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Welcome to Genealogy Trails
Volunteers working to put free historical data online.

My name is Jennifer Morse and as your Steuben County, NY host I try to post as much data online as possible in order to make it freely available to all. We gratefully accept contributions of raw data such as census information, marriage/birth/death records, and obituaries, county histories, biographies, old newspaper items - anything that would help someone build their family tree!!

Feel free to email me with your contributions - every little bit helps.

I regret that I am unable to do personal research

Welcome to
Steuben County

Steuben County Seal

New York
Genealogy and History

ONLINE DATA

~ Bible Records ~ Biographies (updated 4-20-08) ~ Black Sheep ~ Cemeteries ~ Census ~ Deeds ~ History ~

~ Maps ~ Military ~ Marriages (updated 7-6-08) ~ Miscellaneous ~ Newspapers ~ Obituaries (updated 7-7-08) ~

~ Resources ~ Townships ~ Vital Records ~ Wills ~

Steuben County Authors

~ Stacy Jackson (1872-1954) ~

ADDED February 2008
8th Report of NSDAR - Kanisteo Chapter.........added 2/29/08
6th Report of NSDAR - Kanisteo Chapter.........added 2/29/08
5th Report of NSDAR - Kanisteo Chapter.........added 2/29/08
Child Killer Henry 1844......................................added 2/27/08
Murder of Rev. Evan Roberts 1836.....................added 2/27/08
Axe Murderer Mallard 1830................................added 2/27/08
Double Murder at Elmira 1896.............................added 2/27/08
Murderer Nero Grant 1847..................................added 2/27/08
Eliza Comstock Murder of husband 1830.............added 2/27/08
Indian Murder of Joshua Stevens 1825.................added 2/27/08
Case of Jerome McBain vs Thomas Edger...........added 2/17/08
Josiah Winfield's attempted murder 1824...........added 2/13/08
John Cornwell Smith's murder of his wife 1820....added 2/13/08
Baldwin Murder of Ward Infant 1809..................added 2/13/08
7th Report of NSDAR - Kanisteo Chapter..........added 2/11/08

ADDED January 2008
1800 Fredericktown US Federal Census.........added 1/20/08
1800 Lindley US Federal Census..................added 1/13/08
1800 Middletown US Federal Census ...........added 1/12/08
1800 Painted Post US Federal Census ..........added 1/11/08
Clayton's History of Steuben Co. Ch. 1 .............added 1/7/08

WHATS NEW?
Stacy Jackson Newspaper Column...........................added 7 July 2008
1887 Canisteo Death Record....................................added 6 July 2008
Troupsburg Newspaper Tidbits.................................added 6 July 2008
Jasper Newspaper Tidbits........................................added 6 July 2008
NEW TOWN ADDED: CANISTEO........................added 6 July 2008
NEW TOWN ADDED: ERWIN..............................added 6 July 2008
NEW TOWN ADDED: TROUPSBURG.................added 6 July 2008
NEW TOWN ADDED: JASPER............................added 6 July 2008
NEW SECTION STARTED: Townships................added 20 Apr 2008
NEW SECTION STARTED: Newspapers..............added 20 Apr 2008
Between the Ocean and the Lakes pgs. 90 -99.........added 20 Apr 2008
Between the Ocean and the Lakes pgs. 71 -90.........added 19 Apr 2008
1883 Pensioners Roll post offices R-W....................added 13 Apr 2008
1883 Pensioners Roll post offices G-R.....................added 13 Apr 2008
1883 Pensioners Roll post offices B-G.....................added 13 Apr 2008
1883 Pensioners Roll post offices A-B.....................added 13 Apr 2008
4th Report of NSDAR - Kanisteo Chapter................added 13 Apr 2008
Revolutionary Pension of Ebenezer Averill................added 4 Mar 2008
Counterfeiter & Murderer Robt. Douglass.................added 2 Mar 2008

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Surrounding New York Counties
Allegany County          Ontario County
Chemung County       Schuyler County
Livingston County           Yates County

Surrounding Pennsylvania Counties
Potter County Tioga County

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FORMATION & ORGANIZATION OF STEUBEN COUNTY

Steuben County was named for Friedrich Wilhelm Augustin, Baron von Steuben (1730-1794), a German-Prussian General who served with George Washington in the American Revolutionary War. Settlers first became aware of the area during Sullivan’s expedition. Until this time it was inhabited mostly by the Iroquois, which were driven out of the area by Sullivan in response to the Wyoming Massacre that took place in nearby portions of Pennsylvania.

Settlement at the end of the war was impeded, however, as ownership of Western NY was contested and had long been claimed by both Massachusetts and New York. Finally, on December 16, 1786 a compact was reached between the two states. Massachusetts received the greater part of New York lying west of Seneca Lake and conveyed about 2,600,000 acres to Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham at the end of 1788. The portion of the purchase which now constitutes Steuben County was surveyed by Frederick Saxton, Augustus Porter, Thomas Davis, and Robert James in the summer of 1789. Phelps and Gorham sold the remaining unsold land, in 1790, to Robert Morris of Philadelphia, who in turn sold it to Sir William Pulteney, of England, in 1792. This has since been known as the Pulteney Estate, and their agent, Charles Williamson was responsible for selling the remaining land.

Formed March 18, 1796, Steuben County was taken from Ontario County. Originally it was divided into six towns, that of: Bath, Canisteo, Dansville, Fredericton, Middletown, and Painted Post. Since its organization, portions have been annexed to Allegany, Yates, Livingston and Schuyler Counties, leaving it with 1,397 square miles of land area, making it larger than the state of Rhode Island. The County Seat is Bath, the village named for Sir William Pulteney’s daughter, Laura, the Countess of Bath.