SCHS is a member supported non-profit organization that receives no tax support; therefore the following fees apply:
Obituary and Marriage Record Requests
Research is limited to the holdings of the Grems-Doolittle Library. The library has transcriptions of obituary and marriage notices from local newspapers from 1812-1884. (1824-1869 on microfilm). Look-ups of individual marriage or death records cost $5.00 per name. Please use this form for requesting obituary or marriage look-ups.
Almshouse/Poorhouse Records Requests
In 1896, the NYS Legislature passed legislation requiring officers of public almshouses and poorhouses to submit an annual census of inmates to the State Board of Charities. At a state conference of Superintendents of the Poor, a committee developed a standard form for reporting information about each inmate. This form was used unchanged until 1905 when the State Board made a few minor revisions. Although the records span the years from 1875 to 1920, there are often gaps of one or more years in the census returns from a particular county. Most records are in the 1900-1919 time period.
The Historical Society has a microfilm copy of these records for the poorhouse in Schenectady County, New York. Society staff will make copies of a card if you submit the request form. There will be a charge of $5.00 for each name (including alternate spellings) submitted. Preview an image of a sample card.
Research Fees
The fee for library research is $25.00 per hour of research time conducted by our staff and volunteers. Contact us by phone, fax, mail or email and please indicate the number of hours of search you wish to authorize.
If your request is genealogical, please send us a chart, with dates going back as far as you know them, indicating the surnames you wish to have searched. Also, please indicate whether the dates are firm, or whether you wish us to verify them through our records. Most important: please give us your surface mail address in case we need it to send you material that cannot be sent e-mail. Queries may be sent via U. S. Mail, emailed to our librarian or faxed to (518)374-0263. Please call first before faxing.
Queries are answered in order of their receipt. The length of time to respond depends on the volume of requests being handled in the same period.
Photocopies and Digital Copies
Photocopies are 20 cents per sheet for sizes 8.5 x 11 and 8.5 x 14.
Digital Copies of photographs and documents in the library can be done at the discretion of the library staff. When scans are made by staff using library equipment the charge for a single scan is $10.00 for a TIFF file and $5.00 for a JPG file. Fees must be pre-paid. Library users may use their own equipment (such as cameras, cell phones or portable scanners) to make digital copies at the discretion of the library staff. The charge will be $5.00 for up to five scanned, or photographed images. There will be an additional charge of $5.00 for each image copied beyond the first five.
Please contact the library for information on permission to publish images or documents in the library collections.
Donating Books and Manuscripts
Please contact the librarian if you are interested in donating materials to the library. The Library collects the records of enduring value which document the people and history of the City and County of Schenectady, and to a lesser degree, documents relating to the surrounding areas in New York State.