Albany County Hall
of Records

Transcribed by Arlene Goodwin
Updated in 2007 courtesy of Jill Hughes, Hall of Records, Albany County

 YESTERDAY’S RECORDS
FOR TOMORROW’S USE

Hon. Thomas G. Clingan, Albany County Clerk
Hon. Gerald D. Jennings, Mayor, City of Albany

WELCOME TO
THE ALBANY COUNTY
HALL OF RECORDS

Information is a strategic resource, essential to plan deploy, and analyze use of money, energy, materials. To create records wisely and to use, store and dispose of them efficiently is both positive and prudent.

Rooted in law as well as in practice, the Albany County Hall of Records is responsible for the safe, secure, economical, and systematic storage and retrieval of the public records of the County and City of Albany.  We function as a complete “memory bank” for local government, providing

·        records management consultation  
·        micrographics services
·        storage of inactive records
·        archival processes

Albany has been settled for more than 350 years; there has been an Albany County since 1683, and a chartered City of Albany since 1686. As county and city government grew, so did the quantity of records created in the carrying our of their functions.  Many times in the past, efforts were made to establish “archives” with a view to preserving historic or legal records.

At the Hall of Records, emphasis is on providing service and cost-effective utility to the public. We cam point to the use of public records in the day-to-day documentation and repair of deteriorating infrastructure, in providing security for personal or property concerns of citizens, in the documenting of marriages, pensions, mortgages, and deeds.

Archives serve a purpose beyond the academic ones popularly ascribed to them. The Archives is validated each time a department head can check as annual report, a worker can verify a disability claim or a citizen his/her naturalization and each time a company can evaluate past trends and performances in planning for the future.

The goal of the Archives at the Albany County Hall of Records is to preserve and make available, as much as possible, a portion of the recorded history of the County and City of Albany. This preservation is achieved by careful handling of primary source materials, their storage in acid free paper or boxes, and their location in environmentally controlled areas.  Documents are given clear and inclusive labeling, as well as inventory control numbers that are recorded on computer. Microfilming of material makes them available to the researchers without wear or tear on original copies.

Through active reformatting of records, we insure preservation of unique information for future generations-yesterday’s records for tomorrow’s use.

RELATED INFORMATION SERVICES:

For current deeds, mortgages, divorce records, Supreme Court records after 1919:            

For wills and letters of administration:       

For ship passenger and immigration lists:

            National Archives-Pittsfield Region
            100 Dan Fox Drive
            Pittsfield, MA 01201  (413)445-6885 

For Building Permit plans after 1914: 

            City Bureau of Buildings
            City Hall, Room 303
            Albany, NY 12207
            (518) 434-5165

Albany County Historian:            

Albany City Historian

            Virginia Bowers
            352 Second Ave.
            Albany, NY 12209
            (518) 463-7022

For New York State Archival Records:

            New York State Archives
            Cultural Education Center, 11^th Floor
            Albany, NY 12230
            (518) 474-8955
            archives.nysed.gov/aindex.shtm

For births and deaths in the City of Albany:

            Bureau of Vital Statistics
            City Hall, Room 254M
            Albany, NY 12207
            (518) 434-5045
            cityofalbany.light-power.com/government/departments/vitalstatistics.aspx 

For NY State birth, death and marriage records outside the City of New York:

            New York State Department of Health
            Bureau of Vital Records
            800 North Pearl Street, 2nd Floor
            Albany NY 12207
            (518) 474-3077
            health.state.ny.us/vitalrecords

For City of Albany marriage records after 1954:

City Clerk
City Hall, Room 202
Albany, NY 12207
(518) 434-5090
albanyny.org/government/departments/d-cityclerk13.asp

For information about town vital statistics (including births and deaths) contact the city/town/village clerk:

 Albany Hall of Records Holdings:

COURT RECORDS

TAX ROLL

MUNICIPALITY 

PROPERTY RECORDS

PATENTS 

 PUBLISHED MATERIALS

 *=Available on Microfilm

t=Translation available

  Albany County
HALL OF RECORDS
Albany County Clerk 

95 Tivoli Street
Albany, NY 12207
Phone (518)436-3663
Fax (518)436-3678 

Hours
8:30 to 4:30 Weekdays

World Wide Web Homepage Address:  
http://www.albanycounty.com/achor 

The County Hall of Records
is under the jurisdiction of
Albany County Clerk
Thomas G. Clingan

Mary Wallen
Executive Director
Albany County Hall of Records
Records Management Office
City of Albany

Patricia Bryce
Deputy Director
Albany County Hall of Records

Craig Carlson
Archivist 

Virginia Farinacci
Deputy Archivist 

Available Services:  
Photocopy-Photographic Reproduction
Research

The Albany County Hall of Records reserves
the right to restrict usage of its materials in
accordance with prudent archival practice
and provision of local legislation.   
2001

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