Place:Orleans, New York, United States

Watchers
NameOrleans
Alt namesOrleanssource: Getty Vocabulary Program
TypeCounty
Coordinates43.25°N 78.233°W
Located inNew York, United States     (1824 - )
See alsoGenesee, New York, United StatesParent county (source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990)
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Orleans County is a county in the western part of the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,343. The county seat is Albion. The county received its name at the insistence of Nehemiah Ingersoll though historians are unsure how the name was selected. The two competing theories are that it was named to honor the French Royal House of Orleans or that it was to honor Andrew Jackson's victory in New Orleans.[1]

Located on the south shore of Lake Ontario, Orleans County since the late 20th century has been considered part of the Rochester, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Contents

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

When counties were established by the British authorities in the province of New York in 1683, the present Orleans County was part of the territory of Albany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of present-day New York State as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766, by the creation of Cumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770, by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont.

On March 12, 1772, the remaining Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. Tryon County contained the large western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city of Schenectady, and the county included the Mohawk River valley, the western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of the Delaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York. This western area was occupied largely by the Onondaga, Oneida and other western nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. The westernmost European settlements were in the area of Little Falls and present-day Herkimer.

During the unrest prior to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, feelings ran high in the Mohawk Valley, and there were local attacks by rebels against known Loyalists. Most of Tryon County's Loyalists fled to Canada before 1776, where they were later granted land by the Crown to develop what is now Ontario.

In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, Tryon County's name was changed to Montgomery County to honor the general, Richard Montgomery. He had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec. It replaced the name of the now hated colonial British governor. In 1789, Ontario County split off from Montgomery. During this period, thousands of migrants settled in the western part of the state from New England and eastern New York resulting in the creation of more counties.

In 1802, Genesee County was created by splitting Ontario County.[2] Genesee County was then divided into Allegany County in 1806, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, and Niagara Counties in 1808, Ontario, Livingston, and Monroe Counties in 1821, and finally Orleans County in 1824.

When Orleans County was formed in 1824, a dispute arose about naming it after President Andrew Jackson or President John Adams.[1] During and following the Napoleonic era in France, numerous French refugees came to New York, some settling in the upstate areas.

Timeline

Date Event Source
1824 County formed Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1824 Land records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1830 First census Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
1830 No significant boundary changes after this year Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990

Population History

source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
Census Year Population
1830 17,732
1840 25,127
1850 28,501
1860 28,717
1870 27,689
1880 30,128
1890 30,803
1900 30,164
1910 32,000
1920 28,619
1930 28,795
1940 27,760
1950 29,832
1960 34,159
1970 37,305
1980 38,496
1990 41,846

Research Tips

External links

  • Outstanding guide to Orleans County family history and genealogy resources (FamilySearch Research Wiki). Birth, marriage, and death records, censuses, wills, deeds, county and town histories, cemeteries, churches, newspapers, libraries, and genealogical societies.
  • www.rootsweb.com/~nyorlean/


This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Orleans County, New York. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.