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Local History Resources: Genealogy Collection / Genealogy Research

Local Genealogies

The Freeport Memorial Library has the following family genealogies:

  1. Cornelius Family 
  2. Samuel and Mary Dodd   LI R 929.2 D
  3. Ella Adelia (Bedell) Hunt  LI R 929.2 H
  4. Kouwenhoven Family (LI R 974.721 B)
  5. Raynor Family, LI R 929.2 C
  6. Raynor Family History LI R 929.2 M
  7. Rock Smith Family  LI R 973.3 C
  8. Mildred Tucker  LI R 929.2 T (2 volumes)
  9. Verity Family (1976 edition)  LI R. 929.2 B
  10. Verity Family (2000 edition)
  11. Mary Elizabeth Ryan and John Francis A. Steward  LI R 974.723 P
  12. Williamson Family  [Freeport Author] LI R 929.2 B

 

Online Genealogies

The Seaman Family in America Captain John Seaman

Online Genealogies

Local Cemeteries

History of Freeport's Cemeteries

For almost three centuries, Long Islanders buried their dead in local church cemeteries, family plots, or community graveyards.  From the early 1800s to 1922, the Village of Freeport had at least four burial grounds. The Powell Family Cemetery established in the 1830s was located on Grand Avenue near Babylon Turnpike.  The 50 x 500 feet plot of land known as Smith Family Cemetery was also established in the early 19th century on Merrick Road close to Guy Lombardo Avenue.  The Benedict Poor House Cemetery located near Poor House Road (now Bayview Avenue) was established in the early 1800s.  The most well known burial ground, the Freeport Cemetery (sometimes referred to as the Presbyterian Cemetery) was established in the early to mid 1800s. 

The demise of local cemeteries occurred after Greenfield Cemetery in Uniondale was established in 1870 and when the population of Freeport grew making land more valuable.   All traces of the Poor House cemetery disappeared in 1894.  After the descendants of the Smith family sold the burial grounds for development to Henry Crandall in 1900, 20 graves were moved to Greenfield Cemetery.  The grandson of the founder of the Powell Cemetery had about 13 family plots moved to Greenfield in 1900.  By 1904, the condition of the Freeport Cemetery had deteriorated to such a state that it was becoming a public nuisance.   A year after the cemetery’s last internment in 1920, the land was condemned and ownership transferred to the Freeport Schools so a new high school could be built.  All bodies were removed and relocated.  Most of the re-internments occurred in Greenfield Cemetery. 

 

Freeport/Presbyterian Cemetery

Inscriptions: Village of Freeport, Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau, Long Island, New York. [Inscriptions on tombstones in the Presbyterian Cemetery, Around the Church, as copied Thurs., 8 May, 1913]  (please note: this sources is incomplete) LI R 929.37472 E

Burial Records as complied by the Freeport Historical Society (After Greenfield Cemetery in Uniondale opened in the 1870s, many families began to move loved-ones to this new location.  This database does not include the names of those disinterred before 1920).

 

Local Cemetery Contact Information

Hint:  Contact cemetery offices during late mornings or early afternoons.  Cemeteries are generally busy in the mornings with funerals.

Greenfield Cemetery: 650 Nassau Road, Uniondale NY 11553-2779, Phone 516-483-6500

Rockville Cemetery: Ocean Avenue and Merrick Road, Lynbrook, NY 11563, Phone 516-599-0411 (once called the Sand Hole Cemetery and the Sand Hill Cemetery)

   

Local Government Resources

FREEPORT

Village of Freeport, Registrar's Office, 46 North Ocean Avenue, Freeport, NY, Phone: 516-377-2250

The Registrar's Office issues Certified copies of Birth Certificates and Death Certificates for persons who were born and/or died within the Village of Freeport.  A New York State Department of Health application form must be completed and proper photo identification must be submitted to obtain these records.  There is a $10 fee for each certified copy of either a Birth Certificate or Death Certificate.  The Registrar also issues Burial / Transfer Permits to funeral directors.  Click here for form DOH-296A.

 

 

TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD

 

Town of Hempstead Registrar, One Washington Street, Hempstead, NY 11550

Phone: 516-489-5000

Birth, Death and Marriage Records for genealogical purposes are performed by the Town Clerk's office. Birth records must be on file at least 75 years and Death and Marriage records must be on file at least 50 years to be eligible for a genealogy search. Uncertified copies only are provided and are clearly marked with the statement "For Genealogical Purposes Only".

 

NASSAU COUNTY

Surrogate’s Court, 262 Old Country Road, Mineola, NY 11501

Phone: 516-571-2082

Probate records, including Wills, Estates and Administration/Small Estates are filed in Surrogate's Court.

 

NEW YORK CITY

NYC Health Department 

Phone: 1-212 NEW-YORK (212-639-9675)

 

NEW YORK STATE

NYS Department of Health

Phone: 1-877-854-4481

1934 and 1935 Yearbooks: Names and Addresses