An old proverb states that "the eyes are the windows into the soul." A genealogy corollary is that "a photo is a window into the lives of your ancestors."
I love old photos, whether they are portraits of my ancestors or historical photos for the period when they lived. And it is important to a complete research that one attempts to understand the environment that surrounds our ancestors' lives if one wants to truly appreciate what they went through.
So where can they be found? Obviously the best resource is our own photo albums and those that our relatives possess. But what about other resources? Many archives, historical societies, libraries and genealogical societies have collections of old photos. And in the past few years there has been a massive movement towards making these historical photo collections available online. Some have search capabilities where you can actually put in a surname or a location, name of a building or historical event and find what is available.
For the state of New York what collections are available for you to browse and/or search online? Here is a list of sites to start with. Please feel free to add in the comments other online resources that you might be aware of in the state.
Please be aware that there may be very strict rules regarding downloading or other use of the images that you may find. Copyright and other legal protections may be in force. Make sure that you read the limitations of use for any image that you find in these collections and wish to download and/or copy. It is your responsibility to adhere to the rules for all of these collections.
Please note that links to these sites may change in the future. The author (me) will not be constantly checking and updating these links, so if you find a broken link, please use your favorite search engine to locate the new link.
(Updated December, 2020; recently added links are in BOLD)
- 80's NYC Street Views - mapped
- Adirondack Experience - Blue Mountain Lake
- Adirondack History Museum Digital Exhibits
- Albany Historic Photo Collections
- Albany Photo Archives
- Albany Public Library Digital Collections
- American Museum of Natural History Digital Items
- Amud Aish Memorial Museum (KHEC) - Brooklyn
- Antique Boat Museum - Clayton
- Baldwinsville Public Library Photo Collection
- Big Flats Historical Society and Museum
- Big Springs Historical Society - Caledonia
- Brooklyn Historical Society Images
- Brooklyn Public Library Digital Collections
- Brookside Museum - Ballston Spa
- Buffalo and Erie County Digital Collections
- Buffalo History Museum Online Collections
- Buffalo Research - Photo Collections
- Center for Jewish History Photographs
- Chapman Historical Museum - Glens Falls
- Chatham Public Library Photograph Collection
- Chautauqua County Postcards and images
- Chautauqua Institution Archives - Chautauqua
- Chemung County and Elmira Postcard Collection
- Chenango County Photos
- City of Rochester Junior and Senior High School Images
- Columbia University Digital Collections
- Cornell University African American Photo Collection
- Delaware County Photo Album
- Dutchess County Photos
- East Rochester Image Library
- Fulton County Photos
- Geneva Historical Society - Portraits
- Greater Astoria Historical Society Images
- Harness Racing Museum - Goshen
- Hicksville Historical Photos
- Historic Brooklyn Photographs
- Hudson River Photos
- Hyde Hall - Cooperstown
- Irvington-on-Hudson: People and Places
- Ithaca College Photographs
- Ithaca Tax Assessment Photographs, 1954
- Jordan, NY Memories
- Keeneland Library Photo Exhibits
- Leo Baeck Institute - Photos
- Lewis County Photos/Pictures/Post Cards
- Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
- Library of Congress Prints & Photographs - New York
- Long Island Postcard Digital Collection
- Louis Armstrong House Museum - Corona Queens
- Lower East Side Tenement Museum - New York
- Mid Manhattan Picture Collections
- Museum of Chinese in the Americas - New York
- Museum of disABILITY History - Buffalo
- Museum of the City of New York Collections
- National Archives - Digital Photograph Collections
- New School Photograph Collection
- New York Ancient Faces
- New York Archives - Abandoned Building Photography
- New York Botanical Garden Historical Photos
- New York City 1940's Tax Photos (Buildings)
- New York City Fire Museum - New York
- New York City Municipal Archives Online Gallery
- New York City Urban Archive - Mapped
- New York Dead Fred
- New York Heritage Digital Collections
- New York Historical Society - Digital Collections
- New York Historical Society, Photographs of New York City and Beyond
- New York Old Family Photos
- New York Philharmonic Photos
- New York Public Library Digital Collections
- New York Public Library Flickr Albums
- New York State Archives Digital Collections
- New York State Library Digital Online Collection
- New York State Military History Museum
- New York Times Photo Archives
- New York Transit Museum - Brooklyn
- New York, DP.LA Photos
- New York, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives
- New York, Ruth Orkin Photo Archives
- North Country at Work Photos
- NYC Building Photo Research
- NYC Parks Photo Archive
- NYC Photo Library
- NYPL Picture Collection Online
- NYU Historic Photographs
- Old Cattaraugus County Photographs
- Old New York City Photos
- Old NYC Photos - Mapped
- Orange County Community College - Library Image Collections
- Photo Archives of the Archdiocese of New York
- Photographic Views of New York City, 1870's-1970's
- Photos And Images Of Otsego County
- Pictures of Rochester and Monroe County
- Postcards of Syracuse and Central New York
- Putnam History Museum - Cold Spring
- Queens Library Digital Archives
- Rensselaer County Photo Gallery
- Rochester Images
- Saratoga County Historical Society Photos
- Saratoga Springs Public Library Digital Collections
- Schenectady County Historical Society - Schenectady
- Schuyler County Photo Album
- Skidmore College Images
- Slate Valley Museum - Granville
- Smithsonian Images
- Smithtown Historical Society - Smithtown
- Staatsburg Library CCC Collection
- Staten Island Historical Society - Staten Island
- Staten Island Museum Library of Images
- SUNY ESF - Moon Library - Syracuse
- Tenement Museum - New York
- The Gotham Center for New York City History
- The Green-Wood Historic Fund - Brooklyn
- Tompkins County Photo Album
- Trolley Museum of New York Photos and Postcards
- Tuxedo Historical Society - Tuxedo
- United Nations Photo Archive
- University of Albany Digital Image Collections
- Upstate New York Photos
- Village Preservation (GVSHP) Image Archive
- Vintage Aerial Photos - New York
- Vintage New York City
- Waterford Historical Museum & Cultural Center - Waterford
- Westchester County Digital Collections
- Westchester County Historical Society - Elmsford
- Woodstock Festival Photos
- Yeshiva University Historic Photographs
- YIVO Institute for Jewish Research Digital Images
For historic photos from other states as well as articles about photo research, please visit the Photos page.
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
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