Steuben County, New York Guide

Steuben county is bordered by Ontario, Livingston, Yates, Allegany, Schuyler, and Chemung counties and the state of Pennsylvania.

County Formed: March 18, 1796

Parent County: Ontario

Daughter Counties: Schuyler

Major Land Transactions: Phelps and Gorham Purchase, 1788

Steuben County Map
Map of Steuben County

Table of Contents


 

History

The area now known as Steuben County was once populated by the Seneca Indians. After the American Revolution, in which the Seneca had taken the side of the British, legislators in New York State reached various agreements to gain control of the land. Steuben County was formed on March 18, 1796 from land that originated in Ontario County. Steuben County was named after Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a military officer in the American Revolution. Today, the county covers approximately 1397 square miles with a population of 100,000 people living in rural areas, small towns, and small cities.

 


 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - County

Steuben County Clerk

Website: Steuben County Clerk

Address: 3 East Pulteney Square, Bath, NY 14810

Phone: (607) 664-2563  

 

Steuben County - City, Town, and Village Clerks

Website: Steuben County – City, Town, and Village Clerks

Birth, marriage, and death records are maintained by the clerk of the municipality in which the event occurred; see Introduction to County Guides for details of other records which may also be held by municipal clerks. For contact information, see website.

 

Steuben County Surrogate’s Court

Address: County Court Building, 13 Pulteney Square E, Bath, NY 14810

Phone: (607) 622-8221

 

Steuben County Public Libraries

Website: Steuben County Public Libraries

Steuben is part of the Southern Tier Library System; see website to access each library.

 

Steuben County Historical Society

Website: Steuben County Historical Society

Address: One Cohocton Street, PO Box 349, Bath, NY 14810

Phone: (607) 776-9930

Email: steuben349@yahoo.com

 

Steuben County Historian

Website: Steuben County Historian

Address: 3 East Pulteney Square, Bath, NY 14810

Phone: (607) 776-2199

Email: Access on website

 

Steuben County - All Municipal Historians

Website: Steuben County – All Municipal Historians

While not authorized to answer genealogical inquiries, city, town, and village historians can provide valuable historical information and research advice; some maintain collections and webpages which may include transcribed records, local histories, and other genealogical material. See contact information on county historian’s page at www.steubencony.org or at the website of the Association of Public Historians of New York State at www.aphnys.org.

 


 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Regional

Bath National Cemetery

Bath National Cemetery

Address: Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Juan Avenue, Bath, NY 14810

Phone: (607) 664-4853

 

Milne Library at SUNY Geneseo: Special Collections: Genesee Valley Historical Collection

Website: Milne Library at SUNY Geneseo: Special Collections: Genesee Valley Historical Collection

Address: One College Circle, Geneseo, NY 14454 

Phone: (585) 245-5194

 

Painted Hills Genealogy Society

Website: Painted Hills Genealogy Society

Email: paint@paintedhills.org

 


 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Local

 

Alphabetized by location

Avoca Free Library

Website: Avoca Free Library

Address:18 North Main Street, Avoca, NY 14809

Phone: (607) 566-9279

 

Corning Painted Posted Historical Society

Website: Corning Painted Post Historical Society

Address: Benjamin Patterson Inn, 59 West Pulteney Street, Corning, NY 14830  

Phone: (607) 937-5281  

Email: pattersoninnmuseum@stny.rr.com

 

Hornby Historical Society Museum

Address: 185 South Place, Corning, NY 14830

Phone: (607) 962-4471

 

Southeast Steuben County Library

Website: Southeast Steuben County Library

Address: 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Corning, NY 14830  

Phone: (607) 936-3713

 

Howard Public Library: Genealogy Research

Address: 3607 County Route 70A, Hornell, NY 14843 

Phone: (607) 566-2412 

 


 

Civil, Public, and Vital Records

Civil Records are those created, recorded and/or maintained by a governmental body and include births, marriages, deaths, censuses, property, and probate. NB: The New York State government began collecting vital record data in 1880. Birth, marriage, and death records from New York State (excluding the five boroughs of New York City) after 1880 on can be obtained from the New York State Department of Health. For vital records previous to 1880, consult the municipality in which the event took place. Learn more about New York's vital records in our online guide.

 


 

Federal Census Records

Population schedules: 1790-1940 (except 1890). Online at Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and Findmypast.com (free to NYG&B members).

Access on Findmypast:

1790

1800

1810

1820

1830

1840

1850

1860

1870

1880

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

State Census Records

  • County originals at Steuben County Clerk’s Office:* 1825, 1835, 1845,
  • 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, 1925
  • State originals at the NYSA: 1915, 1925
  • Microfilm at the FHL, NYPL, and NYSL
  • Many years are online at www.FamilySearch.org and www.ancestry.com

 


 

Other Online Resources

Ancestry.com

There are vast numbers of records on Ancestry.com that pertain to people who have lived in New York State. A search of the online card catalog by county may reveal lesser known resources that pertain to a locality, such as town records, abstracts, transcriptions, city directories, and local histories.

 

FamilySearch.org

FamilySearch has extensive collections of New York records, including religious records, which are searchable by name and location, but not by county. The following collections include record images (browsable, but not searchable) that are organized by county:

New York, Land Records, 1630–1975.” Includes land and property records.

New York, Probate Records, 1629–1971.” Includes wills, letters of administration, and guardianship papers.

For both collections, choose the browse option and then select Steuben to view the available records sets.

 


 

Selected Bibliography

Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions

  • Bostwick, Retta. “Inscriptions from the Lindsley-Mulford Cemetery, Township of Lindsley, Steuben County, New York.” NYG&B Record, vol. 85, no. 4 (1954): 223–227. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • County of Steuben Abstracts. Syracuse: Central New York Genealogical Society, 2000. Abstracts for a range of genealogical records originally published in the quarterly Tree Talks.
  • Daughters of the American Revolution, comps. New York DAR Genealogical Records Committee Report. Since 1913 DAR volunteers have transcribed many thousands of unpublished cemetery, church, and town records throughout New York. The reports are at the DAR Library; copies are at the NYSL and the NYPL. The DAR has a searchable name index to all the GRC reports at http://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search/?Tab_ID=6 See Jean Worden’s index below for a listing by county of the New York record sets that were transcribed by the DAR before 1998.
  • Dennis, Faye, comp. “Addison Rural Cemetery Transcriptions of Steuben County, New York.” Typescript, 1981. NYPL, New York.
  • “Federal Census, 1800, Steuben County, New York.” NYG&B Record, vol. 60, no. 2 (1929): 118–119. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Jackson, Edward F., and Mary S. Jackson. 1850 Census for the Town of Howard, Steuben County, New York, and Genealogical Data on the Families Who Lived There. Bowie, MD:Willow Bend Books, 2004.
  • Jackson, Edward F., and Mary S. Jackson. Death Notices from Steuben County, New York, Newspapers, 1797–1884. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1998.
  • Jackson, Edward F., and Mary S. Jackson. Marriage Notices from Steuben County, New York, Newspapers, 1797–1884. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1998. Includes almost 8,000 notices.
  • Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: Steuben County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
  • Martin, Yvonne E. Marriages and Deaths from Steuben County, New York, Newspapers, 1797–1868. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1988.
  • Worden, Jean D. “Book 1, Subject Index.” In Revised Master Index to the NewYork State Daughters of the American Revolution Genealogical Records Volumes. Zephyrhills, FL: J. D. Worden, 1998. The Subject Index includes a listing by county of the cemeteries, churches, towns, and other sources of records transcribed by the DAR.

Other Resources

  • Babbitt, John S., and Sue Babbit. Steuben County. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2010.
  • Beers, G. W. Atlas of Steuben County, New York: From Actual Surveys and Official Records. Philadelphia, 1873. [NYPL Digital Gallery]
  • Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Steuben County, NY, for 1868–9. Syracuse, 1868.
  • Clayton. W. A History of Steuben County, New York: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia, 1879. Book includes a list of Civil War soldiers organized by town.
  • Folts, James D. Indian Paths of Steuben County. Bath, NY: Steuben County Historical Society, 1974.
  • Hakes, Harlo. Landmarks of Steuben County, New York. Mt. Vernon, IN: Windmill Publications, 1992. First published 1896 by D. Mason.
  • Hoiland, Doris R. Pioneers of the Southern Tier; Steuben County. New York: The Author, 1974.
  • McMaster, Guy H. History of the Settlement of Steuben County, NY: Including Notices of the Pioneer Settlers and Their Adventures. Bath, NY, 1853.
  • Mulford, Uri. Pioneer Days and Later Times in Corning and Vicinity, 1789–1920. Corning, NY: The Author, 1922.
  • Near, Irvin W. A History of Steuben County, New York, and Its People. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1911.
  • New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Steuben County, New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1981. [https://books.familysearch.org]
  • Records of the Ithaca College Study Center for Early Religious Life in Western New York, 1978–1981. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library. A description of the holdings for each county is at http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/eguides/lists/churchlist1.htm.
  • Roberts, Millard F. Historical Gazetteer of Steuben County, New York: With Memoirs and Illustrations. Syracuse, 1891.
  • Sexton, John L., Jr. An Outline History of Tioga and Bradford Counties in Pennsylvania; Chemung, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, and Schuyler in New York. Elmira, NY, 1885.
  • Sherer, Richard. Steuben County: The First 200 Years, a Pictorial History. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company, 1996.
  • Stuart, William M. Who’s Who in Steuben: A Biographical Record of Many of the Prominent Residents of Steuben County, New York. Dansville, NY: F. A. Owen Publishing Co., 1935.
  • Thrall, W. B. Pioneer History and Atlas of Steuben County, NY: Compiled from Historical, Statistical, and Official Records. Perry, NY: Thrall, 1942.
  • Turner, Orsamus. Pioneer History of Phelps & Gorham’s Purchase, and Morris’ Reserve: Embracing the Counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Yates, Steuben, Most of Wayne and Allegany, and Parts of Orleans, Genesee, and Wyoming. Rochester, 1852.
  • Wilson, Hugh M. Early Southern Steuben County and Some of Its People from Pioneer Days to World War I. Bath, NY: Lois J. Wilson, 1975.

The materials above are a compilation of resources available, with an emphasis on online resources, which might be useful to someone doing research within this county.  The inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement of its content or accuracy.  Please send any additions or corrections to webmaster@nygbs.org.