Genealogy Trails Logo
Welcome to Genealogy Trails
Volunteers working to put free historical data online.

My name is Jennifer Morse and as your Steuben County, NY host I try to post as much data online as possible in order to make it freely available to all. We gratefully accept contributions of raw data such as census information, marriage/birth/death records, and obituaries, county histories, biographies, old newspaper items - anything that would help someone build their family tree!!

Feel free to email me with your contributions - every little bit helps.

I regret that I am unable to do personal research.

Welcome to
Steuben County

Steuben County Seal

New York
Genealogy and History

ONLINE DATA

~ Bible Records ~ Biographies (updated 6-20-09) ~ Black Sheep (updated 5-20-09) ~ Cemeteries ~ Census ~ Deeds ~

~ Government ~ Maps ~ Military ~ Marriages (updated 10-17-09) ~ Miscellaneous ~ Newspapers ~

~ Obituaries (updated 10-25-09) ~ Resources ~ Townships ~ Vital Records ~ Wills ~

Index of Recent Additions & Updates
Click here to browse recent additions to this site from previous months.

Local Historians
& Their Stories

WHATS NEW?
Wheeler Newspaper Tidbits............................................updated 22 Nov 2009
Prattsburgh Newspaper Tidbits........................................updated 22 Nov 2009
Rathbone Newspaper Tidbits.............................................added 22 Nov 2009
Greenwood Newspaper Tidbits........................................updated 22 Nov 2009
Troupsburg Newspaper Tidbits.......................................updated 22 Nov 2009
West Union Newspaper Tidbits.......................................updated 22 Nov 2009
Hornellsville Newspaper Tidbits.......................................updated 22 Nov 2009
Thurston Newspaper Tidbits..............................................added 22 Nov 2009
Corning Newspaper Tidbits.............................................updated 22 Nov 2009
Bath Newspaper Tidbits..................................................updated 22 Nov 2009
Pulteney Newspaper Tidbits............................................updated 25 Oct 2009
Addison Newspaper Tidbits..............................................updated 25 Oct 2009
Steuben County, New York Obituaries..............................updated 25 Oct 2009
1801 Bath Resident Letter..................................................added 24 Oct 2009
Pulteney Estate Page.......................................................updated 24 Oct 2009
Bath Newspaper Tidbits..................................................updated 24 Oct 2009
Township Index..............................................................updated 24 Oct 2009
David Cook Revolutionary Pension.....................................added 18 Oct 2009
Pulteney Estate Page.......................................................updated 17 Oct 2009
Addison Newspaper Tidbits..............................................updated 17 Oct 2009
Greenwood Newspaper Tidbits.........................................updated 17 Oct 2009
Steuben County, New York Marriages..............................updated 17 Oct 2009
Steuben County, New York Obituaries..............................updated 17 Oct 2009
Bath Newspaper Tidbits...................................................updated 17 Oct 2009

Search this site

Please be patient

Some Sites are still under construction

Surrounding New York Counties
Allegany County     Ontario County
Chemung County     Schuyler County
Livingston County        Yates County

Surrounding Pennsylvania Counties
Potter County Tioga County

Back to the New York State Page
New York State Seal

Visit our National Site

Genealogy Trails Logo

Join our Mailing Lists
to be notified of our website updates.

New York State County Map

FORMATION & ORGANIZATION
OF STEUBEN COUNTY

     Steuben County was named for Friedrich Wilhelm Augustin, Baron von Steuben (1730-1794), a German-Prussian General who served with George Washington in the American Revolutionary War. Settlers first became aware of the area during Sullivan's expedition. Until this time it was inhabited mostly by the Iroquois, which were driven out of the area by Sullivan in response to the Wyoming Massacre that took place in nearby portions of Pennsylvania.
     Settlement at the end of the war was impeded, however, as ownership of Western New York was contested and had long been claimed by both Massachusetts and New York. Finally, on December 16, 1786 a compact was reached between the two states. Massachusetts received the greater part of New York lying west of Seneca Lake and conveyed about 2,600,000 acres to Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham at the end of 1788.
     The portion of the purchase which now constitutes Steuben County was surveyed by Frederick Saxton, Augustus Porter, Thomas Davis, and Robert James in the summer of 1789. Phelps and Gorham sold the remaining unsold land, in 1790, to Robert Morris of Philadelphia, who in turn sold it to Sir William Pulteney, of England, in 1792. This has since been known as the Pulteney Estate, and their agent, Charles Williamson was responsible for selling the remaining land.
     Formed March 18, 1796, Steuben County was taken from Ontario County. Originally it was divided into six towns, that of: Bath, Canisteo, Dansville, Fredericton, Middletown, and Painted Post. Since its organization, portions have been annexed to Allegany, Yates, Livingston and Schuyler Counties, leaving it with 1,397 square miles of land area, making it larger than the state of Rhode Island. The County seat is Bath, the village named for Sir William Pulteney's daughter, Laura, the Countess of Bath.