The Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County boasts one of the premier collections of local historical and genealogical materials in western New York, while smaller municipal libraries such as the Ogden Farmers' Library in Spencerport, the Henrietta Public Library, and the Penfield Public Library have built collections of materials relevant to their particular towns.

The sections at the left provide links to extensive materials held by the Central Library's Local History and Retrieval Divisions and by various town libraries.

Rochester History

In January, 1939, Assistant City Historian Dr. Blake McKelvey published the first quarterly Rochester History pamphlet, focusing on Rochester and western New York. Rochester History has continued to be published since that time, and digitized versions of those pamphlets are available at the Central Library. 

Rochester Images

The Rochester Images database includes thousands of historical and contemporary images from Rochester and Monroe County. Images were chosen from the collections of the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County Local History Division, the City of Rochester Municipal Archives and City Hall Photo Lab, the Rochester Museum & Science Center, the Town of Brighton Historian's Office, the Town of Perinton Historian's Office, the Village of East Rochester Historian's Office, and the Village of Hilton Historian's Office. Photographs and postcards form the foundation of the database, which is searchable through the library catalog. 

Genealogy Resources

• Life Records Database --  birth, death, and marriage indexes from City of Rochester newspapers and selected records from the Brockport Republic indexed by Ogden Farmers’ Library.
• Rochester City Directories -- digitized pdf versions of Rochester City Directories
• Rochester Newspaper Index -- digitized pdf references to articles that appeared in the Rochester newspapers during the period 1818-1897.
• New York State Vital Records Index -- microfiche index to New York State Vital Records. The NYS Bureau of Vital Records provides birth and marriage records from 1881 and death records from 1880. The microfiche is located in the Retrieval Room of the Central Library.
• Census Record Holdings -- microfilm, CD, online, and print formats
• Indexes - pdf versions of print indexes to newspapers and other print materials held by  libraries in Monroe County. These indexes were created by staff at the Central Library and various town libraries.
• Research FAQs -- answers frequently-asked questions about how to find historical and genealogical materials in Rochester and Monroe County
• Genealogy Links -- links to other web sites that are useful for local genealogical research

Local History Resources

•  Rochester Public Library -- many significant collections of historical material relating to Rochester and the surrounding areas; located in the Local History and Retrieval Divisions of the Central Library
• Town Libraries -- materials available at town and village libraries located in Monroe County
• Local Historians -- names and contact information for the municipal historians operating in Monroe County
• Indexes -- pdf versions of print indexes to items such as the Scrapbook collection at the Central Library
• Links -- links to other web sites that are useful for local historical research
• Underground Railroad -- guide to resources both in the library and on the Internet for learning about the Underground Railroad in Monroe County, NY

The information provided by these various resources will help researchers find answers to questions about the history of Rochester and Monroe County, and will aid genealogy researchers looking for family information. What is provided online, however, is only a very small part of all the collections held at the libraries in Rochester and Monroe County. The information here will help you get started, but visiting our libraries will speed you on your way.