Death Records of Kings County, New York

The home page of Ancestry advertises one of their latest offerings, vital and voting records of New York City (at least my version does). The voter records are from the 1900s. The vitals start in the late 1700s.

Landing page Ancestry.com
New Release: New York City Vitals and Voter Records

I examined the findings of the vital records in this previous article.

I have a lot of ancestry in New York City; thus, I have a lot of hints for most of my family trees. This link created by Ancestry streamlines the records of these new databases, curtailed just for me.

The result is a list of thousands of hints for births, marriages, deaths, and voting records of people in all of my family trees.

There was a hint for Reverend Dietrich Hermann Wrage (1831-1882). He was a German Evangelical pastor who taught and translated. As such, more was written about him than most other people of this time period. His obituaries provided the place and date of death. He died at the Kings County Insane Asylum in Flatbush (Brooklyn), Kings County, New York on May 2, 1882- one day after his 51st birthday.

Yet I could not find an entry for him in the New York City death indexes.

Obituary of Reverend Herman W Wrage
The Brooklyn Daily Times, New York
Thursday, May 4, 1882

His hint in the newest vital records collection.

Newest hint for Herman D Wrage, died 1882 in Brooklyn.
No certificate number is provided.

The link brings up the ledger book for deaths in Flatbush from 1880 through 1886.

Ledger Book of Deaths, Flatbush, New York 1880-1886
Line 1238: Hermann D Wrage died May 2, 1882 at Kings County Insane Asylum.
Occupation clergyman. Age 51. Married. Born in Germany.

Close up of Hermann's entry

I don't understand why Hermann received a line in this ledger book and not an individual death certificate. The individual certificates started in 1866 (or 1862 in Brooklyn).

Most of the entries are for the Asylum or other institutions.

The beginning of the book starts with entries immediately- no explanation as to how someone ended up in this book as opposed to an individual record of their own.

Margaret B Giddis died December 11, 1880 in Flatbush. No institution was mentioned. Her death was recorded in this ledger book.

Ledger Book of Deaths, Flatbush, New York 1880-1886
Line 10: Margaret B Giddis died December 11, 1880 in Flatbush.
Occupation housekeeping. Age 48 years, 2 months. Married. Born in Ireland.

Close up of Margaret's entry

Margaret's death appears in the Death Index- certificate 10. I typed this information into the online website of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services. 

Entry in index for Margaret B Giddis
Certificate 10

Certificate 10 of 1880 belongs to Hiram Miller (1800-1880). He was buried at Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. Number 10 is too low to be at the end of a year.

Death certificate of Hiram Miller
died January 1, 1880 in Brooklyn

Entry in index for Hiram Miller
Certificate 10

Certificate 10 for Margaret Giddis must mean the number of the line in the ledger book- not individual certificate.

So why were some deaths recorded in the book, while others were recorded on an individual record?

New York City Ledger Books

Older New York City births, marriages, and deaths with images are on Ancestry ("New York, New York, U.S., Vital Records, Births 1847-1897, Marriages 1847-1903, Deaths 1798-1900"). The earliest year is 1795- people who died from yellow fever in Manhattan. These are ledger books- not individual certificates.

Caroline Duryea, age 27. Died May 14, 1851 in Manhattan.
Dropsy of brain. Interment in Dutch Reformed, Harlem.

The links on Ancestry may not bring you to the exact page of the record. Search a few pages earlier and later if you do not see the target entry.

Based on the years contained in the title of this collection, you might think that there is overlap with the collection located on the website of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services ("DORIS"). The difference appears to be that the collection at Ancestry contains the collective ledger books, while the collection at DORIS contains the individual records, which started around 1866.

It may be possible that some events appear in a ledger book and an individual record. If anyone finds examples, please comment below.

Not all people and events made it into these ledger books. For example, I cannot find a record of death for John Evenshirer. He probably died sometime between 1842, when he married Rene Brewer, and 1847, when she remarried.

These images with indexes have been available at FamilySearch, but at a Family History Center and not at home. Now they can be found and viewed from home via Ancestry. The images at FamilySearch are probably from microfilm and in black and white. The images at Ancestry are high-resolution, color images of the originals.

Index of New York City Municipal Deaths
FamilySearch.org

John H Duryea died in 1836, leaving behind his pregnant wife, Sarah Moffat (1815-1896), and their daughter, Catherine Jane (1834-1906). I had his will, but his entry in the ledger of deaths is great to also have. His cause of death was consumption, now known as tuberculosis.

John H Duryea, age 29 years, 3 months, 26 days.
Died May 6, 1836 in Manhattan.

I think I found a surprise baby of John and Sarah. Garret S Duryea died November 9, 1832 in Manhattan on Spring Street. His age was one year and six months. He was likely the first child of this couple. John's father was also named Garret S Duryea.

Garret S Duryea, age 1 year, 6 months.
Died November 9, 1832 in Manhattan.

The next topic to tackle in these records of death is the places of burial- now gone from the crowded landscape of modern-day Manhattan.

John and baby Garret were buried in First Baptist. They lived at 326 Spring Street in between Greenwich and Washington Streets, on the west side of the island.

I did not find much about First Baptist. The cemetery is on Find A Grave. New York City Cemetery Project featured an article with some details. On the lower east side, on North Street (now called Houston), was the First Baptist Church with adjoining land used as a graveyard. The bodies were reinterred at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn. The website of Cypress Hills Cemetery has a Find a Loved One search, but I did not find any entries that could match John or Garret.

Randel Map Number 1 from New York City Cemetery Project

Notice the angle of the adjoining church property to the cemetery. A condominium building, 14 Second Avenue Condominium, now sits atop this strip of land at the same angle.

2025 aerial view of Houston Street, location of First Baptist Cemetery

2025 map of Houston Street, Manhattan, New York
showing location of First Baptist Church and burial area

Randel maps were created over 200 years ago, showing the layout of streets and properties in Manhattan. This website beautifully lays out the corresponding geographical location of the smaller maps.

Website to access Randel Maps of Manhattan circa 1820
thegreatestgrid.mcny.org/greatest-grid/randel-map-gallery

Caroline Duryea, a later death in 1851, was buried much further north in Harlem Dutch Reformed. This cemetery is also gone. The physical church structure moved around the neighborhood over the centuries. In 1851, in the New York City directory, the church's address was Third Avenue and 122nd Street. There is still a church there, renamed Elmendorf Reformed. The burying ground predates the moves of the physical church buildings. As of this writing, I have not found a definitive map of the perimeter of the burying ground, but it was in the area of First Avenue and 125th and 126th Streets.

1851 New York City directory
Harlem Dutch Reformed Church
Minister Jeremiah S Lord
122d (Street), corner Avenue 3

A portion of the burying ground became dedicated to the burial of people of African descent, but fell out of use and was forgotten over time. In 2008 the graveyard was discovered when Metropolitan Transportation Authority dug to build a bus depot.

Beginning in 1869 some of the bodies were moved to Woodlawn Cemetery. The images are housed at FindMyPast. There are only 35 pages. I viewed all of them and did not see an entry for Caroline. There are several entries for unnamed people.

Images of records books of Disinterments
Harlem Dutch Reformed Church Cemetery
1869-1875

On March 12, 2025 I sent an inquiry of Caroline's reinterment to Woodlawn Cemetery.

Death Records in the State of New York

Edmond Sheehy (1825-1893) will remain a tail in my tree for the present time.

Sheehy gravestone in Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Amenia, Dutchess County, New York.
July 22, 2019.
Inscription: Edmond Sheehy 1825-1893
Bridget his wife 1826-1906 [died 1905]
William F their son 1861-1891
Thomas Sheehy grandson 1891-1913

Edmond was my third great grandfather. He was from Limerick in Ireland, where he married Bridget Frawley (1826-1905) and had at least nine children. He joined his children in Amenia, Dutchess County, New York for a few years before dying in 1893. He was buried in Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Amenia.

His death occurred in New York State, which means that seeing his death certificate is filled with blockades. Vital records are maintained by the State Department of Health, which is sluggish in releasing copies at $22 each.

Unlike New Jersey, you cannot visit the New York State Archives and look up and copy records yourself because birth, marriage, and death records are not there. You have to wait for the Department of Health to fulfill your order. The indexes, flawed as they are, were only published on Ancestry a few years ago.

You can read about the impact in an article written by Rick Karlin for Times Union in April as well as a letter to the editor from D Joshua Taylor, president and CEO of The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, where he recommends transferring the records to the State Archives and making them available to researchers.

In 2015, I ordered a copy of Edmond Sheehy's death certificate. Ten weeks later, I received the "Notification of No Record."

Notification of No Record
Edmond Sheehy died 1893 in New York

In 2020, I requested a marriage record from the State of New York for a possible daughter of Edmond Sheehy, Joanna "Anna." This took two years to arrive.

While reviewing the indexes last year on Ancestry, I found an entry for Edward Sheeby, died April 10, 1893 in Amenia. A lowercase h can look like a lower case b. Edmond can look like Edward.

Index of Deaths in New York State. Year 1893.
Highlighted entry for Edward Sheeby, died April 10, 1893 in Amenia.
File number 16315.

On March 1, 2022, I ordered this record for $22. The check cleared one month later. Fourteen months after my request, the record has yet to arrive.

In the meantime, I ordered a copy from the Town of Amenia Town Clerk on February 23, 2023. Today a copy of the entry in the ledger book arrived. The copy looks like an image from microfilm. The surrounding records were redacted, along with the date except for ditto marks and the number "10." The name appears to be "Edward Sheehy, Sr." Age 68. The end of the first image and the beginning of the second image show a blank box for the name of father. Place of death was Smithfield and ditto marks. Cause of death was influenza and typhoid. Place of burial was Amenia.

Register of Deaths in the Town of Amenia, Dutchess County, State of New York.
Deceased- Edward Sheehy, Sr. Age 68.
Name of father blank.

By redacting most of the original page, I cannot ascertain a date. I don't know if the second part of the image is the true continuation of the line for Edward Sheehy. 

The cover letter reads in part, "In your request you site [sic] a state file number. As this may indicate the complete record is filed at the State. If you have not already made that request I would suggest it."

Cover letter included with copy of ledger book

New York was not only home to generations of my ancestors for hundreds of years, but also to millions of people who need access to these records to document their families and the history of this country. New York can do better. In 2022, New York City digitized and published their records for free to the public. (See this link to the Department of Records and Information Services.) New York State can follow. (And New Jersey while we are on the topic.)

New Jersey Vital Records Online 1848-1878

This is wonderful news.

New Jersey's earliest state-level vital records are online at Ancestry!

The covered years are 1848-1878. There are no individual certificates in this time period; rather, births, marriages, and deaths were recorded in ledger books. The information varies, but can include the person's name, date of birth or age, names of parents, places of birth, marriage, and/or death, residence, and more.

Previously, these records were only available at the Archives in Trenton and, within the last few years, at a FamilySearch Center (not from your house).

The ledger books are "organized" by county, year, and event. Use the guide below to find the correct book.

Paper I copied at the Archives a long time ago

Remember to look in the correct county. Places currently in Union County were a part of Essex County until Union County was created in 1857.

Until 1857, Plainfield was in Essex County.
You need to look in records of Essex County to find what is now called Union County.
And that is how "Essex" looked. Double S.

The microfilm rolls at the Archives:

This image captured the spine of the book.
I have never seen the original books. Do they still exist?

The microfilm is viewable on the reader in the background.
Flashback to the 1960s.

Below is a page viewed at a FamilySearch Center. Alfred Dunlop (1831-1892) married Mary Bedle (1840-1927) on December 20, 1865 in Matawan, Monmouth County. He was my third great granduncle. They moved from New Jersey to Indiana and had three children, but no grandchildren.

Citation and blue markings added by author.

I don't know how Ancestry or FamilySearch comes by their images. The quality varies.

Same page at Ancestry

I didn't find all the images at Ancestry. For example, my great great grandfather, Charles Cook (died 1937) was born in Denville, Morris County on June 11, 1858. This was recorded in Book Z2, Births in Morris County, 1848-1867. I found no match in the searchable index and the book did not appear in any menu for browsing. Below is the image photographed on the microfilm reader at the Archives.

Typing added by author

The State Archives has already indexed this collection on their website. It is more precise than the index currently available at Ancestry.

Search page on the State Archive's website.
The exact URLs change over time, so Google for the current link.
Try "New Jersey State Archives Searchable Databases."

For example, a search of the State's index produces specific and accurate results for David Uhl, died October 3, 1867 in Newark. He was a baby of my third great grandparents, David Uhl (1834-1884) and Clara Patschke (1840-1914).

Ancestry's index, in contrast, omits distinguishing details, such as age, location, and date.

The image of the page in the ledger book is below. The month is written once; hence, the indexer only wrote the day. The year is inferred by the range of dates at the top of the page. In this instant, the dates are from June 1 of 1867 through June 1 of 1868. Because this event was in October, the year was 1867. All events were in Newark, but the indexer did not include location, perhaps because "place of death" was blank on each line.

Benjamin Marsh (1797-1867) was a son of my sixth great grandparents, Charles Marsh (1755-1833) and Abigail Denman or Faitoute (1756-1821). (That will be a post for another day.) Benjamin died in Newark on April 8, 1867 and was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery. His entry in ledger book N "Deaths in Newark City 1848-1867" is below.

The State's online index tells us exactly where to find Benjamin's entry.

Ancestry's index is wonky. I did not think this could be him, but no other entries looked like him either. His gender, age (off by 44 years), date (missing year), and residence (name of parents of someone else) were all transcribed wrong.

I would anticipate (hope?) that Ancestry will clean up their index. If linking to such a record through your family tree software, you would need to discard the erroneous information. It would be a good idea to go to the page and download it for your files, in case something happens to this collection. Yes, folks, this can happen.

Around May of 1878, the State began creating individual certificates for births, marriages, and deaths. That is why this collection is only from the start of state registration in 1848 through the middle of 1878. If your event is on the cusp, search both the ledger books and the individual certificates.

Death Knocked Twice

Some people's deaths were never reported to the State.  William Walling's death was reported twice.

William Walling was my 4x great grandfather.  He was born around 1803 in Keyport, Monmouth County, New Jersey to William Walling and Rebecca Dey.  He married Ellen Euphemia Imlay.  I descend from their daughter, Sophia T Walling.

William died in 1870 on July 31st.  A newspaper article four days before his death, described his physical labors constructing a building in Keyport.  I have been seeking documentation on his parents.

William Walling's death appears in the online index of New Jersey Deaths and Burials, 1720-1988 at FamilySearch.org (a free site).  But there seemed to be two entries: 1870 and 1871.  (Remember the past problem with this index:  the year can be off by one because New Jersey's records were not organized based on a calendar year.)

Volume AP is the death ledger for 1869-1870.
Volume AR is the death ledger for 1870-1871.

So I looked up both records.

Volume AP, New Jersey Deaths, Hunterdon-Warren Counties, 1869-1870

Volume AR, New Jersey Deaths, Hunterdon-Warren Counties, 1870-1871

Remember that individual death certificates were not issued until 1878.

Volume AP, page 118, covers deaths in Monmouth County, New Jersey from August 1, 1869 through July 31, 1870.  William Walling died on the last day covered by this ledger book.  Note that his parents are listed as Thomas and Rebecca.

Volume AR, page 111, covers deaths in Monmouth County from August 1, 1870 through September 30, 1871.  However, the first entry is a death on July 25, 1870 and the last is July 26, 1871.  William's parents are listed as William and Rebecca.

William died of stomach cancer in both entries.  Yet he was digging a well a few days before his death.

Also note that another Walling is on both pages.  Wallings are plentiful in the geographic area.

The research point is that a record may be missing completely, appear in duplicate, or appear in a place where it should not be.  So you need to cast a wide net of years and locations when looking for records.

A Page from the Book of Death

While perusing the death records on my most recent trip to the New Jersey State Archives, a found an entry for a murder-suicide.

In 1878, New Jersey started issuing individual death certificates.  Before then, deaths reported to the State were logged in ledger books.  No individual records were created.  Jersey City's deaths are separate from the rest of Hudson County.  Browsing the pages of death gives you a glimpse of the times.  This page from 1872-1873 records the death of eighteen children and six adults, mostly from infectious diseases that we rarely see today.  One set of siblings was wiped out from diptheria; another from scarlet fever.

What caught my eye was the entry for Mary Gehring, age 55, and Michael Gehring, age 45.  Both were born in Germany.  Their deaths were in September of 1872- no specific day.

I followed their lines to the cause of death.  Mary was murdered; Michael committed suicide.  This is not seen often.

The incident made the first page of the Jersey Journal for September 27, 1872.  According to the article, Mary and Michael Gehring immigrated about twenty years earlier.  They had a violent marriage with periods of not residing together.  On the night of September 26, 1872, Michael returned to the home after an absence.  Initially Michael and Mary were getting along, but soon began arguing.  In front of their 13 year old son, Michael fatally stabbed Mary at least three times and then slit his own throat.

Four children survived couple.  An 18 year old son, Frank, is mentioned; as was Christopher Diericks, a son-in-law.

If anyone has anything further on this family, please let us know.  Any descendants out there?

Indexing Project: New York City Death Ledgers, Part Two

The indexing continues of the New York City death registers for the Italian Genealogical Group.  This set includes the years 1837 and 1838.  They are not as clear as the previous set.  The city directories over at Fold3 are proving useful for deciphering some names.

April 1837 Register of Deaths for New York City.
Individual death certificates were not created during this time.

Some names are difficult to decipher for the transcription.  This surname looks like BIBBY.
The first name could be Cathy, Walter, Arthur.

A check of the city directories shows that people named Bibby were indeed living in New York City at this time.
So Bibby the name shall be.
[1838 New York City Directory by Longworth.  Available online at Fold3.]

Online transcriptions are an invaluable resource to genealogists, but the difficulties illustrated here demonstrate that mistakes are likely and you need to seek the original source.  In this particular project, the original record includes place of burial, cause of death, and nativity- additional pertinant information that will not be in the online index.  If you are unable to travel to New York City to view these ledgers, you can order the microfilm through a FamilySearch Center [catalog numbers 447544-447568 and 1314271-1314289] or wait for the images to appear online at FamilySearch.