1892, 1915 & 1925 & 1940 Indexed New York Census Online!

New Yorkers can now search for their roots in the newly indexed 1940 U.S. Federal Census for New York and three state censuses dating to 1892, exclusively on Ancestry.com

PROVO, UTAH – (June 6, 2012) – Ancestry.com the world’s largest online family history resource, has announced an exclusive offer for New Yorkers to jump start their family history research.  Starting today, a valuable select group of record collections, provided through a partnership with the New York State Archives and Library, are now available free to New York state residents.

[Lorine's note - the records can be searched by those not living in New York but you must have an Ancestry subscription unless you are a New York resident]

The new records include the first available online index for the 1940 U.S. Federal Census for New York which includes more than 13 million resident names with details including age, birthplace, street address and residence in 1935. These records reveal a unique snapshot of the state as it emerged from the Great Depression, providing a valuable gateway to New York family information in the years leading up to World War II.

To complement the 1940 Census records, Ancestry.com is offering a bevy of additional records with its New York collection, including two state censuses never before released in digital form and a dozen other relevant collections spanning nearly 400 years of state history.

Ancestry.com has partnered with the New York State Archives to publish the 1925, 1915 and 1892 New York State censuses. Both the 1925 and 1915 censuses are digitized and available for the first time online, and along with the 1892 state census, provide the next step for discovery beyond the revelations of the 1940 Federal Census. These censuses are unique because they fall in the interim years between federal censuses, providing additional insight into population and societal trends in the state. For example, between the 1910 and 1920 federal censuses, New York experienced a population surge of 1.3 million residents due to heavy immigration (14 percent growth). The 1892 state census provides information that was lost when the 1890 U.S. Federal Census was damaged and destroyed by fire in 1921.  New York state residents can access these special New York collections with a simple zip code verification process.

Like many from the Empire State, former New York City Mayor and native New Yorker, Ed Koch, and his family are found throughout many records held at Ancestry.com, including some of the New York collection. Koch’s father, Leib, first appears in a 1910 New York Passenger List when he immigrated to the United States from Ukraine alone at the age of 16. The 1915 New York State Census shows Koch’s father living with his sister in the Bronx. Edward Koch first appears in the 1925 New York State Census, which records him as an infant having been born in the Bronx in 1924. Koch appears again in the 1930 U.S. Federal Census as “Edwin”, residing in an Eastern European Bronx neighborhood where he lived with his parents and brother in a $75/month apartment.

“Like so many New Yorkers, I am extremely proud of our great state and am excited to have the opportunity to access these digitized records with others in the state,” said Koch. “With such a wealth of information now available for free online at Ancestry.com, citizens past and present have the opportunity to embrace their connection to New York.”