St. Lawrence County, New York Guide

St. Lawrence county is bordered by Canada and the New York counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Hamilton, Lewis, and Herkimer.

County Formed: 1802

Parent County: Clinton

Daughter Counties: None

Major Land Transactions: St. Lawrence Ten Towns, 1787; Macomb Purchase 1792

 

St. Lawrence County Map
Map of St. Lawrence County

 

Table of Contents

 


 

 

History

In its earliest years, St. Lawrence County received many immigrants from New England, supplemented by Scots, Irish, and Canadians by 1855. Formed on March 3, 1802 from Clinton County, St. Lawrence County is named after the St. Lawrence River that serves as the county’s northern boundary.

St. Lawrence County boasts one city and thirty two towns that include 13 villages. The Village of Canton is St. Lawrence County’s seat and it is New York State’s largest county by land area.  

The 19th century economy of St. Lawrence consisted of farming, the extraction of minerals and forest products, and a small, but significant amount of manufacturing.

The construction of the Northern Railroad encouraged a shift to dairy farming, but the construction of these new railroads did not really help settlers travel through the undeveloped Adirondacks region of the county.

 


 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies – County

St. Lawrence County Clerk

Website: St. Lawrence County Clerk

Address: Building #2, 48 Court Street, Canton, NY 13617

Phone: (315) 379-2237

Business certificates, court records, land records 1802–present, naturalization records 1802–1906, marriages 1908–1936, survey maps, and St. Lawrence county original of the New York state census for 1905. Website has a list of local clerks’ offices.

 

St. Lawrence County - City, Town, and Village Clerks 

Website: St. Lawrence County – City, Town, and Village Clerks

Birth, marriage, and death records are maintained by the clerk of the municipality in which the event occurred; see Introduction to County Guides for details of other records which may also be held by municipal clerks.

 

St. Lawrence County Surrogate's Court

Website: St. Lawrence County Surrogate’s Court ​ 

Address: St. Lawrence County Courthouse, 48 Court Street Canton, NY 13617

Phone: (315) 379-2217

 

St. Lawrence County Public Libraries 

Website: St. Lawrence County Public Libraries

 

St. Lawrence County Historical Association, County Historian, and Silas Wright Museum 

Website: St. Lawrence County Historical Association, County Historian, and Silas Wright Museum

Address: 3 East Main Street, PO Box 8, Canton, NY 13617

Phone: (315) 386-8133

 Email: slcha@northnet.org

 

St. Lawrence County- All Municipal Historians 

Website: St. Lawrence County – All Municipal Historians

 

St. Lawrence Valley Genealogical Society 

Website: St. Lawrence Valley Genealogical Society

Address: PO Box 205, Canton, NY 13617-0205

 


 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Regional

Adirondack Genealogical-Historical Society 

Website:Adirondack Genealogical-Historical Society

Address: 100 Main Street, Saranac Lake, NY 12983 

Region includes Clinton, Essex, and St. Lawrence counties. Offers research services at the Saranac Lake Free Library: The William Chapman White Memorial Room: Adirondack Research Center.

 

Adirondack Experience Museum Library

Website: Adirondack Experience Museum Library

Address: 9097 NY-30, Blue Mountain Lake, NY 12812

Phone: (518) 352-7311

 

The William Chapman White Memorial Adirondack Research Room at the Saranac Lake Free Library:

Website: William Chapman White Memorial Adirondack Research Room at the Saranac Lake Free Library ​ 

Address: 109 Main Street, Saranac Lake, NY 12983

Phone: (518) 891-0807

Email: sllibrary@adelphia.net

Village of Saranac Lake shared with Franklin County. Books, manuscripts, periodicals, newspapers, and pamphlets; federal and state census microfilm for Essex, Franklin, Clinton, and St. Lawrence counties 1850–1925; church records; obituary index; maps, gazetteers, and atlases 1869, 1876; photographs and postcards; cemetery inscriptions published by the Adirondack Genealogical and Historical Society; county, town, and municipal histories; genealogies and biographies; high school yearbooks and school attendance records; and early tuberculosis patient history from the Trudeau Sanatorium.

 

St. Lawrence University: Special Collections and Vance University Archives 

Website: Special Collections and Vance University Archives

Address: Owen D. Young Library, Park Street, Canton, NY 13617

Phone: (315)-229-5476 or (315)-229-5956

 

State University of New York at Oswego: Local History Collection

Website: Local History Collection

Address: Penfield Library, Special Collections, Oswego, NY 13126

Phone: (315) 312-3537

Email: archives@oswego.edu

 


 

 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies – Local

Alphabetized by location

Colton Hepburn Library

Website: Colton Hepburn Library

Website: 84 Main Street, Colton NY 13625-0007

Phone: 315-262-2310

 

Colton Historical Society and Museum 

Website: Colton Historical Society and Museum

Address: 89 Main Street, PO Box 223, Colton, NY 13625

Phone: (315) 262-2524 

Email: collib@nnyln.net

 

Town of De Kalb Historical Association, Museum, and Historian's Office

Website: Town of De Kalb Historical Association, Museum, and Historian’s Office

Address: Old Methodist Meetinghouse Museum, 2nd Floor, 696 East De Kalb Road, PO Box 111, De Kalb Junction, NY 13630

Phone: (315) 347-1900

Email: deputyhist@tds.net  

 

Edwards Historical Assocation and History & Genealogy Center

Website: Edwards Historical Association and History & Genealogy Center

Address: Edwards Town Hall, 161 Main Street, Edwards, NY 13635

Phone: (315) 562-3500

Email: historian@edwardshistory.org  

 

Gouverneur Historical Association and Museum

Website: Gouverneur Historical Association and Museum

Website: 30 Church Street, Gouverneur, NY 13642

Phone: (315) 287-0570

Email: gouverneurmuseum@centralny.twcbc.com

 

R.T. Elethorp Historical Society and Hammond Historical Museum 

Website: R.T. Elethorp Historical Society and Hammond Historical Museum

Address:Route 37, PO Box 107, Hammond, NY 13646

Phone: (315) 324-5517

 

Hepburn Library of Lisbon

Website: Hepburn Library of Lisbon

Address: 6899 Country Route 10, Lisbon, NY 13658

Phone: (315) 393-0111

Email: lislib@ncls.org

 

Massena Town Museum and Historical Association

Website: Massena Town Museum and Historical Association

Address: 200 East Orvis Street, Massena, NY 13662

Phone: (315) 769-8571

Email: historian@massenaworks.com

 

Norfolk Town Historical Museum

Website: Norfolk Town Historical Museum

Address: 42 ½ West Main Street, PO Box 643, Norfolk, NY 13667

Phone: (315) 384-3136 or 384-4575

Email: norfolk@centralny.twcbc.com  

 

Norwood Historical Association & Susan C. Lyman Historical Museum 

Website: Norwood Historical Association & Susan C. Lyman Historical Museum

Address: 39 North Main Street, PO Box 163, Norwood, NY 13668

Museum Phone: (315) 353-2751  

Historical Association Phone: 315) 384-3273

 

Ogdensburg Public Library: Local History Room and Archives

Website: Ogdensburg Public Library

Address: 312 Washington Street, Ogdensburg, NY 13669

Phone: (315) 393-3540

 

Parishville Historical Association and Museum

Website: Parishville Historical Association and Museum

Address: 1785 East Main Street, PO Box 534, Parishville, NY 13672

Phone: (315) 265-4232 

 

Pierrepont Museum

Website: Pierrepont Museum

Address: 872 State Highway 68, Pierrepont, NY 13617

Phone: (315) 379-0804

 

Potsdam Public Museum

Website: Potsdam Public Museum

Address: Civic Center, 2 Park Street, PO Box 5168, Potsdam, NY 13676-5168

Phone: (315) 265-6910

Email: museum@vi.potsdam.ny.us

 

Richville Historical Association

Website: Richville Historical Association

Address: 24 Depot Street, PO Box 207, Richville, NY 13681

Phone: (315) 287-0667

 

Russell Public Library and Museum

Website: Russell Public Library and Museum

Address: 24 Pestle Street, PO Box 510, Russell, NY 13684

Phone: (315) 347-2115

Email: ruslib@ncls.org

 

Moore Museum and Waddington Historian

Address: 79 West St. Lawrence Avenue, PO Box 277, Waddington, NY 13694

Phone: (315) 388-5967

Email: wadhist@northnet.org

 

Stockholm Historical Organization

Website: Stockholm Historical Organization

Address: 607 State Highway 11C, PO Box 206, Winthrop, NY 13697

Phone: (315) 389-5062 or (315) 384-4764

Email: stckhmhistorg@slic.com

 


 

 

Civil, Public, and Vital Records

Civil Records are those created, recorded and/or maintained by a governmental body and include births, marriages, deaths, censuses, property, and probate. NB: The New York State government began collecting vital record data in 1880. Birth, marriage, and death records from New York State (excluding the five boroughs of New York City) after 1880 on can be obtained from the New York State Department of Health. For vital records previous to 1880, consult the municipality in which the event took place. Learn more about New York's vital records in our online guide.

 


 

 

Federal Census Records

Population schedules: 1790-1940 (except 1890).

Online at Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and Findmypast.com (free to NYG&B members).

Access on Findmypast:

1790

1800

1810

1820

1830

1840

1850

1860

1870

1880

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

 


 

 

State Census Records

  • County originals at St. Lawrence County Clerk's Office: 1845, 1865, 1905, 1915, 1925 (1825, 1855, 1875, and 1892 are lost).
  • County original at NYSL: 1835 (Town of Gouverneur only)
  • State originals at the NYSA: 1915, 1925.
  • Microfilm at the FHL, NYPL, and NYSL
  • Some years are online at www.FamilySearch.org and www.ancestry.com.
  • 1845: Transcriptions for the towns of Brasher, Hopkinton, and Warwick at St. Lawrence County Historical Association; for the towns of Brasher and Lawrence, see Nyando Roots Genealogical Club in Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions
  • 1865: Transcriptions for the towns of Madrid, Massina, Morristown, Norfolk, Oswegatchie, and Parishville at St. Lawrence County Historical Association
  • 1892: For the Town of Parishville, see Young in Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions

 


 

 

Online Resources

 

General Resources

Ancestry.com

There are vast numbers of records on Ancestry.com that pertain to people who have lived in New York State. A search of the online card catalog by county may reveal lesser known resources that pertain to a locality, such as town records, abstracts, transcriptions, city directories, and local histories.

FamilySearch.org

FamilySearch has extensive collections of New York records, including religious records, which are searchable by name and location, but not by county. The following collections include record images (browsable, but not searchable) that are organized by county

 

Deaths and Burial Records

 

Maps

 

Newspapers

New York Heritage Digital Collections: New York State Newspaper Project

The website provides links to digital newspapers collections in 26 counties (currently) made accessible through New York Heritage, New York State Historic Newspapers, HRVH Historical Newspapers, and other providers.

 

Other Records

 


 

 

Selected Bibliography

Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions

  • County of St. Lawrence Abstracts. Syracuse: Central New York Genealogical Society, 2000. Abstracts for a range of genealogical records originally published in the quarterly Tree Talks. A name index is on the CNYGS website.
  • Daughters of the American Revolution, comps. New York DAR Genealogical Records Committee Report. Since 1913 DAR volunteers have transcribed many thousands of unpublished cemetery, church, and town records throughout New York. The reports are at the DAR Library; copies are at the NYSL and the NYPL. The DAR has a searchable name index to all the GRC reports at http://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search/?Tab_ID=6. See Jean Worden’s index below for a listing by county of the New York record sets that were transcribed by the DAR before 1998.
  • Fuller, Joyce Rockwood. “St. Lawrence County, New York, Death Records.” Manuscript, 2001. New York State Library, Albany.
  • Jackson, Ronald Vern, W. David Samuelson, and Scott Rosenkilde. New York 1815 Census Index. Bountiful, UT: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1984. Names compiled from tax assessment rolls. Also see FHL microfilm titled: Transcript of Information from Tax Assessment Roll and Other Sources for Potsdam, New York. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1968.
  • Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: St. Lawrence County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
  • Lacy, Cindy Clowe. Some Cemeteries of St. Lawrence Co., NY. Painted Post, NY: C. C. Lacy, 1994.
  • Nyando Roots Genealogical Club. “1845 New York State Census for Towns of Brasher and Lawrence, St. Lawrence County.” Nyando Roots, vol. 16, no. 4 (1999): 2–16 [towns of Brasher and Lawrence]; vol. 17, no. 1 (2000): 8–16 [Lawrence continued]; vol. 17, no. 2 (2000): 12–18 [Lawrence continued].
  • Worden, Jean D. “Book 1, Subject Index.” In Revised Master Index to the New York State Daughters of the American Revolution Genealogical Records Volumes. Zephyrhills, FL: J. D. Worden, 1998. The Subject Index includes a listing by county of the cemeteries, churches, towns, and other sources of records transcribed by the DAR.
  • Young, Norman, comp. “Parishville Census, Enumerator’s Blotter 3rd Election District, 1892 New York State Census.” SLVGS News, vol. 12, no. 1 (1995): 11–12; vol. 12, no. 2 (1995): 10–11.

Other Resources

  • Beers, S. N. New Topographical Atlas of St. Lawrence Co., New York: From Actual Surveys. Philadelphia, 1865. [NYPL Digital Gallery]
  • Carson, Patricia Harrington. St. Lawrence County Portraits. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2005.
  • Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and Business Directory of St. Lawrence County, N.Y., for 1873–4. Syracuse: Printed at the Journal Office, 1873.
  • Curtis, Gates. Our County and Its People: A Memorial Record of St. Lawrence County, New York. Syracuse, 1894.
  • Durant, Samuel W. History of St. Lawrence Co., New York, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Interlaken, NY: Heart of the Lakes Publishing, 1982.
  • Fay, Loren V. St. Lawrence County, New York, Genealogical Research Secrets. Albany: L. V. Fay, 1981.
  • Harder, Kelsie B., and Mary H. Smallman. Claims to Name: Toponyms of St. Lawrence County. Utica, NY: North Country Books, 1992.
  • Hough, Franklin Benjamin. A History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, New York, From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. Baltimore, MD: Regional Publishing Co., 1970. First published 1853.
  • James, Patricia R. Upstate New York Researcher: Principally for Research in Jefferson, Oneida, and St. Lawrence Counties. Boise, ID: Family Tree, 1991.
  • New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in St. Lawrence County, New York Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1987. [books.FamilySearch.org]
  • Northern New York Library Network. Director y of Archival and Historical Document Collections. 2011–2013 edition; published digitally at http://nny.nnyln.org/archives/ArchivalDirectory.pdf. Online indexes at http://nny.nnyln.org/archives/page01.html. Describes collections held by organizations in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, and St. Lawrence counties.
  • Saint Lawrence County Historical Association. The Quarterly. Canton, NY: St. Lawrence County Historical Association, 1956—present. An index is online at www.slcha.org/quarterly/quarterlyindex.php.
  • St. Lawrence County History A View from the People: A Photographic Portrait by Those Who Live Here Canton, NY: St. Lawrence County Historical Association, 1975.

 


The materials above are a compilation of resources available, with an emphasis on online resources, which might be useful to someone doing research within this county.  The inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement of its content or accuracy.  Please send any additions or corrections to webmaster@nygbs.org.