Primary Sources for New Netherland

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Important primary sources for New Netherland are church records, court minutes, and other contemporary historical accounts. Most of these were originally recorded in the Dutch language, but many are available in published translations. Researchers continue to translate these documents. When multiple translations are available, preference should be given to newer translations done be reputable researchers and published by reputable institutions such as the New Netherland Institute or a university publishing house.

A Guide to Dutch Manuscripts Relating to New Netherland (archived PDF) by Dr. Charles Gehring (1977-1978; updated by others in 2010-2012) is a catalog of primary source material located in repositories throughout the United States. (Note: Some hyperlinks in the PDF file no longer work.)

Wills, property deeds, and notarial deeds also are valuable primary sources.

Many primary records are now available (and more continue to be added) by New York State Archives at the website Dutch Records: Researching New York's Dutch Heritage. This includes many items not listed on this page.

Information below focuses primarily on materials that are available online.

If you are aware of additional sources that should be added to this list, but don't have edit access to this page, please post a profile message with details about the source(s) to be added.

Church Records

See Baptism and Marriage Records of the Dutch Reformed Church of New Netherland and Beyond for information on church records and where to find them.

Court Transcripts

New York

• Fernow, Berthold. The Records of New Amsterdam From 1653 to 1674 Anno Domini: Minutes of the Court of Burgomasters and Schepens (The Knickerbocker Press, 1897)

Deeds

New Jersey

See New Jersey Land Records and Deeds 1660-present for more details

• Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey Vol. 21. (The Daily Journal Establishment, Newark, New Jersey, 1880-1949)

New York

• Van Laer, Arnold J. F., and Jonathan Pearson. Early Records of the City and County of Albany and Colony of Rensselaerswyck (Albany, J. Munsell/The University of the State of New York), 1869-1919

4 volumes; includes deeds, notarial papers, mortgages, and wills

• Collections of the New-York Historical Society Vol. 46 (New York)

Documents

New York

• O'Callaghan, Edmund Bailey. The Documentary History of the State of New-York (Charles Van Benthuysen, Public Printer, 1849-)
• O'Callaghan, Edmund Bailey. Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New-York (Weed, Parsons, Albany, 1853-1887)

1 Holland 1603-1656; 2 Holland 1657-1678; 3 London 1614-1692; 4 London 1693-1706; 5 London 1707-1733; 6 London 1734-1755; 7 London 1756-1767; 8 London 1768-1782; 9 Paris 1631-1744; 10 Paris 1745-1774; 11 Index; 12 Delaware; 13 Hudson and Mohawk River Settlements (except Albany) and Native Americans; 14 Long Island; 15 Revolution

• O'Callaghan, E. B. Calendar of Historical Manuscripts in the Office of the Secretary of State, Albany, N.Y. Albany: Weed, Parsons and Company, Printers, 1865.
  • Calendar of Historical Manuscripts: Dutch
  • Calendar of Historical Manuscripts: English

Orphan Masters

• Fernow, Berthold. The Minutes of the Orphanmasters of New Amsterdam, 1655 to 1663 (New York: F.P. Harper)
• Banta, Theodore M. Dutch Records in the City Clerk's Office, New York I & II. New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1900. p. 11-22. Archive

Wills and Probate Records

Many original wills (or court transcripts of the wills) and probate records are recorded on FamilySearch microfilms and are increasingly becoming available online as digital images. Sources for these include FamilySearch.org (free with registration), Ancestry.com (paid subscription required), and AmericanAncestors.org (paid membership required). Some specific sources for wills, will abstracts, and similar documents are identified below.

Delaware

• Colonial Dames of Delaware. A Calendar of Delaware Wills, New Castle County, 1682-1800 (Baltimore, 1911)

New Jersey

See New Jersey Wills and Probate 1660-present for more details

• Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey (The Daily Journal Establishment, Newark, New Jersey, 1880-1949)
  "Calendar of New Jersey wills": [Vol. 23], [Vol. 30] (wills 1730-1750), [Vol. 32], [Vol. 33], [Vol. 34], [Vol. 35], [Vol. 36], [Vol. 37]

New York

Transcripts of many New York probate files are now (as of 2023) available on Ancestry.com ($subscription required). Some are also available on FamilySearch are other online sources. Most of the following sources are abstracts and indexes, which can be invaluable:

• "New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-24571-30053-3?cc=1920234&wc=9VSM-BZ3:213301001,214984001 : accessed 24 May 2015), Albany > Wills 1629-1802 vol AQ-AS 112 > image 2 of 764; county courthouses, New York. (note: goes to Albany, link in breadcrumb bar leads to other cities)
• Collections of the New-York Historical Society (New York)
  "Abstracts of Wills on File in the Surrogate's Office, City of New York": [Vol. 25 - 1], [Vol. 26 - 2], [Vol. 27 - 3], [Vol. 28 - 4], [Vol. 29 - 5], [Corrections 1-5], [Vol. 30 - 6], [Vol. 31 - 7], [Vol. 32 - 8], [Vol. 33 - 9], [Corrections 6-9], [Vol. 34 - 10], Vol. 35 - 11: Unrecorded Wills, [Vol. 36 - 12], [Vol. 37 - 13], [Vol. 38 - 14], [Vol. 39 - 15],
• Fernow, Berthold. Calendar of Wills on File and Recorded in the Offices of the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, of the County Clerk at Albany, and of the Secretary of State, 1626-1836 (New York: Colonial Dames of the State of New York, 1896)
• Van Laer, Arnold J. F., and Jonathan Pearson. Early Records of the City and County of Albany and Colony of Rensselaerswyck (Albany, J. Munsell/The University of the State of New York), 1869-1919

4 volumes; includes deeds, notarial papers, mortgages, and wills

Kings County (abstracts)

• "Kings County, N. Y., Wills" in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. vol. 47 (1916). New York, N.Y.: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. page 161 and Page 227.

Ulster County

• "Ulster County, N.Y. Probate Records." Ulster County, N.Y. Probate Records

Westchester County

• Pelletreau, William S, and Fredrick Haviland. Early Wills of Westchester County, New York, from 1664 to 1784: A Careful Abstract of All Wills (nearly 800) Recorded in New York Surrogate's Office and at White Plains, N.Y., from 1664 to 1784. New York: F.P. Harper, 1898. Print.

Family Bible Transcripts

• Talcott, S.V. Genealogical Notes of New York and New England Families (Weed, Parsons and Co. in Albany, N.Y., 1883) Page 425-453
• Robison, Jeannie. Genealogical Records, Manuscript Entries of Births, Deaths and Marriages Taken From Family Bibles, 1581-1917 (The Colonial Dames of the State of New York, New York, 1917)
• Holland Society of New York, Family Bible Records. Digitized records and record transcripts for over 50 New Netherland families are posted online. Others are listed that are not online, but may be available from the Holland Society.

Colonial Censuses

1698 Census of New York

Lists exist for about half of the colony.

• The Documentary History of the State of New-York, Albany, N.Y. Census contents include data summaries and lists for Kings County; Southampton and Southold in Suffolk County; and Flushing in Queens County.

See WikiTree page 1698 Census of Southold, New York for list of names recorded at Southold.

• • Vol. 1, 1850-1851. Data summaries and some lists.
  • Vol. 3 has additional lists.
• The Annals of Albany, Vol. 9. Census lists for Albany County. (Also see https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov//albany/census1697.html for 1697 census of Albany and Rensselaerswyck.)
• New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vols. 38, 45, and and 59. Census lists for Eastchester, Fordham, Mamaroneck, Morrisania, New Rochelle and Westchester, in Westchester County; and also Hempstead.
• The American Genealogist, Volume 24 (1948) Pages 133ff. Census lists for Newtown, Long Island.

1702 Census of Orange County, New York

• 1702 Census of Orange County: https://web.archive.org/web/20160305010547/http://dutchdoorgenealogy.com/1702_census_orange_county_new_york_index.html

Settlements

Fort Oranje, Rensselaerswijck, Beverwijck (Albany)

• New Netherlands Institute, and Arnold J. F. Van Laer. 1922. Minutes of the court of Rensselaerswyck, 1648-1652. Albany: University of the State of New York.
• Gehring, Charles T. Fort Orange Court Minutes, 1652-1660. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1990.
• Munsell, Joel. The Annals of Albany (Albany: J. Munsell)
• van Rensselaer, Kiliaen and A. J. F. Van Laer. Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscripts: Being the Letters of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, 1630-1643, and Other Documents Relating to the Colony of Rensselaerswyck. Albany, N.Y.: University of the State of New York, 1908.
• Van Laer, Arnold J. F., and Jonathan Pearson. Early Records of the City and County of Albany and Colony of Rensselaerswyck (Albany, J. Munsell/The University of the State of New York), 1869-1919

4 volumes; includes deeds, notarial papers, mortgages, and wills

See also (secondary source)

• Bielinski, Stefan. "The People of Colonial Albany." New York State Museum. Most content updated between 2000 and 2015. https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov//albany/pcalhindex.html = Excellent secondary source for Albany, including transcriptions of some primary documents. Note that many family names have been "standardized" and the information sources may not be cited explicitly.

Heemstede (Hempstead)

• Gehring, Charles T., and Peter Stuyvesant. "[1656] Letter from the Town of Hempstead to Petrus Stuyvesant", Correspondence, 1654-1658. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2003. p. 99.
• Hicks, Benjamin. Records of the Towns of North and South Hempstead, Long Island, New York (Long Island Farmer Print., Jamaica, NY, 1896-1904)
• Moore, Charles B. The Early History of Hempstead (Long Island) (New York, 1879)
• Onderdonk, Henry. The Annals of Hempstead, 1643 to 1832: Also, the Rise and Growth of the Society of Friends on Long Island and in New York, 1657 to 1826. Hempstead, N.Y.: L. Van De Water, 1878. HathiTrust

Maspeth, Middleburgh, Newtown (Elmhurst)

• Riker, James, Jr. The annals of Newtown, in Queens County, New York; containing its history from its first settlement, together with many interesting facts concerning the adjacent towns (D. Fanshaw, New York, 1852)

Rustdorp (Jamaica)

• Frost, Josephine C. Records of the Town of Jamaica, Long Island, New York (New York, 1914)

Vlissingen (Flushing)

• O'Callaghan, E.B., "Remonstrance of the Inhabitants of Flushing, L.I., Against the Law Against Quakers and Subsequent Proceedings by the Government Against Them and Others Favoring Quakers", Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New-York (Weed, Parsons, Albany, 1853-1887) Vol. 14, Page 402-403

See also

• New Netherland Settlers Project Reliable Sources
• New Netherland Settlements
• "A Tour of New Netherland." newnetherlandinstitute.org. Accessed April 25, 2016. http://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/digital-exhibitions/a-tour-of-new-netherland