Church Record Sunday: Catholic Church Records in New York City

Basilica of Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral, Mulberry Street, New York, New York

Yesterday I attended the lecture "Finding Your Ancestors in Catholic New York" at the Parish House of the Basilica of Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral in New York City. The lecture was sponsored by the New York Irish History Roundtable. Kate Feighery, Archival Manager for the Archdiocese of New York, talked about different types of sacramental records, where to find the records, and finding an ancestor's parish.

The Archdiocese of New York covers Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island, as well as Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester Counties. The Archives of the Archdiocese of New York are located at 201 Seminary Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10704.

The Diocese of Brooklyn covers Brooklyn and Queens. The Archives of the Diocese of Brooklyn are located at 310 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, NY 11215.

Sacramental records are kept by parishes. The Archives of the Archdiocese of New York do not have sacramental records, and the Archives of the Diocese of Brooklyn only have the sacramental records of nine closed parishes, three closed hospitals, and two orphanages.