The announcement we never saw coming…
It’s not for nothing that New York in general — and New York City in particular — is called the black hole of northern genealogy.
From records loss on one side — can we say “New York Capitol Fire,” boys and girls? — to records access limits on the other (“sure we have it but you can’t see it at all or maybe if you pay a big fee…”), well… let’s just say that research in the Empire State and the Big Apple isn’t the easiest thing to do.
And it’s particularly the records access issue that’s been a huge issue in New York City.
That’s where, you may recall, a rule was put into effect in 2017 despite the overwhelming opposition of the public, closing the city’s birth and death records away from public access for decades — 125 years for births and 75 years for deaths.1
And it’s where there’s been a running battle, for years, being fought by Reclaim the Records for access, using the freedom of information laws as bludgeons when the city hasn’t budged.2
So it’s literally a jaw-dropper for The Legal Genealogist and much of the rest of the genealogical community to see the Twitter hint yesterday and the official announcement this morning by the New York City Municipal Archives that it has launched free online access to millions of historical vital records.
Officially launched this morning, The NYC Historical Vital Records Project is, the page says, the result of he New York City Municipal Archives “undertaking a mass digitization project to provide online access to 13.3 million historical birth, death, and marriage records.”3 Some 9.3 million records are available in this initial launch, with another four million yet to come. (The site reports digitization at 70% (9,318,625 of 13.3 million records).4
So… what’s included? Lots of goodies:
The Bronx
• Births: 1872 to 1873, 1876, 1888 to 1891, 1895 to 1909
• Deaths: 1898 to 1948
• Marriages: 1898 to 1937
Kings (Brooklyn)
• Births: 1866 to 1909
• Deaths: 1862 to 1948
• Marriages: 1866 to 1937
Manhattan
• Births: 1855, 1857 to 1861, 1863 to 1865, 1866 to 1909
• Deaths: 1866 to 1867, 1871 to 1875, 1920 to 1930
• Marriages: 1866 to 1937
Queens
• Births: 1866, 1876, 1883, 1886, 1888 to 1909
• Deaths: 1898 to 1948
• Marriages: 1898 to 1937
Richmond (Staten Island)
• Births: 1898 to 1909
• Deaths: 1898 to 1948
• Marriages: 1898 to 19375
Note that the gaps don’t mean the records aren’t available; in many cases it’s just that they’re not yet digitized (four million to come, remember). Charts on the the Digital Vital Records indicate whether records exist and may yet to be digitized.
The search system — in beta, so be a bit forgiving of glitches, okay? — allows searching by certificate number or last name. Users can also browser through the records by certificate type, borough and year range. Special kudos here to the Genealogy Federation of Long Island, which “generously provided volunteers to transcribe original hard-copy indexes to a database format”6 — a critical step in making the records searchable online.
Definitely an announcement we never saw coming…
And one we’re all so very glad to see.
Cite/link to this post: Judy G. Russell, “NYC historical vital records go online!,” The Legal Genealogist (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : posted 16 Mar 2022).
SOURCES
- See Judy G. Russell, “Fighting for NYC records,” The Legal Genealogist, posted 9 Oct 2017 (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : accessed 16 Mar 2022). ↩
- See generally Reclaim the Records, and particularly its New York City Records Requests page (https://www.reclaimtherecords.org/ : accessed 16 Mar 2022). ↩
- New York City Municipal Archives, Historical Vital Records (https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/ : accessed 16 Mar 2022). ↩
- Ibid., “About.” ↩
- Ibid., “Digital Vital Records.” ↩
- Ibid., “About.” ↩
Magical … Thanks, Judy! Thanks so much for alerting us ….
I now have a colour copy (yellowed) of a 1941 death certificate — this shows the original signature of my wife’s grandfather, as well as details of his mother, uncle (the deceased) and his grandparents.
A much better quality version than the black-and-white certified copy I purchased online several year’s back – so this a a major, major treat for the genealogical community.
Excellent!
Thanks for the update! I’m currently writing a paper on a friend’s New York family which was going to end with having to get vitals from NYC for further research. This will help so much! Can’t wait to go check.
WOW – Great news indeed. I was able to find the death certificate for my great great uncle.
Thanks Judy for sharing this and thanks to the volunteers at Genealogy Federation of Long Island for transcribing the indexes.
It’s really good news — for a change! 🙂
Such good news! I once spent an entire day searching microfilm in City Hall, only to find as closing time approached, that there was one microfilm reel kept behind the clerk’s desk that revealed my grandfather’s birth. Why that particular film was hidden, I’ll never know. I’m just glad I asked!
I believe that the lawsuits by Reclaim the Records had already forced most of these records to be released and published on line for free use. Basically, the Municipal Archives had lost every FOIA suit and why wouldn’t they release them now after Reclaim the Records had already done the work.
The efforts of Reclaim the Records are mentioned in the blog post. RTR is quick to criticize NYC — justly — when it deserves it. But even RTR is giving NYC credit on this one — this is a whole ‘nother digitization effort.
“.. New York in general — and New York City in particular — is called the black hole of northern genealogy.” Really? I believe that New Jersey should be awarded this title.
I suspect those who encounter issues anywhere will describe that specific area this way, but NJ has (overall) fewer records loss issues than NY.
Actually I was referring to records availability online. As far as I know No death records (even transcriptions) are available.
“It’s not online” doesn’t BEGIN to compare to “it burned in the Capitol Fire.” Loads of genealogically valuable records exist but aren’t online. That’s not what makes a jurisdiction qualify as a black hole. “The record doesn’t exist” is reason #1.
How does this look?
Source List Entry: (Bibliography)
New York. New York County. Digital Images of Birth Certificates, 1855–1909. New York City Municipal Archives. «i»Historical Vital Records«/i». https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/ : 2022.
First Reference Note: (Citation) [Overridden]
New York County, New York, Birth Certificate, Manhattan Borough, no. 0040290, Marco Palmieri, 26 July 1908; digital image, New York City Municipal Archives. «i»Historical Vital Records«/i». (https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/ : accessed 16 March 2022.
Subsequent Note: (Repeated Citation) [Overridden]
New York County, New York, Birth Certificate, Manhattan Borough, no. 0040290, Marco Palmieri, 26 July 1908.
Far be it from me to ever criticize someone else’s citation formats…
OMG! So glad I saw this! Thank you for posting!
Within a few minutes on the site, I was amazed to find a copy of the birth certificate from 1894 for a friend’s ancestor in Brooklyn—after years of frustration and a fruitless trip to NYC. What a thrill!!
I was planning to order my grandparent’s marriage certificate next month to try to glean some address information. Now I’m able to see it immediately and for free. What a great resource!
I would like, birth certificates, marriage certificate, baptismal certificates of John Stephen Krizan and Anna Theresa Krizan (Lacko) Thank you
You can look for them on the referenced website. Good luck!
Do you know if there is any chance that the rest of New York State will be put online any time soon?
I have no reason to think that’s likely.