This page conforms to the XHTML standard and uses style sheets. If your browser doesn't support these, you may not see the page as designed, but all the text is still accessible to you.

SCHENECTADY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE

Bringing the heritage of Schenectady County, New York to the world since 1996

NYGenWeb Project

USGenWeb Project

American History and Genealogy Project

American Local History Network - New York

Schenectady County, New York
History and Genealogy

[Map showing location of Schenectady County in New York State]

Coordinated by Robert G. Sullivan, Schenectady County Public Library

The Schenectady Digital History Archive is a service of the Schenectady County Public Library and a member of the NYGenWeb, USGenWeb and American History and Genealogy Projects and the American Local History Network, dedicated to making information about Schenectady's heritage more accessible to researchers around the world.

Schenectady County was formed from Albany County on March 7, 1809. It has a population of 146,555 (2000 U. S. Census, twenty-second in New York State) and an area of 206 square miles, making it the second smallest in the state outside of New York City. The name "Schenectady" is derived from a Mohawk Indian word for "on that side of the pinery," or "near the pines," or "place beyond the pine plains."

Schenectady was known as the "city that lights and hauls the world" because of its prominent place in the locomotive manufacturing industry and the presence of the headquarters of the General Electric Company.

Join us in commemorating the Civil War Sesquicentennial with our resources on Schenectady County in the Civil War!

Research Resources for Schenectady County

Where to Go

Historical and genealogical resources may be found at the Schenectady County Historical Society, the Schenectady County Public Library, county, city and town clerks and historians and many other organizations. See Research Help for more information.

Don't forget the catalog of the Southern Adirondack Library System/Mohawk Valley Library System, which includes the holdings of public libraries in Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren and Washington Counties; the Upper Hudson Library System catalog (Albany and Rensselaer Counties), and Excelsior, the New York State Library's catalog.

How to Get There

The Schenectady County Public Library is located at the corner of Liberty and Clinton Streets, across a corner from the Efner History Research Library at City Hall and down the street from Union College. The Historical Society is located a few minutes west of the library (drive to the end of Union St., take a right on Washington Ave., and it's on your left). The New York State Library is about 45 minutes east in Albany (see parking and location information). You might want to check our frequently beautiful, but always interesting weather before you come. For more information about our area, see our Schenectady County and Capital District area links.

Directory

Don't Miss:

What's New?

Haven't visited for a while? Check out important new links!

Search

Looking for surnames or historical information? Search our site by keyword!

Research Help

Records, places to go and people who can help you find information.

Read All About It!

Selected works on Schenectady history and genealogy, some of them available online.

Border Crossing

Useful sources for researching history and genealogy in neighboring counties and elsewhere in New York and the United States.

Community Information

Schenectady County and the Capital District area today.


If you have any suggestions for sites to add to this page, please let us know.

Go to top of page

http://www.schenectadyhistory.org/index.html updated February 10, 2024

Copyright 2024 Schenectady Digital History Archive — a service of the Schenectady County Public Library

Statcounter