North Hempstead Genealogy

North Hempstead genealogy records go back to 1881 at the Town Clerk, with published town records extending coverage to the colonial period through eight volumes compiled in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The town covers a large swath of Long Island's North Shore, including Manhasset, Port Washington, Great Neck, Roslyn Heights, and more than a dozen other communities. Nassau County provides land deeds, marriage records, and court files that add depth to family research. The Bryant Library in Roslyn holds local history collections with 19th and 20th century materials that can fill in gaps between official records.

North Hempstead Town Clerk Records

The North Hempstead Town Clerk serves as Records Management Officer and Registrar of Vital Statistics. The clerk maintains birth and death certificates and acts as a Designated Marriage Officer. Birth and death records are on file from 1881 to the present. The office also issues state licenses for marriage, hunting, fishing, going out of business sales, games of chance, dog, bingo, and raffle, plus town licenses for taxi, towing, peddlers, and solid waste collection.

The unincorporated communities within North Hempstead include Albertson, Carle Place, Glenwood Landing, Great Neck Gardens, Greenvale, Harbor Hills, Herricks, Manhasset, Manhasset Hills, New Cassel, North New Hyde Park, Port Washington, Roslyn Heights, Saddle Rock Estates, Searington, Strathmore, University Gardens, and Williston Park. If your ancestors lived in any of these places, the North Hempstead Town Clerk is where to look for vital records.

The office is at 200 Plandome Road, PO Box 3000, Manhasset, NY 11030. Phone is 516-869-7646. Email is grossl@northhempstead.com. As of January 2020, the Town of North Hempstead began processing vital records for NYU Langone Hospital Long Island. The Registrar's Office no longer accepts same-day correction requests for vital records. Under Public Health Law Sections 4173 and 4174, genealogy copies are available after the required waiting periods.

North Hempstead Town Historian

The North Hempstead Town Historian provides historical research services and works to preserve town history. The historian's office is at 220 Plandome Road, PO Box 3000, Manhasset, NY 11030. For North Hempstead genealogy, the historian can point you to sources and collections that the town clerk may not have.

The published Records of the Towns of North and South Hempstead, Long Island, N.Y. span eight volumes. Volume 1 was compiled by Samuel Hooper in 1896. Volumes 2 through 8 were edited by Benjamin D. Hicks between 1897 and 1904. These volumes cover town meetings, land transactions, and official business from the colonial era forward. They are one of the best primary sources for tracing North Hempstead families before the 1881 vital records era.

Bryant Library Local History

The Bryant Library in Roslyn has the Bryant Room, which contains a local history collection with 19th and 20th century books, maps, photographs, newspaper clippings, letters, and documents. Special collections cover William Cullen Bryant, Clarence H. Mackay, and Christopher Morley. The library is at 2 Paper Mill Road, Roslyn, NY 11576. Phone is 516-621-2240.

For North Hempstead genealogy, the Bryant Room materials can add context and detail to what you find in official records. Photographs show what the area looked like. Letters and documents might name family members. Newspaper clippings can turn up obituaries, marriage notices, and local news items that did not make it into government files. Maps help you locate where ancestors lived and what the neighborhoods looked like at different points in time.

Nassau County Records for North Hempstead

The Nassau County Clerk holds records that extend well past what the town clerk keeps. Marriage records cover 1908 to 1935. Land records go back to the formation of Nassau County in 1899. Court records and naturalization papers are also on file. For North Hempstead genealogy in Nassau County, these records fill in a lot of gaps.

The Nassau County Surrogate's Court has probate files going back to the county's formation. Wills, estate inventories, and letters of administration can reveal family relationships and property holdings that other records do not show. Under the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act, these records are generally accessible to the public. The Estates, Powers and Trust Law governs intestate succession, so even ancestors who died without a will may have court records showing how their property was divided among heirs.

State Resources for North Hempstead

The New York State Archives in Albany holds vital records indexes covering North Hempstead and all of Nassau County. Birth indexes go through 1937. Death and marriage indexes open after 50 years. You use the state file number from the index to order a copy from the NYS Department of Health. The fee is $22 for a three-year search. Processing takes eight months or more, so going to the town clerk is usually faster.

The New York State Census was taken in 1825, 1835, 1845, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, and 1925. These state census records can have details that the federal census left out. Reclaim The Records won a 2025 court case that released the full New York State Death Index from 1880 to 2017. Over 10 million records are now free to download, including North Hempstead deaths. The data includes names, dates of death, ages, and state file numbers.

Nassau County Historian Genealogy Resources

The Nassau County Historian in Mineola keeps family files, cemetery records, and local history materials. If your North Hempstead research stalls at the town or county clerk level, the historian may have a file with the family name you need. Free access to FamilySearch also covers New York census, church, and probate records for the area.

Nearby Cities for Genealogy

Families on Long Island moved between towns and villages regularly. These nearby places may hold records for your North Hempstead ancestors.