CMA - Minutes of the Court of Albany, Rensselaerswyck and Schenectady, 1668-1685, translated and edited by Arnold J. F. Van Laer, and published by New York State (Albany) in three volumes in 1926.
Summaries of regular and extraordinary sessions covering the years before 1686. A wonderful (and unparalleled) resource for information on everyday life including some accounts, lists, and other survey documents. Well-indexed!
CP - Public Papers of George Clinton, First Governor of New York, 1777-1795 - 1801-1804 transcribed and edited by Hugh Hastings and the staff of the State Historian's office and published by New York State in eight volumes, 1899-1914. Volumes 9-10 present a comprehensive index.
Each volume has a calendar of its documents. Many of the letters and reports provide important windows on conditions in wartime Albany and the activities of its people.
CSG - "Christoph's Schuyler Genealogy" published as the Schuyler Genealogy: A Compendium of Sources Pertaining to the Schuyler Families in America Prior to 1800, compiled by Florence Christoph and published by the Friends of Schuyler Mansion in 1987. In 1992, the "Friends" sponsored publication of a second volume of the Schuyler Genealogy - which brought the family genealogy up to 1900.
CW - Calendar of Wills on File and Recorded in the Offices of the Court of Appeals, of the County Clerk at Albany, and of the Secretary of State, 1626-1836 (New York, 1896), reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Company in 1967. This is the basic finding aid for early Albany wills. Each entry includes only defining information and brief particulars. Many of the 2,162 province-wide will entries are printed more fully in AW and other sources. This work is well-indexed! In 2007, it had been digitized and
placed online.
DAB - Dictionary of American Biography, edited by Dumas Malone, 20 volumes and index. (New York, 1936).
Supplements issued until 1980. Available on CD. Superceded by American National Biography.
DHNY - Documentary History of the State of New York, compiled by Edmund B. O'Callaghan and published in four volumes between 1849 and 1851.
Includes engravings of maps and other illustrations. Arranged topically and includes substantial collections of documentary material on the early history of Oswego, Albany, St. Peter's Church, Rensselaerswyck, and Sir William Johnson. Also includes a number of reports and census and population materials! Available on CD.
DSSA - Yearbook of the Dutch Settlers Society of Albany. An article about New Netherland families and the Colonial Albany Project appeared in the 1997 volume. See Henry B. Hoff's overview description of this valuable resource.
EN - Abstracts of the Wills of the County of Albany, State of New York, 1787-1800, compiled by Eric C. Nagle (typescript Albany, 1979), 185 pages, bibliography.
A calendar of wills filed in Albany County during those dates. Lists heirs and executors, relevant dates, and provides some defining information. Most useful for its inclusion of a number of detailed estate inventories including that of Dr. Henry Van Dyck. Also includes listings of "Letters of Administration." Items listed are filed with the Albany County Surrogate's Court.
ERA - Early Records of the City and County of Albany and Colony of Rensselaerswyck, translated by Jonathan Pearson and edited by Arnold J. F. Van Laer (Albany, 1869-1919), published in four volumes.
This series basically covers the years from 1664 to 1686 but includes documents from other times as well. Pearson's editorial work on volume one includes much historical and genealogical material. It must be used cautiously. Volume 2 is primarily deeds, bonds, and contracts. Volume 3 is primarily notarial records. Volume 4 is primarily wills.
HT - History of the County of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886, compiled by George Rogers Howell and Jonathan Tenney and "assisted by local writers" (New York, 1886).
Advertized as the "Bicentennial History of Albany," this monumental work is a classic Victorian local history and the most comprehensive antiquarian history of Albany. It is popularly known as "Howell and Tenney."
JP - The Papers of Sir William Johnson, compiled by the New York State Historian's office and published by the State in thirteen volumes (1921-1962). An indispensible analytical index (volume 14) was issued in 1965.
Johnson
maintained governmental, military, economic, and social relationships with
a large number of Albany people. These volumes of letters and accounts provide
a window on life in Albany from the 1740s to the 1770s. This
series also has become an important contact resource for graphics
materials that appear on this site.
JPC - Journals of the Provincial Congress, Provincial Convention, Committee of Safety, and Council of Safety of the State of New York, 1775-1777, published by New York State in two volumes in 1842.
LA - Laws and Ordinances, of the Mayor, Recoder, Aldermen, and Commonalty, of the City of Albany, published for the city by Alexander and James Robertson, 1773.
A compilation of eighteen items regulating activities in the city.
LHG - A Legacy of Historical Gleanings, compiled by Catharina V.R. Bonney (Albany, 1875), two volumes: volume I: 542 total pages, notes, illustrations, index.
The first volume of this
very enlightening compendium of materials on the Van Rensselaer family (particularly
those who lived at Cherry Hill) contains narrated transcriptions of letters
and business papers of Robert Sanders
and Philip Van Rensselaer. At the same time,
her commentary is laced with misstatements of fact and family lore.
LIR - "The Livingston Indian Records, 1666-1723,"
edited by Lawrence H. Leder, printed in Pennsylvania History 33:1
(January 1956), 240 pages.
Includes a discussion of Robert
Livingston's stewardship and an outline history of the Iroquois by Paul A. W. Wallace. The Livingstons were secretaries to the Albany Commissioners
of Indian Affairs from the 1660s until 1749.
MC - Joel Munsell's Collections on the
History of Albany (4 volumes - published 1865-71). A continuation of type of materials presented in Munsell's Annals.
Presents transcriptions of common council minutes not found in the Annals of Albany. Outline index.
NYCD - Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York, compiled by Edmund B. O'Callaghan and Berthold Fernow with the assistance of John Romeyn Brodhead. Fourteen volumes published between 1856 and 1887 with volume 11 being an analytical index.
NYGBR - New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. Published by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.
Includes many relevant records transcriptions; family materials, guides to collections, and other historical and genealogical items. An extremely useful - even indispensible resource! The Record issued volume 133 in 2002!
NYH - New York History. Published by the New York State Historical Association.
Includes interpretive articles, document transcrips, and other historical and informational items. New York History issued volume 85 in 2004!