Address: 284 Main Street, Room 118, Schoharie NY 12157
Mail: P.O. Box 549, Schoharie NY 12157
Phone: (518) 295-8385 Fax: (518) 295-8338
Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm
Lawrence J. Caza, County Clerk & Records Management Officer
Margaret M. Hildreth, Executive Deputy Clerk
Nicole Doherty, Records Retention Coordinator
Records Management
The Records Management Office oversees records of all media content created by County Offices and more recently, our office is also assisting Towns and Villages with their records. The mission of the office is to ensure records are properly managed and retained in compliance with established retention schedules. Additionally, that records disposition is completed through a secure process.
County Clerk Archives
Prior to August 2011, the Archives housed records dating back as early as 1975 that documented the County’s history. These records included civil/criminal court records, census records, naturalization records, deeds, mortgages and grantor/grantee indexes, as well as many other recorded documents. Due to Hurricane Irene in 2011, and the devasting impacts of flood waters, these records are no longer housed in the County Building. Records that were previously held, after undergoing restoration processes and found eligible to imaging, have been digitized for future reference. Additionally, some selected ledger books have been returned in their original form for display as archival records. It is important to note that a large majority of these records were already electronically scanned and have been available through our searchable database. Since 2011, efforts are on-going to index, import images and “back-enter” records to ensure a complete, accurate and available database for our residents and other interested parties.
Genealogy & Research Services
The County Clerk and Records Management Offices hold various records that may be useful for research purposes. Census records can be a good resource, however, if the town in which the ancestor was born is not known, it can become difficult to complete a search. Deed and mortgage records, in some circumstances, can be helpful in determining the town of origin for family members. Records can be accessed through the public resource computers within the County Clerk’s Office or through the County Clerk online search system at https://www.searchiqs.com/nyscho/
Birth, death and marriage records are held by the town clerks, of where the event occurred. Please visit the Schoharie County home page at https://www4.schohariecounty-ny.gov/departments where you will find each town’s clerk and/or registrar, as well as the town historian, and their contact information. The New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) provides information on obtaining vital records for research purposes, under the resources link posted below. The NYS DOH birth records date back to 1881, before that time it was the physician’s responsibility to record the ancestor’s birth. Additional resource links are posted below as well, that may provide direction and assistance during searches for family roots and history.
Due to limited time and staff availability, this office cannot do genealogy searches.
Our office is also happy to provide the following links to other websites that may be of assistance or of interest to you.
https://advancinggenealogist.com/historic-new-york-statutes/
https://sites.rootsweb.com/~nyschoha
http://www.health.ny.gov/vital_records/genealogy.htm
http://www.theoldstonefort.org/
https://www.albanycounty.com/departments/hall-of-records
https://www4.schohariecounty-ny.gov/government/
Our Office is aware of the following people in Schoharie County who specialize in Genealogy. They also have access to records of offices other than those available to us. Their names and contact information are listed below.
genealogy@theoldstonefort.org
Chris Osinski – 518-231-8014 – cosinski57@gmail.com
Leslie Smith – 518-424-7818 – lmnjcb@aol.com
Joan Sondergaard – 518-294-2008 – rumblesjs@gmail.com
Tatiana Boba – Village of Schoharie Historian – 518-231-3578
Links to external web sites are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement or approval of any of the products, services, or opinions contained in any external web site.