Yates County Death Records

Yates County death records are maintained by the town and village clerks throughout the county. The county seat is Penn Yan, in the Finger Lakes region of west-central New York. Yates County was created in 1823 from Ontario County. What makes this county special for death records research is the complete set of vital records from 1847 to 1849, a period when most of the state had very poor record-keeping. Yates County also has the Swann Vital Records Collection, one of the most important genealogical resources in New York, covering records from 1723 to 2009.

Yates County Death Records at the Clerk's Office

The Yates County Clerk is at 417 Liberty Street, Suite 1107, Penn Yan, NY 14527. Call (315) 536-5120. Email countyclerk@yatescounty.org. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. The county clerk is Molly K. Linehan. The deputy clerk is Brenda L. Lloyd.

The clerk does not maintain birth or death records. Those are filed with the town or village clerk where the event happened. But the clerk's office has a lot of other records that are useful for death records research. They keep land records from 1788 to the present (indexed), court records, naturalization and immigration records, state census records from 1825 to 1925 (indexed), marriage records from 1908 to 1935, military records, and a computer database of all known cemetery burials in the county. Tax rolls go back to the 1790s.

The clerk also has complete vital records from 1847 to 1849 on microfilm or as original documents. This is a rare resource. New York passed a vital records law in 1847, but most towns did not comply. The towns in Yates County did. So you can find death records from that period here that you cannot find in most other counties.

The Yates County official website provides access to county services and record information. Here is a look at that resource.

The county website links to clerk services, vital records information, and online searchable indexes for marriage records from 1908 to 1935.

Town and Village Clerks in Yates County

Yates County has nine towns: Barrington, Benton, Italy, Jerusalem, Middlesex, Milo, Potter, Starkey, and Torrey. Three villages also maintain records: Dundee, Penn Yan, and Rushville. Each clerk keeps death records for deaths that happened in their jurisdiction.

The standard fee is $10 per certified copy. Genealogy copies are also $10 in most Yates County towns. The Town of Yates clerk is Michele Harling, at 8 South Main Street, Lyndonville, NY 14098. Call (585) 765-9716. Hours vary by day. They have birth, death, and marriage records from 1883 to the present.

The Barrington Town Clerk is at 4424 Old Bath Road, Penn Yan, NY 14527. Phone 607-243-5323. Hours are Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 PM. Note that Barrington lost many records to a fire. Some have been preserved on microfilm at the county historian's office and the New York State Library in Albany. The Town of Italy clerk can be reached at 585-374-5035.

The Yates County vital records page shows the clerk's system for handling death record requests.

This page outlines the process for getting death records in Yates County, including eligibility rules and required documents.

Who Can Get Yates County Death Records

Death records in Yates County are restricted. Only the spouse, child, sibling, or parent of the deceased can get a certified copy. Others need to show a lawful right or legal documentation. Genealogists can request death records that are at least 50 years old. Birth records require 75 years. Microfilm copies have the same restrictions.

Early vital records from the 1800s were kept in journals, not as individual certificates. The clerk can issue a transcript of a journal entry for a small fee. This is important to know if you are looking for death records from the 1847 to 1849 period or the early 1880s.

Yates County Surrogate's Court

The Yates County Surrogate's Court is at 415 Liberty Street, Penn Yan, NY 14527. Call (315) 835-6321. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. The chief clerk is Vanessa V. Smith. The judge is Hon. Jason L. Cook, who also serves as County and Family Court Judge.

Probate records go back to 1823. The court has an online index for the first 180 boxes of probate files, with an alphabetical index to principals and heirs. A project is also underway to index and transcribe all 30 books of wills recorded since 1823. Probate petitions from 1830 onward list the date of death, heirs, relationships, and addresses. These are some of the most useful documents for death records research.

The WebSurrogate system gives you free online access to Yates County court filings. You can search by name and narrow results by date of death. The court also participates in the NYSCEF electronic filing system.

Yates County Death Records in the Swann Collection

The Swann Vital Records Collection is one of the most important resources for Yates County death records. Named for Frank L. Swann (1894-1987), who served as Yates County Historian from 1956 to 1980, this collection covers records from 1723 to 2009. It contains 88,000 images on 4 x 6 inch cards arranged alphabetically.

The collection was compiled from newspaper clippings (some dating to 1818), family Bible pages (some from the 1600s), family registers, cemetery records, physicians' birth records, clergyman's marriage registers, death certificates, memorials, and early assisted living center records. Death records in the collection include surname, given names, age, date of death, and place of death.

You can access the Swann Collection on FamilySearch and Ancestry.com. This is a free resource on FamilySearch that can help you find Yates County death records going back almost 300 years.

Yates County History Center

The Yates County History Center (Genealogical and Historical Society) is at 107 Chapel Street, Penn Yan, NY 14527. Call (315) 536-7318 or email ycghs@yatespast.org. The History Center runs the Spencer Research Center with digitized newspapers, over 6,000 photographs, marriage and death records from the 1820s to 1990s, Penn Yan directories from 1879 to 1990, and school records.

The screenshot below shows the Yates County History Center website where you can learn about their research collections.

The History Center at yatespast.org has details about their collections and how to access the Spencer Research Center for death records research.

Yates County Historian's Office

The Yates County Historian is at 417 Liberty Street, Suite 0032, Penn Yan, NY 14527. Call (315) 536-5147 or email history@yatescounty.org. The historian is Len Kataskas. The office has census records from 1790 to 1925, land records from 1788, cemetery records in a computer database, tax rolls from the 1790s, military records, newspapers, court records, and immigration records.

The historian's office also has microfilmed town clerk record books for all nine towns, covering various date ranges. Barrington records run from 1942 to 1992, Benton from 1806 to 1989, and others span similar long periods. Village records for Penn Yan go back to 1833. This is an excellent resource for finding death records when you cannot get them from the town clerk directly.

The census records page below shows another resource available through the Yates County system.

Census records can help you locate family members and confirm dates when searching for Yates County death records.

State Death Records for Yates County

The New York State Department of Health has Yates County death records from 1880 forward. Mail orders cost $30. Online orders are $45 plus a vendor fee. The state takes at least eight months. Local town clerks are much faster at $10 per copy.

For genealogy, the state has uncertified copies of death records over 50 years old for $22. The New York State Archives has death record indexes from 1880 to 1943 on microfiche.

Free Online Yates County Death Records

The New York State Death Index covers 1880 to 1956 for free. FamilySearch has free collections including the state death index with images, Deaths and Burials (1795-1952), Church and Civil Deaths (1824-1962), and the Swann Vital Records Collection (1723-2009). Yates County newspapers from 1822 to about 2010 are digitized and available through NYS Historic Newspapers. The Dundee Area Historical Society at 26 Seneca Street, Dundee, phone 607-243-7047, has a large collection of obituaries and cemetery records for the south end of the county.

Nearby Counties

If the death happened near the Yates County border, check these neighboring counties too.