Local History

You are welcome to use the Local History/Genealogy collection whenever the libary is open.  Reference librarians are always available to help.  It is not necessary to schedule an appointment.

Genealogy Consultations are held on Thursdays from 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm.  A librarian will work with you one on one to help with your genealogical research and assist you in use of the library's resources.  Email or call (585-343-9550 x1502) the library to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins are also welcome.

Our local history collection focuses primarily on Genesee County, located in the heart of western New York.  Limited information is available for other areas.

The library owns many titles that may be helpful in your research.  Some selected titles may be of special interest.  A listing of the library holdings can be found by checking the library's catalog.

The local genealogy group, the Genesee Area Genealogists, holds monthly meetings open to all those interested in genealogical research.

Richmond Memorial Library holds copies of local newspapers on microfilm.  Images can be printed or saved digitally to a flash drive.  Please contact the library for more information.

Batavia Daily News Subject Index 1822-1997 (PDF) - This indexing was done by Ruth McEvoy, former historian for the city of Batavia.  This is a large file of 2669 pages and is best searched using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader's Find function (Ctrl F); other PDF readers may not work properly.  You can also browse the index's original 29 sections.

Local Index (PDF) - Listings from early newspapers, cemetery records, military records, and other miscellaneous records for Genesee County, NY.  The index is not complete.  Copies of the newspapers are available at the library.  You can also browse by section: A-F  |  G-L  |  M-P  |  Q-S  |  T-Z

Daily Morning News (full text) - 1878-1879, published in Batavia, NY.

Batavia Daily News (full text) - 1880-1909, many issues missing.

Daily News (full text) - 1882-1923, part of 1965, published in Batavia, NY.

Obits Archive - Index to obituaries in the "Batavia Daily News," March 2000 through the present.  This is only an index.  Microfilm of the newspaper is available at the library.

LeRoy Obituaries - Index to obituaries that primarily appeared in the LeRoy Gazette newspaper.

• Palmyra Freeman (full text) - A weekly newspaper published in Palmyra, NY from 1828-1829:

  3_Feb_1829, 21 Apr 1829, 12_May_1829, 9_Jun_1829, 16_Jun_1829, 30_Jun_1829, 7_Jul_1829, 14_Jul_1829, 18_Aug_1829, 25_Aug_1829, 1_Sep_1829, 22_Sep_1829, 27_Oct_1829, 29_Oct_1829, 10_Nov_1829, 24_Nov_1829, 1_Dec_1829, 15_Dec_1829, 22_Dec_1829
  Also available at the library are issues for: 14 Apr 1829, 28 Apr 1829, 5 May 1829, 21 Jul 1829, 28 Jul 1829, 11 Aug 1829, 15 Sep 1829, 29 Sep 1829, 13 Oct 1829, 3 Nov 1829, 17 Nov 1829, 8 Dec 1829, 22 Dec 1829.

People's Press - 1825-1826 index to The People's Press newspaper, published in Batavia, NY.

Spirit of the Times - 1830-1845 index to The Spirit of the Times newspaper, published in Batavia, NY.

Rochester Area Historic Newspaper Collection, 1826-1866

NYS Historic Newspapers Project - Provides free online access to a wide range of newspapers chosen to reflect New York's unique history.

New York State Newspaper Project - Check to see what newspapers are owned at the New York State Library and throughout the State.  Microfilmed papers in Albany are available through interlibrary loan at your local library.

New York Online Historical Newspapers

Fulton History - Contains over 34,000,000 indexed New York State historical newspaper pages.  Coverage includes central and western New York.  Genesee County newspapers included are:

• Republican Advocate, 1822-1876
• Progressive Batavian, 1868-1895
• Spirit of the Times, 1825-1901
• Batavian, 1895-1897
• Genesee County Herald, 1857-1861
• Morning Call, 1881-1882
• Genesee Weekly Democrat, 1857-1859
• Batavia Daily News, 1878-1922

Newspaper Abstracts - A volunteer project with more than 53,000 pages of abstracts and extracts from newspapers.

Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation - The Ellis Island site gives name, age, date of entry into the United States, and last residence for those processed through Ellis Island.  Ellis Island did not open until 1892.

Castle Garden - America's first official immigration center.  Records cover the years 1830 through 1892.

Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild - More than 14,000 passenger manifests from ports around the country.

National Archives Passenger Arrival Records Online - Includes New York arrival of Irish Famine immigrants, Germans to America passenger data file, Italians to America, and more.

Immigrant Ancestors Project - Sponsored by the Center for Family History and Genealogy at Brigham Young University, uses emigration registers to locate information about the birthplaces of immigrants in their native countries.

A One-Step Portal for On-Line Genealogy - Steve Morse provides alternate ways to search some of the most popular genealogy websites, including Ellis Island and Castle Garden.

New York State Health Department Genealogical Research Death Index, 1957-1963

Reclaim the Records - NYS records include:

• Births in NY state outside of NYC, 1881-1942
• Marriages in NY state outside of NYC, 1880-2016
• Deaths in Albany, 1880-1915
• Deaths in Buffalo, 1852-1944
• Deaths in Yonkers, 1880-1915
• Deaths in NY State outside of NYC, 1880-1956

Vital Records - Addresses, prices, and availability of birth, marriage, and death records in the 50 states.

Batavia Cemetery, Batavia, NY

Byron Cemetery, Byron, NY

LeRoy Obituaries - Index to obituaries and death notices that appeared in the LeRoy Gazette newspaper.

St. Joseph's Cemetery, Batavia, NY
The information in this record comes from the burial book that the priests kept.  Records begin in 1853 and continue through roughly 1910.

Additional information on burials in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Batavia, NY
The information in this record comes from the burial book that the priests kept.  Records begin in 1853 and continue through roughly 1910.

Billion Graves - Includes GPS coordinates, excludes pictures.

Find a Grave - Search millions of grave records.

Interment.net - A free online library of burial records from thousands of cemeteries across the world.

Nationwide Gravesite Locator - Search for the burial location of veterans (all those with a veteran's marker on their grave, not only those in military cemeteries).

1865 Census Index for Western New York

1905 New York State Census - Name index and images.

HeritageQuest offers 1790-1930 federal census listings.  HeritageQuest is available from home with a borrower's card from Richmond Memorial Library.  In-library usage is available to all.

Richmond Memorial Library provides access to AncestryLibrary.com within the library.

New York State Archives

New York State Archives genealogy - find the location of New York vital record indexes, military records, probate records and more.

New York Heritage - free, online access to images of cultural and historical significance in New York State.

New York Counties Will Testators Indexes - over 251,000 records of testators who wrote wills.

New York State Health Department Genealogical Research Death Index, 1957-1963

Index to Arch Merrill books - a collection of books with stories of central and western New York from the earliest days to the present.

Portions of Ancestry.com pertaining to New York are free to NY state residents. The New York State Archives partnered with Ancestry to digitize some NY state records of interest to genealogists. This access requires a free Ancestry.com New York account. You will have free access only to the records available through Ancestry.com New York, not to the entire Ancestry database.

Rootsweb - a good place to start searching for family names and other people researching the same families you are.

USGenweb Project - provides geographical access to genealogical information.

WorldGenWeb - provides geographical access to worldwide genealogical information.

Family Search - the genealogy site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). You can check the information they have indexed including the 1880 federal census, check information others have submitted, and check to see what records have been microfilmed.

Richmond Memorial Library is an Affiliate Library with Family Search. Microfilm and microfiche can be ordered and sent to the library for your use. Images can be printed, emailed, or saved to a flash drive for future reference.

Family Search Wiki - The Family Search Wiki is a large, on-line library where users can find thousands of articles and how-to insturctions about doing family history.

Family History Archives - collection of published genealogy and family history books.  Histories of families, county and local histories, how to books on genealogy, genealogy magazines and periodicals.

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet - Cyndi Howell provides over 328,000 links to all types of useful genealogy sites on the Internet.

A One-Step Portal for On-Line Genealogy - Steve Morse provides alternate ways to search some of the most popular genealogy websites, including Ellis Island and Castle Garden. There are also links for people searches.

Live Roots - a specialized search engine that assists you with locating genealogical resources, including both those that are accessible online and others which may require assistance from another researcher.

Genealogy - an excellent genealogy site sponsored by the National Archives.

Archives Library Information Center - another excellent National Archives genealogy site. Don't forget to also check the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.

Heritage Quest - published family histories, Periodical Source Index (Persi), Revolutionary War Pension & Bounty Land Warrant Applications, Freedman's Bank Records.

Portions of Ancestry.com pertaining to New York , are free to NY state residents. The New York State Archives partnered with Ancestry to digitize some NY state records of interest to genealogists. This access requires a free Ancestry.com New York account. You will have free access only to the records available through Ancestry.com New York, not to the entire Ancestry database.

War of 1812 Pension Records - pension records provide a window into unique information of our ancestors and you might find military service details, death information, and other possible records. This database is not yet complete.

Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System - over 6.3 million names from both North and South. Includes regimental histories.

Our Military Heritage - includes pension files, service records, journals, histories, discharge papers, and rolls of honor. This site is not yet complete.

USGS Geographic Names Information System - look up those hard to find places in the United States and link to maps pinpointing their locations.

Atlas of Historical County Boundaries

Our roots: Canada's local histories online - full-text searchable Canadian local histories, with almost 5,500 digital texts with 13 million pages.

Ancestry Learning Center - learn how to build a family tree, how to search, understand records, and collaborate.

Family Search Research Classes - free online classes. More than 23 classes available in formats including video, Power Point, and interactive. Learn new tips and techniques that will help you with your genealogical research.

New England Historic Genealogical Society - free online video lectures, including a beginner series with classes on census, vital records, maps, local histories and other sources.

Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Genealogy - Includes information on DNA testing guides.