Wayne County, New York Guide

Wayne County is bordered by Lake Ontario and the New York counties of Cayuga, Monroe, Ontario, and Seneca

County Formed: 1832

Parent County: Ontario; Seneca; Cayuga

Daughter Counties: None

Major Land Transactions: New Military Tract 1782 – 1791; Pre – Emption Line 1786; Treaty of Hartford Phelps and Gorham Purchase 1788

Wayne County Map
Map of Wayne County

Table of Contents


 

History

Archaeological evidence suggests humans inhabited Wayne County nearly 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. The Cayuga and Seneca tribes to the south included this area within their hunting and fishing ranges. The first Europeans to arrive were French traders in the late 1600s. In 1772, the traders made their first settlement inland, further ventures did not occur until 1789. Settlement was gradual due to disease, relative isolation, and the lack luster lands to the south and west. The 1840s saw an influx of incoming Irish and German immigrants, who settled close to the Erie Canal.  Agriculture and small – and medium scale manufacturing are at the heart of Wayne County’s economy. Unlike less populated counties in New York, Wayne County has experienced steady growth since the 1920s. Major land transactions include New Military Tract of 1782 – 1791, the Pre – Emption Line of 1786, and the Treaty of Hartford Phelps and Gorham Purchase of 1788. Named after Revolution War General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, the county seat is located in the Town of Lyons.

References: The Encyclopedia of New York State p. 1678

 


 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - County

Wayne County Clerk and Records Center

Website: Wayne County Clerk and Records Center

Address: 9 Pearl Street, PO Box 608, Lyons, NY 14489

Phone: (315) 946-7470

 

Wayne County - Town and Vilage Clerks

Website: Wayne County – 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.

 

Wayne County Surrogate’s Court

Address: Wayne County Hall of Justice, 54 Broad Street, Lyons, NY 14489

Phone: (315) 946-5430

 

Wayne County Public Libraries

Website: Wayne County Public Libraries

Wayne is part of the Pioneer Library System. Many hold genealogy and local history collections, including books and newspapers. For example, Clyde-Savannah Public Library has a digital archive of ten local newspapers, 1844–2003, and family files.

 

Wayne County Historian

Website: Wayne County Historian

Address: 9 Pearl Street, Suite 3, PO Box 608, Lyons, NY 14489

Phone: (315) 946-5470

Email: historian@co.wayne.ny.us

 

Wayne County - All Municipal Historians

Website: Wayne County – All Municipal Historians

While not authorized to answer genealogical inquiries, town and village historians can provide valuable historical information and research advice; some maintain collections and webpages which may include transcribed records, local histories, and other genealogical material. For more information visit the website of the Association of Public Historians of New York State.

 

Wayne County Historical Society and Museum of Wayne County History

Website: Wayne County Historical Society and Museum of Wayne County History

Address: 21 Butternut Street, Lyons, NY 14489

Phone: (315) 946-4943

Email: info@waynehistory.org

 

Wayne County New York Genealogical Society

Website: Wayne County New York Genealogical Society

Address: PO Box 502, Newark, NY 14513-0502

Email: info@wcnygs.com

 


 

Repositories, Resources, and Societies - Regional

SUNY at Oswego: 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

Clyde-Savannah Public Library

Website: Clyde-Savannah Public Library

204 Glasgow Street, Clyde, NY 14433

Phone: (315) 923-7767

Email: ClydeLibraryDirector@owwl.org

 

Galen Historical Society

Website: Galen Historical Society

Address: PO Box 43, Clyde, NY 14433

Phone: (315) 573-6643

Email: Galenhistoricals@aol.com

 

Macedon Historical Society

Website: Macedon Historical Society

Address: 1185 Macedon Center Road, PO Box 303, Macedon NY 14502

Phone: (315) 455-3798

 

Newark-Arcadia Historical Society and Museum

Website: Newark-Arcadia Historical Society and Museum

Address: 120 High Street, Newark, NY 14513

Phone: (315) 331-6409

Email: arcadiahistory@gmail.com

 

Rose Historical Society

Address: 10798 Wolcott Road, North Rose, NY 14516-9622

Phone: (315) 587-4532

 

Historic Palmyra, Inc. at Palmyra Historical Museum

Website: Historic Palmyra, Inc. at Palmyra Historical Museum

Address: 132 Market Street, Palmyra, NY 14522

Phone: (315) 597-6981

 

Williamson-Pultney Historical Society

Website: Williamson-Pultneyville Historical Society

Address: 4130 Mill Street, PO Box 92, Pultneyville, NY 14538

Email: info@w-phs.org

 

Sodus Bay Historical Society

Website: Sodus Bay Historical Society

Address: 7606 North Ontario Street, PO Box 94, Sodus Point, NY 14555

Phone: (315) 483-4936

Email: sbhslighthouse@gmail.com

 

Walworth Historical Society and Museum

Website: Walworth Historical Society and Museum

Address: 2257 Academy Street, PO Box 142, Walworth, NY 14568

Phone: (315) 524-9205

 

Wolcott Historical Society

Website: Wolcott Historical Society

Address: PO Box 51, Wolcott, NY 14590

Phone: (315) 594-9494  

Email: admin@wolcottnyhistory.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 Wayne County Historian’s Office: 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, 1925, (1825, 1835, 1845, and 1855* are lost)

  • State originals at the NYSA: 1915, 1925

  • Microfilm at the FHL, NYPL, NYSHA, and NYSL

  • Many years are online at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com.

  • Typescript at Wayne County Historian’s Office: 1885

 


 

Other 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:

New York, Land Records, 1630–1975.” Includes land and property records.

New York, Probate Records, 1629–1971.” Includes wills, letters of administration, and guardianship papers.

For both collections, choose the browse option and then select Wayne to view the available records sets.

 

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.

 

NYGenWeb Project: Wayne County

Part of the national, USGenWeb volunteer initiative, the website provides information and resources for county research, including an extensive selection of cemetery transcriptions, indexes, and census abstracts that can be accessed from the Historical Articles section of the website.

 

Old Fulton New York Postcards

The website provides free access to a vast collection of digitized New York newspapers, including 27 titles for Wayne County.

 


 

Selected Bibliography

Abstracts, Indexes & Transcriptions

  • County of Wayne Abstracts. Syracuse: Central New York Genealogical Society, 2000.  Abstracts for a range of genealogical records originally published in the quarterly Tree Talks.
  • 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.
  • Kelly, Arthur C. M. Index to Tree Talks County Packet: Wayne County. Rhinebeck, NY: Kinship, 2002.
  • Meyer, Mary K., S. D. Van Alstine, and Harriet M. Wiles. Genealogical Abstracts from Palmyra, Wayne County, New York Newspapers, 1810–1854. Mount Airy, MD: Pipe Creek Publications, 1996.
  • Wiles, Harriett M. “Cemetery Inscriptions from Palmyra Cemetery, Palmyra, Wayne County, N.Y.” 4 vols. Typescript, 1934–1938. NYPL, New York.
  • Wiles, Harriett M. “Church Record of the Presbyterian Church of East Palmyra, Wayne County, New York.” Typescript, 1933. NYPL, New York.
  • Wiles, Harriett M. “Church Records of the Western Presbyterian Church of Palmyra, Wayne County, New York.” Typescript, 1933. NYPL, New York. [NYG&B eLibrary]
  • Wiles, Harriett M. “Marriages and Deaths of Wayne County, New York: Copied from the Newark Weekly Courier, Published at Newark, New York.” Manuscript, 1941. NYPL, New York.
  • Wiles, Harriett M. “Records of the Presbyterian Church of Lyons, Wayne County, Nw (sic) York”. Typescript, 1952. NYPL, New York.
  • 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.

Other Resources

  • Barthel, Otto. New Century Atlas of Wayne County, New York, with Farm Records. Philadelphia: Century Map Co., 1904.
  • Beers, D. G. & Co. Atlas of Wayne Co., New York, from Actual Surveys and Official Records. Philadelphia, 1874. [NYPL Digital Gallery]
  • Cowles, George W. Historical and Biographical Record of Wayne County, New York. Salem, MA: Higginson Book Co., 1997.
  • Cowles, George W. Landmarks of Wayne County, New York. Syracuse: D. Mason, 1895. Book includes biographies and family sketches. Index available from Berkshire Family History Association.
  • Curtis, Vera. History of the Town of Marion, Wayne County, State of New York 1795–1937. Marion, NY: n.p., 1937.
  • Espenschied, Lloyd. Early Wayne County Settlers and Their Rhineland Origins. Westminster, MD: Heritage Books, 2011. Originally published in the Lyons Republican and Clyde Times in 1958.
  • Fay, Loren V. Wayne County, New York, Genealogical Research Secrets. Albany: L. V. Fay, 1982.
  • Foley, Janet W. Early Settlers of New York State: Their Ancestors and Descendants. 9 vols. Akron, NY: 1934–1942. Reprint, 2 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993.
  • Jacobs, Stephen W. Wayne County: The Aesthetic Heritage of a Rural Area: A Catalog for the Environment. Lyons, NY: Wayne County Historical Society, 1979.
  • McIntosh, W. H. History of Wayne County, New York: With Illustrations Descriptive of Its Scenery, Palatial Residences, Public Buildings, Fine Blocks, and Important Manufactories. Philadelphia, 1877.
  • New York Historical Resources Center. Guide to Historical Resources in Wayne County, New York, Repositories. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1981. [books.FamilySearch.org]
  • Rochester Regional Library Council. Guide to Local History and Archives Collections in the Genesee Valley. Digitally published June 2006. The guide provides collection descriptions for 150 organizations in the region. http://rrlc.org/wp-content/uploads/uploads/2013/02/dhp_Local-History-Gu…

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.