Rosemary Collinsreports on data releases and genealogy news
MyHeritage adds 37 million New York family history records
More than 37 million birth, marriage and death records from New York City have gone online at family history website MyHeritage (myheritage.com).
The record sets consist of 7,560,069 birth records (1866–1909), 20,912,651 marriage records (1866-1949) and 8,893,688 death records (1866–1948).
They are searchable and include digitised images of the original documents.
All of the records are extremely detailed. The birth certificates include the child’s name, sex and race; date and place of birth; the father’s name, age, occupation, place of birth and place of residence; the mother’s name, age, maiden name and places of birth and residence; and how many previous children were born to the couple, and how many are still living.
Marriage certificates include each spouse’s age; place of residence; race; marital status; occupation; birthplace; father’s name; and mother’s maiden name.
The death certificates include the deceased’s age; race; marital status; occupation; birthplace; how long they were resident in New York; the birthplaces of their parents; the place; date and cause of their death; and the place and date of burial.
The records include many famous people who lived in New York City during the period covered. For example, the birth records include the birth of William Vincent Astor on 15 November 1891 at 374 5th Avenue.
Astor – later known as Vincent Astor – was a member of the prominent Astor family of businessmen and politicians. His parents, who are recorded on the birth certificate, were John Jacob Astor and his wife Ava (née Willing).
Vincent Astor inherited his family fortune at the age of 20 when his father died in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. He became known for spending his money on philanthropic causes.
The marriage records include the first marriage of Nathan Birnbaum, the real name of legendary US comedian George Burns. He married Hannah Siegel on 5 September 1917. The record says that Birnbaum was 21, with his profession given as “Performer”, and Siegel was 18. The couple, who performed a dance routine together, married so that her parents would allow her to go on tour, and divorced at the end of the tour 26 weeks later. In 1926, Birnbaum married his second wife Gracie Allen, and the pair worked together as a famous comedy duo for decades
