Local History Research

Life Records Database. Includes index to "paid obits" in the T-U and/or D & C, 1960 to date at https://roccitylibrary.org/local-history-genealogy-resources/life-records/

Rochester City Directories 1827 – 1929. pdf scans of every page in over 100 years of the city directories at https://roccitylibrary.org/digital-collections/rochester-city-directories/rochester-city-directories-by-decade/

Monroe County Directories -Various early directories of Rochester & Monroe County & Others https://roccitylibrary.org/rochester-suburban-directories/

Census Records. Access via HeritageQuest Online remote access is available with your Monroe County Library Card’s 14-digit number. Contains federal censuses through 1920; some 1930 at https://libraryweb.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://www.heritagequestonline.com

Rochester History. The quarterly magazine published by the Rochester City Historian’s office since 1939. Scans of all issues though 2006. A detailed index to the issues can be found at https://www.libraryweb.org/~rochhist/indexa.htm The Table of Contents for all issues can be found at https://roccitylibrary.org/digital-collections/rochester-history/rochester-history-table-of-contents

Rochester Images. 22,000 photographs, postcards, and maps, with descriptive text at https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=search&term=Rochester%20Images%20digital%20collection

Rochester Plat Maps. Street maps of early Rochester. Very helpful to find locations where ancestors or companies were located if those street names no longer exist. At

https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=search&term=Rochester%20Public%20Library%20Local%20History%20Division%20map%20collection&page=0&sortKey=Relevancy&db=ls2pac&branchFilters=[]&facetFilters=[]

All Digital Maps In The Rochester Images Database at https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=search&term=Rochester%20Public%20Library%20Local%20History%20map%20collection&page=0&sortKey=Relevancy&db=ls2pac&branchFilters=[]&facetFilters=[{%22facetDisplay%22:%22Map%22,%22facetValue%22:%22Map%22,%22facetName%22:%22Format%22}]

Ancestry.com. A genealogically oriented subscription database. Has many records, including U. S. censuses through 1930. It is available at the Local History Division, Rochester Public Library downtown.

Vital Records Index at https://roccitylibrary.org/local-history-genealogy-resources/nys-vital-records/

Other Genealogy Links at https://roccitylibrary.org/genealogy-indexes

Rochester Newspaper Index, 1818-1897 at https://roccitylibrary.org/rochester-newspaper-index/

Historic Newspapers - digitized pdf versions of 19th and early 20th century newspapers with a Rochester area connection at https://roccitylibrary.org/digital-collections/digital-newspaper-gateway/

Historic Serials - digitized pdf versions of 19th and early 20th century journals with a Rochester area connection at https://roccitylibrary.org/digital-collections/historic-serials-collection/

Historic Markers - Monroe County - https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=search&term=historic%20markers%20monroe%20county

Other Monroe County Library Digital Collections. https://roccitylibrary.org/digital-collections/

World Cat. Search for information (articles, books, cds, dvds) in libraries worldwide at http://www.worldcat.org/

UR Rare Books and Special Collections

Mt. Hope Cemetery/ Riverside Cemetery Interment Records though 2002 at http://www.rbscb.lib.rochester.edu/3228

Local History indexes. The four indexes, edited and/or compiled by Karl S. Kabelac, to published volumes. The indexes are to Rochester/Monroe County views, pictures of people, biographical sketches, and 19th century businesses at http://www.lib.rochester.edu/index.cfm?page=3198

UR Rare Books & Special Collections for all Rare Books, Special Collections and University manuscript & archive registers, UR history, Friends of Mt. Hope Epitaph newsletter at https://library.rochester.edu/spaces/rbscp

UR Voyager Catalog for holdings of the various UR libraries such as the River Campus Library, Sibley Music Library, Edward Miner Medical Library, Charlotte Whitney Allen Library at the Memorial Art Gallery. Go to http://groucho.lib.rochester.edu/

Other Databases

Social Security Death Index. Contains over 80 million records; useful for birth dates, death dates, and some other basic information at https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1202535

Monroe County Cemetery Records. Every know cemetery in Monroe county and you can search all at one time at http://mcnygenealogy.com/cem/index.htm

Upstate New York Newspapers. A database of over 5,000,000 pages, key word searchable. Has the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, late 1800s to mid-1900’s at https://Fultonhistory.com/

Genealogically Orientated Websites for every state and every county in the United States. Created by volunteers, they vary greatly in design and content at http://www.usgenweb.org

Google

A google search will often bring up information from some obscure data base or website you may not otherwise find. Try it two different ways; with and without quotes around the search term. There is also an advanced search function. Go to http://www.google.com