Information

About our Library

Brookside Museum maintains a research library for local history research and genealogy. The research library can be visited during regular museum hours or by appointment.  

Hours
Tuesday through Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The general admission fee ($2 adults; $1.50 seniors) permits access to our files and library holdings. Admission fees help us maintain and build our library/ archival collection.

Resources available in our research library include nearly 2,000 books related to Saratoga County's history. Surname files and vertical files are also available in our library. A listing of these files is also available on this site, and you may browse our collections database of over 20,000 photographs, manuscripts, objects, and library card catalog. 

The annotated bibliography (below) provides a brief listing of some of the most requested research items. 

About our library/ facility
Rules and regulations for library use
Donating historic items

Online Collections Database
Surname Files
Vertical Files
Resources outside of Brookside

Photocopy services
Image Reproductions
Research Services

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Census Files

Heads of Families at the First [Federal] Census Taken in the Year 1790, New York.  Lists heads of families with some information about their households.  Note that in 1790 Albany County encompassed today's Saratoga County.  

Index to the 1800 Census of New York. Compiled by Barbra Kay Armstrong.  Lists heads of family, their county of residence, and what page of what roll of microfilm to find more census information.  A good starting place. 

The 1850 Census of Saratoga Springs:  Revised; and The 1860 Census of Saratoga Springs.  Each of these censuses have been transcribed and sorted first by numerical listing and then alphabetically by two Skidmore professors.  An excellent resource for Saratoga Springs.  Compiled by William Fox and Mary C. Lynn, 1991.

Federal Census of 1850, Saratoga County.  Copied by Henry C. Ritchie, 1846.  Broken down by towns.  2 volumes. 

1790 and 1850 Town Census of Clifton Park, Half Moon, Waterford, Niskayuna.  Contains the 1790 census for each town in alphabetical order.

Microfilm copies of the 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, and 1920 census records for Saratoga County.

Government Records

Vital Records, Town of Saratoga, 1871-1926.  Includes Villages of Schuylerville and Victory Mills.  Births, marriages, and deaths registered at town and village clerks' offices.  Indexed.

Vital Records of Greenfield (1870-1901), Northumberland (1880-1913), Charlton (1875-1913, some late 1840s), Clifton Park (1882-1900), Providence (1880-1922), and Ballston (1883-1908).  All indexed.

Genealogical Data from Administration Papers from the New York State Court of Appeals in Albany.  Abstracts of data relating to administration of estates ca. 1730-1810.  Alphabetical by decedent.  Indexed.  

New York Marriage Bonds 1753-1783.  Of limited use.  Note that Saratoga County was part of Albany County until 1791.  

Enrolled Voters of Saratoga County 1935-1973.  Multiple volumes

Histories

History of Saratoga County, New York, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, by Nathaniel B. Sylvester, 1878.  An extensive, detailed history of the county.  Name index in reprint edition.

Our County and Its People:  A Descriptive and Biographical Record of Saratoga County, New York, 1899.  Four indexes, including name.  

J.H. French's Gazetteer of the State of New York, 1860.  A general outline of the entire state.  An index of personal names makes it of some use.  

Other Sources

Saratoga County Families.  Henry C. Ritchie.  A massive compilation from many sources, put into alphabetical order.  On microfiche - but the originals are available at the Saratoga County Historian's office at the County Complex.

Cemetery Records of Saratoga County, compiled by Henry C. Ritchie. Organized by town, then cemetery.  No index.  

Six Generation Ancestor Tables, by members of the Central New York Genealogical Society.  5 volumes.  Tables consist of names, birth and death dates, place of birth, place of death.  Each volume separately indexed.  

The Saratoga.  Quarterly publication, 1984 and 1985.  Includes 1855 Halfmoon census plus a wide range of other records.  Each year indexed.

Vertical Files.  These files contain information about the different communities of Saratoga County.  They are divided by county, city, town, and village, and then by subject, such as education, religion, buildings, etc.

For Further Guidance

Genealogical Guide to Saratoga County, New York.  Field Horne.  An outline of source materials about Saratoga County Families.

New York Genealogical Research.  George K. Schweitzer.  A valuable guide to sources throughout the state.

Saratoga County Bibliography.  Bruce M. Manzer.  An exhaustive survey of all information about Saratoga County, including genealogical material.  In two loose-leaf binders.