Available at the Library:
Online Indexes
Indexes to several of our collections are available online, as well as a listing of recent acquisitions to the library:
Recent Aquisitions
Biography Listings
Cemetery Listings
Church Records on Microfilm
French Scrapbooks Index
Index to Mackenzie’s “The Families of the Colonial Manor of Philipsburg”
McDonald Papers Index
Mead Family Papers Inventory
Richard Maass Collection on Arnold/Andre
Westchester Historian Index 1990-2014
Collections and Finding Aids
Books and Pamplets
The Historical Society has over 6000 titles of published books and pamphlets on every aspect of Westchester County, its cities, towns and villages, as well as biographical materials on Westchester people. The Richard Maass Collection on Arnold/Andre is comprised of published works on Benedict Arnold, John Andre and their plot to betray the American cause in the Revolutionary War. (A list of the titles in this special collection is available on request.)
Genealogy Collection
The Genealogy Collection is a rich resource with over 600 published family histories, 80-plus volumes of cemetery listings (a surname index is available in the reading room), church records of approximately 30 Westchester County churches, census information, listings of marriages and deaths compiled from local newspapers, 1828-1896, and genealogy files of over 2,800 Westchester families. Also part of this collection is the unpublished typescript of noted genealogist Grenville Mackenzie titled, “The Families of the Colonial Manor of Philipsburg.” This important compilation contains genealogical data of over 200 families who were tenants of Philipsburg Manor prior to the Revolution. Genealogical periodicals in the collection include the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Record, Connecticut Ancestry, New Netherland Connections, and the American Genealogist. A periodical index is available in the reading room.
Manuscripts
The Manuscripts Collection includes the papers of several families in Westchester, including the Mead family of Waccabuc, the Wood family of Bedford, the Brown family of Rye, the Hays family of Pleasantville (the earliest Jewish family in Westchester), and others. Additional primary source materials include diaries, account books, autograph books, church records, public records (especially Yonkers), school records and the records of organizations and associations, including the Pelham Manor Protective Club, 1881-1892; the Westchester County Temperance Society, 1829-1848; Palisades Boat Club, Yonkers, 1866-1936; and the Village Park Association, White Plains, 1898-1927.
Additional holdings available for research on Westchester families
Scharf’s History of Westchester County (colonial – 1886)
Mackenzie’s “Families of the Colonial manor of Philipsburg” (colonial – early 1800’s)
McDonald Papers (Revolutionary Period)
French’s Scrapbook Collection (1880 – 1925)
Marriage and death notices from Westchester newspapers (1830 – 1875)
Pelletreau’s Early Wills of Westchester (1664 – 1784) and New York Historical Society “Abstract of Wills” (1665 – 1800)
Genealogy Files (by family name)
Periodical Index (WCHS holdings – includes NYG&B Record, Connecticut Ancestry, TAG, local Westcheter periodicals)
Cemetery index (WCHS holdings – 18th-20th century)
Manuscripts index (WCHS holdings – mostly 19th century)
The Westchester Historian (WCHS quarterly, published 1925 – current)
Colonial censuses and Federal censuses, 1790 – 1840, 1850 – 1930
County almshouse records (ca. 1880 – 1908)
Orphanage records: Children’s Village, Lincoln Hall, Wartburg, Graham-Windham (19th- 20th centuries)
Church records (microfilmed records of approximately 30 Westchester Churches)
Other (local histories, published military records, etc.)
