NYGenWeb
Westchester County, NY
Westchester County, NY
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Westchester County, NY |
This page was last updated: Sunday, 25-Jan-2004 18:05:15 MST
West Farms was a town originally located in Westchester County, until 1873 when it was annexed by New York city. In 1898 it was incorporated into The Bronx County which is one of the New York City counties/buroughs. When looking for vital records for the town of Westchester, you will need to check both counties, as well as the records located at the NYC Municipal Arhives. See also the Eastchester Historical Society.
Boundaries: "The patent for West Farms was granted to John Richardson and Edward Jessup April 25, 1666. 'Bounded east by the river called by the Indians Aquehung, otherwise Bronks river, westerly by a little brook called by the Indians Sackwrahung, and southward to the Sound at East river, including a certain neck called Quinahung.' Edward Jessup had a daughter Elizabeth, who married Thomas Hunt, and his part came into their possession. The whole was divided in 1669. Thomas Hunt having the part still known as 'Hunt's Point.'"
Source: Early Wills of Westchester County, New York 1664-1784 by William S. Pelletreau, Am. M.; Pub. 1898; page 6, footnote.
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 web page for the New York State Dept. of Health can be found at http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/consumer/vr.htm. Also, check out the following web pages: http://www.vitalchek.com/us/ny.html
Records include those for the Town of Westchester, including Morrisania, which are now located in The Bronx County, NY, and the Village of Mount Vernon (before it became a city in its own right).
Membership includes subscriptions to The Bronx County Historical Journal, published semi-annually, and The Bronx Historian Newsletter. There are a variety of membership categories, each having a different fee. Two categories are individual for $20 and Senior Citizen for $15. Write the Society for details of membership categories. The Society also has a large selection of publications for purchase. Ask for their brochure which gives details of available publications and their respective pricings.
http://home.att.net/~Local_Catholic -- There are currently 72 RC parishes in the Bronx, 25 in the South Bronx. Site also gives history of some local parishes, NY cemetery information and links to many other related sites.
See the above entry under churches.
The Westchester County Historical Society also 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. Check the "current cemeteries" list on the attached page for their address: cemetery listing.
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?
The Map Division of the New York Public Research Library, which is located in Manhattan, has an extensive map collection.
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.
Some census information for Westchester county can be found at the Census page.
The only NY State censuses which survived are for the years 1905, 1915, and 1925. Check at your local LDS Family History Center for these films.
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.
Fuller, Elizabeth Griffen. Index to Westchester County Names in the Federal Censuses, 1790-1840 [Elmsford: Westchester Cty. Historical Society] 1994.
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://moa.cit.cornell.edu/MOA/bookp.html
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 above.
For other books with information relating to this town but covering a county-wide level, see the County section of the Bibliography page.
If you know of any notable residents from this town, please contact the county coordinator at chorn@bestweb.net about adding them to this section and please identify when the person resided here as well as why you consider them to be notable.
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 contact the county coordinator at chorn@bestweb.net about adding it to this page.
See the Military & War Links page for more information.
As we find information relating specifically to this town, we'll post it here. If you have any such information or know of other web pages to link to, please contact the county coordinator at chorn@bestweb.net with particulars.
Have you a Loyalist in your family tree? If so, the Loyalist page may be of interest to you. If you have any specific information relating to this town and loyalists, please contact this county coordinator at chorn@bestweb.net about adding the information to this page.
See the article entitled "Annexed to New York" found in the 1873 issue of Harper's Weekly.
If you have a scanned picture relating to any location within Westchester and would like to add it to this site, please contact the county coordinator at chorn@bestweb.net with particulars.
The following are some links to surname web pages of researchers in Westchester but none specifically associated with this town/city/village. http://www.rootsweb.com/~nywestch/surnames.htm
Rootsweb.com has Some Query boards where you can post a query for others to view. Or join the Westchester mailing list and correspond with other Westchester researchers.
Return to Westchester County's Town Index page.
Return to the main page for Westchester County at NYGenWeb.
Return to the NYGenWeb web site.
© 1996-2004 Cathy Horn. All rights reserved.
This web site was designed by and has been exclusively maintained since November 1996 by Cathy Horn.