Findmypast Brings New York Catholic Records Online

Findmypast announced the online publication of indexes containing over eight million New York sacramental records in partnership with the Archdiocese of New York. This is the first time these records have been made available online.

The New York sacramental records are the newest addition to the Catholic Heritage Archive. It is a collection of Catholic historic records that is exclusive to Findmypast. This project was launched in January of 2017.

The goal of the project is to digitize the historic records of the Catholic Church in Britain, Ireland, and North America. Millions of records covering various parts of the US, England, Scotland, and the whole of Ireland are already available within the collection. More records are due to be added through 2018.

The newest addition to the Catholic Heritage Archive is the online publication of over eight million New York sacramental records. This release includes indexes of baptism and marriage records covering the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island in New York City, as well as the Counties of Ulster, and Westchester.

These records date back to 1785. The records span more than 130 years of the region’s history and come from over 230 parishes across the Archdiocese. Findmypast points out some of the significance of these records that genealogists might not immediately realize:

“The records shed new light on the history of Catholics in New York and will provide researchers all over the world the opportunity to discover early American immigrants. Since the 19th century, New York City has been the largest port of entry for immigration into the United States. The millions of Irish, Italians, Germans, Polish and many others who settled in or passed through the state are captured in these documents.”

As such, it might be possible for a genealogist who has Catholic ancestors to learn more about the ancestors who immigrated to the United States from the records available in the Catholic Heritage Archive. Marriage records might contain an ancestor’s maiden name or the name of an ancestor’s parents.

Related Articles at FamilyTree.com:

* Findmypast to Publish More Sacramental Registers

* NEHGS is Working to Create a Database of Catholic Records

* Genealogy and Catholicism