerlitz Village Cemetery, Columbia County, New York, cemeteries private and scattered, Images 13-22

Austerlitz, Green River Cemetery, Columbia County, New York, cemeteries private and scattered, Images 23-30

Chatham, Various Cemeteries, The Columbia, 1985 (volume 1), issues 1-4

Claverack, Dutch Reformed Church, Gravestone inscriptions in Columbia County, New York

Craryville, Unnamed Cemetery, Cemetery inscriptions of New York and Pennsylvania, Images 1020-1022

Ghent (West), Dutch Reformed Church, Gravestone inscriptions in Columbia County, New York

Ghent, Transcriptions of Private Cemeteries on the Farms of John Bartel, Irving Kittle and Everette Ostrander – Cemetery inscriptions, Ghent, Columbia County, New York, Images 455-459

Greenport, Cemetery of the Mount Pleasant Dutch Reformed Church, Collection [of cemetery records], Images 91-124

Harlemville, Unnamed Cemetery, Cemetery inscriptions of New York and Pennsylvania, Images 1023-1026

Harlemville German Lutheran Cemetery, The Columbia, 1985 (volume 1), issue 4

Hillsdale, Krum Church Cemetery, New York, Cemetery Abstracts, 1800-1965

Hillsdale Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery, Cemetery inscriptions of New York and Pennsylvania, Images 1011-1014

Hillsdale, Bell (Old Methodist) Cemetery, Cemetery inscriptions of New York and Pennsylvania, Images 1015-1019

Malden Bridge, Chatham Union Cemetery, The Columbia

Philmont (Hamlet of Mellenville), Union Cemetery, Cemetery inscriptions of New York and Pennsylvania, Images 1027-1029

Spencertown Cemetery Records, Columbia County, New York, cemeteries private and scattered, Images 31-80

Various Locations, Multiple Cemeteries, Gravestone inscriptions, Columbia County, New York, copied and edited by Milton Thomas

Various Locations, Multiple Cemeteries, Columbia County, New York, cemeteries private and scattered, copied by Harriet H.K. van Alstyne

Various Locations, Multiple Cemeteries, Gravestone inscriptions in Columbia County, New York copied and compiled by Gertrude A. Barber


Census Records and Tax Lists

Early tax lists

1720 List of the Freeholders of the City and County of Albany – Page 372 includes individuals from Kinderhook, Livingston and Claverack. An additional transcribed list can be found through NYGenWeb.

1744 Kinderhook Tax List – NYgenweb

1763 Census taken as part of Albany County – Genealogy Trails

1766 Claverack Tax List – New York History and Genealogy Network

1767 Claverack Tax List – New York History and Genealogy Network

1779 Claverack District Tax Lists – The Columbia, 1985 (volume 1), issues 1-4; 1986 – (volume 2), issue 1

1779 Kinderhook Land and Personal Tax Lists – Empire State Society, Sons of the American Revolution, March 1779 and October 1779

1779 Tax List for King’s District (Canaan and New Lebanon) – USGENWEB

1797 Hudson Tax List – New York History and Genealogy Network

1801 Chatham Roads Tax List – The Columbia, 1985 (volume 1), issues 1-4; 1986 – (volume 2), issues 1-2

State Census Records

1855 New York State Census

1865 New York State Census

1875 New York State Census

1905 New York State Census

1915 New York State Census

1925 New York State Census


Church Records

Typed transcriptions listed alphabetically by location

Ancram, St. John’s Lutheran Church, 1835-1881 – Collection of Rhinebeck, New York, records Baptisms, marriages and deaths, Images 191-226

Canaan, Records of the Congregational Church and Society of New Canaan, at Canaan Four Corners, in the town of Canaan, Columbia County, N.Y – Includes family record of births 1740-1805; baptisms 1807-1858, 1868-1876; members; marriages 1807-1829, 1848-1856; deaths 1807-1835; pew lists.

Canaan, Records of the First Presbyterian Church of Canaan at Canaan Center in the town of Canaan, Columbia County, N.Y. – Includes baptisms 1830-1843, marriages 1830-1836, members 1830-1854, members received and dismissed.

Camp German Reformed Records, 1723-1793 – Collection of Rhinebeck, New York, records – Baptisms and marriages, Images 105-118

Chatham, Chatham Center Methodist Church Marriages, 1877 to 1900

Chatham, Marriages of Columbia County Residents at the Reformed Dutch Protestant Church of Chatham, 1843-1873

Chatham, The records of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Chatham, Columbia County, New York, 1843-1901

Chatham, Quaker Monthly Meeting Records, 1819-1867 – Quaker meeting records, state of New York : Ulster County, Columbia County, Albany County, Clinton County – Marriages and removal certificates

Churchtown Records, 1729-1848 – Collection of Rhinebeck, New York, records – Baptisms and marriages, Images 104-113

Claverack, Records of the Reformed Church at Claverack, New York, 1726-1881 – Microfilm of photocopy of original handwritten records (5 v.) made by the New York State Library in 1938 in possession of the New York State Library, Albany, New York.

Copake Methodist Church, 1853-1868 – The Columbia – Marriage records, 1986 – (volume 2), issues 1-2

Germantown, Records of the German Reformed Church of The Camp, now Germantown, Columbia County, N.Y. : commencing September 7, 1729 and ending February 5, 1849 – Contains baptisms with birth dates, 1729-1849, marriages, 1736-1849; members, 1739-1844; pastors, 1728-1842.

Ghent, Christ’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Cemetery inscriptions, Ghent, Columbia County, New York – Birth, baptism, marriage, death records, church history and administrative records, 1801-1910, Images 3-252

Ghent, Dutch Reformed Church, known as Christ Church, Cemetery inscriptions, Ghent, Columbia County, New York – Birth, baptism, marriage, death records, church history and administrative records, 1775-1919, Images 253-454

Green River Congregational Church, 1792-1852 – The Columbia – Baptisms, membership lists – 1985 (volume 1), issues 1-4; 1986 – (volume 2), issue 1

Greenport, Members of the Mount Pleasant Dutch Reformed Church – Record of Deaths and Dismissals, Collection [of cemetery records] Images 125-144

Hillsdale, Baptismal Records for Nobletown and Hillsdale, 1770-1793

Hillsdale, Baptisms performed for Nobletown (Hillsdale) residents by Rev. Roger Viets of the Episcopal Parish St. Andrew’s Church in Simsbury, Connecticut, 1764, 1766

Hudson, First Presbyterian Church, 1799-1845 – Births/baptisms and deaths – The Columbia: 1985 (volume 1), issues 2-4; 1986 – (volume 2), issue 1

Hudson, Some Early Marriages From the Records of the Methodist Church, 1822-1838

Hudson Quaker Records, 1793-1838 – Marriage and removal records – The Columbia, 1985 (volume 1), issues 1-3

Hudson – Marriage ceremonies [1831-1849] performed by Rev. C.F. LeFevre – The collection contains marriages performed by Rev. LeFevre in multiple cities, including Hudson between 1840 and 1844

Kinderhook Reformed Church, 1716-1758 – Listing of heads of families (1729 only), Membership lists, 1716-1758 – The Columbia, 1986 – (volume 2), issues 1-2

Kinderhook Reformed Church, Births or Christenings, 1718-1864 – New York, Church Records, 1660-1954

Linlithgo Records, 1724-1856 – Baptisms and marriages – Collection of Rhinebeck, New York, records, Images 93-103

Livingston Manor and Greenbush now called Mount Ross Reformed Dutch Church – Includes baptisms, 1748-1872, marriages, 1768-1870, and lists of members. Originated in 1748 as Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in the Town of Ancram and rebuilt in 1823 as Gallatin Reformed Church. Also known as Stissing, Livingston Manor, Greenbush and Vedder.

Spencertown Methodist Church – Baptisms (1867-1868); Marriages, 1838-1843 –The Columbia, 1985 (volume 1), issue 4

Spencertown – The records of St. Peter’s Presbyterian Church of Spencertown, Columbia County, New York, 1827-1918

Valatie, First Presbyterian Church, 1872-1891 – Baptisms


Directories And Gazetteers

1789-1886, Civil list of Columbia County, and official hand-book…

1844, Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Kinderhook Academy

1850-1900, Hudson City Directories

1871-1872, Gazetteer and business directory of Columbia County

1876-1877, The Hudson directory, for 1876-7 : containing the names of the inhabitants, business directory

1880-1881, Lawrence & Co’s Columbia County directory 


Family Papers & Records

Wilson Family Papers, 1790-1859 – This resource contains a list of individuals included in the Wilson family collection, who were authors of letters or those who signed documents. There is no particular alphabetical or chronological arrangement. Although transcriptions of the list in later issues do seem to have some sort of alphabetical order. The Columbia: 1985 (volume 1), issues 1-4; 1986 – (volume 2), issues 1-2

Hallenbeck Family of Greenport – birth and death information 1835-1932, Images 148-156

Van Allen Family Papers – Tracing the Van Allen family line from the earliest recorded generation in the 1690s up to the early 1900s.


Genealogies/Biographical Sketches

American ancestry : giving the name and descent, in the male line, of Americans whose ancestors settled in the United States previous to the Declaration of Independence, A.D., 1776“. This 12-volume set published in the 1880s highlights Columbia County in volume 2 and is arranged alphabetically by surname.

Best: The Family of Best in America of Holland Descent

Brown: A newsletter from the Brown Family Genealogical Society. This newsletter includes some information on Brown family members in Columbia County.

Koon/Coon: Koon and Coons families of eastern New York : a history of the descendants of Matthias Kuntz and Samuel Kuhn (two distinct families) who came with the Palatine immigration from Germany and settled on the Hudson River in New York in 1710

Palmer: Palmer family genealogy, 1621-1957

Rees/Race: The Rees/Race family in America : descendants of Andries (Race) Rees and Celitje Jans

Son: The Son Family of Columbia County, New York and Wisconsin

Ten Broeck: The Ten Broeck Genealogy

VanDeursen: The Van Deursen Family

Van Rensselaer: Genealogy article in American Historical Magazine

Waltermire: Waltermire family tree : the descendants of George (Jury) Waldenmeyer, emigrant to America

Wilkenson: Memoirs of the Wilkenson Family in America


Histories

Columbia County at the end of the century : a historical record of its formation and settlement, its resources, its institutions, its industries, and its people

History of Columbia County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers

The parsonage between two manors; annals of Clover-Reach (Claverack)

A history of Hillsdale, Columbia County, New York : a memorabilia of persons and things of interest, passed and passing, with an appendix

A History of Old Kinderhook from Aboriginal Days to the Present Time

History of the City of Hudson, New York


Land Records

FamilySearch is in the midst of a multi-year indexing project for all New York State land records. As of December 2020, Columbia County records have not been electronically indexed. However, there are digital copies of the original handwritten index ledgers.

Deed records, 1772-1925. This collection contains:

  • Original Deed Index Ledgers (divided by grantee and grantor), 1772-1925
  • Original Deeds, 1786-1900

Maps

1686 Map of Kinderhook Patent

1756, Division of the Great Kinderhook Patent

1798, A map of the towns of Livingston, Germantown, and Clermont in the County of Columbia : compiled from actual surveys

1829, David H Burr’s Atlas of New York State

1858, Landowner Map

1873, Atlas of Columbia County New York

1886-1913, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps


Military

Revolutionary War Soldiers Buried in Columbia County, New York

Naturalization Records

1916-1932 Naturalization Records

This collection is a part of the larger, New York State naturalization collection available on FamilySearch.


Newspapers

Old Fulton NY Postcards – Contrary what the name implies, this site is actually a historic newspaper website that contains archives of over 1,000 New York newspapers, along with collections from other states and Canada. This site is a phenomenal resource, but can be a bit difficult to navigate. For an alternative search interface, you can utilize the search engine at FultonSearch.org. Old Fulton NY Postcards contains the following Columbia County newspapers, however the site does not necessarily have every issue within the date spans indicated.

Chatham Courier (1867-1967)Kinderhook Advertiser (1917-1942)
Chatham Republican (1886-1903)Kinderhook Herald (1825-1830)
Columbia Republican (1887-1923)Kinderhook Rough Notes (1830,1831; 1854-1879)
Hudson Daily Star (1851-1875)Kinderhook Sentinel (1836-1854; 1940-1941)
Hudson Evening Register (1867-1944)Philmont Sentinel (1882-1926)
Hudson Weekly Star (1858-1875)

NYS Historic Newspapers – The New York Historic Newspapers project exists to digitize and make freely available for research significant runs of historic newspapers for every county in the state. The site contains issues of the following Columbia County newspapers (as of March 2022).

  • Chatham Courier (Chatham Four Corners) 1862-1903
  • The Chatham Courier (Chatham) 1907-1967
  • The Chatham Republican (Chatham) 1886-1918
  • Chatham Semi-Weekly Courier (Chatham) 1903-1907
  • The Columbia Republican (Hudson) 1881-1923
  • The Columbia Washingtonian (Hudson) 1842-18??
  • Kinderhook Herald (Kinderhook) 1825-1832
  • Northern Whig (Hudson) 1809-1827

Roeliff Jansen Community Library Digital Newspaper Archives:

Hudson River Valley Heritage Historical Newspapers has digital images of over 1,000 issues of the Chatham Courier between 1862 and 1923 and more than 150 issues of the Chatham Republican, spanning between 1886 and 1895.


Probate Records

Abstracts of Wills of Columbia County, New York, 1786-1828. The available dates cover the four volumes (of an eight-volume set) available digitally on FamilySearch.

Guardianship Papers, 1802-1812 – The Columbia, 1985 (volume 1), issues 2-4; 1986 – (volume 2), issues 1-2

County Surrogate’s Court Records, 1786-1920, containing:

  • 1786-1904 – Wills
  • 1788-1966 – Index to Wills and Letters
  • 1787-1904 – Letters Testamentary
  • 1802-1898 – Guardian Bonds & Papers
  • 1822-1920 – Minutes of Court Proceedings
  • 1827-1880 – Administration Papers
  • 1830-1880 – Estate Papers
  • 1880-1939 – General Index
  • 1880-1901 – Decrees on Settlements of Accounts
  • 1890-1903 – Administration Bonds

This probate collection is currently not electronically indexed on FamilySearch. However there are digital copies of the original handwritten will index ledgers. An easier option is to use the SAMPUBCO (short for Samuelsen Publishing Company) website to conduct an electronic search of Columbia County will indexes.

Most, but not all, of the FamilySearch probate records are available through Ancestry.com, in their New York Wills and Probate collection. So, if you have an Ancestry subscription, that is your best bet for searching the broadest possible set of electronically indexed probate records available online.


Vital Records

10,000 Vital Records of Eastern New York, 1777-1834

Austerlitz marriage records, 1847-1848 – The Columbia, 1985 (volume 1), issue 3; 1986 – (volume 2), issue 2

Death notices, Dutchess and Columbia County, New York, 1859-1918 from Red Hook newspapers

Hudson, N.Y. deaths and marriages, 1840-1846 : from Rural repository

New York, Birth Indexes outside of New York City, 1881-1942

New York State Marriage Index, 1881-1964

New York State Death Index, 1880-1956


Before you go…..

If you have any questions about the Columbia County free genealogy resources you find through the links on this page, be sure to send Holly an email inquiry.

Also, before you go, remember to:

  • Bookmark this page for future reference
  • Come back to leave a comment if you make any family history discoveries!
  • Join the Columbia County New York Genealogy Facebook Group if you are interested in getting involved with an online community of family history researchers
  • View the other pages on Holly’s website to learn more about her research specializations and services