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It was the year 1624 when the first Dutch settlers began to arrive in New York, settling along the Hudson River. They established what they called "The Colony of New Amsterdam" on Manhattan Island in 1626, but in 1664 the English seized control of the colony and changed the name to New York. Counties were established in 1683, of which Albany County was the largest. It wasn't until 1788, twelve years after America won it's independence from Great Britain, that New York was officially established as a U.S. State. The County Seat is Albany.
Albany County originally encompassed most of central and western New York. The following counties were formed from Albany County and most were later sub-divided:
Washington County (1772)
part of Montgomery County (1772)
Charlotte County (1772, renamed Washington in 1784)
Tryon County (1772, renamed Montgomery in 1784)
Columbia County (1786)
Rensselaer County (1791)
Saratoga County (1791)
part of Schoharie County (1795)
Schenectady County (1809)
The Annals of Albany by Joel Munsell contains a wealth of information about Albany County, New York. Church records, historic events, illustrations, portraits, and much more! Choose a volume to read or search for free at Archive.org:
Volume 1 [Link] Volume 6 [Link]
Volume 2 [Link] Volume 7 [Link]
Volume 3 [Link] Volume 8 [Link]
Volume 4 [Link] Volume 9 [Link]
Volume 5 [Link] Volume 10 [Link]
Click here for more genealogy resources.
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Click here for more Albany County resources including a list of towns.