Lists by BECHS

There is no published book-length history of the Underground Railroad in Buffalo, NY. The closest we have is books about the Niagara Frontier and upstate/western New York in general, which are listed below. We urge readers to consult Carol Kammen's essay on documenting UGRR sites here: http://crm.cr.nps.gov/archive/21-4/21-4-4.pdf

These print indexes help you find a name in federal and state census records on microfilm. All are owned by the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. All of the online censuses that we know about are here: http://www.delicious.com/bechs/Census.

This list features items in the collection of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. Shown here are nearly all of our books, dissertations, pamphlets, and even a few magazine articles and pieces of sheet music. Not shown are our Pan-Am photographs, drawings, posters, maps, and ephemera.such as souvenirs, ticket stubs, or envelopes.

Listed here are books, manuscripts, theses, and dissertations about African-American history in the collection of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. Omitted are articles, newspaper clippings, pictures, pamphlets, and other ephemera.

A list of of the best books for those researching ancestors and family history in Buffalo and Erie County, NY. Omitted are single-name books, microfilms, and other non-book items. Some titles appear twice because of being issued in different editions or versions. We tried to focus on works available in Buffalo area libraries, but some are owned only by out-of-town libraries. A work in progress.

The Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society is not a vital records repository. To get a copy of an actual birth certificate, marriage license, or death certificate, you must contact the village, town, or city clerk where the birth, marriage, or death occurred. Privacy restrictions apply. All we can offer are some indexes. This list includes some paper-based church records. The rest of our church records are on microfilm: http://tinyurl.com/BECHS004

The items listed here are in the collection of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. Includes works by and about notable women. Omitted are pictures, pamphlets, brochures, and articles.

Books, periodicals, manuscripts, multi-media, and a few articles dealing with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender history and experience in Buffalo, NY, and the surrounding western/upstate New York area. These items are found in the collections of multiple libraries.

This list doesn't include every possible source that mentions Buffalo, NY, but it does lead you to the most important ones about how Buffalo, Black Rock, and the Niagara Frontier experienced the War of 1812. Shown here are books and manuscript material in the collection of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. We are gradually adding general War of 1812 titles to this list, so stay tuned!

In September 1901, William McKinley traveled to Buffalo, NY to tour the Pan American Exposition. While shaking hands in the Temple of Music on September 6, he was shot by Leon Czolgosz. He died on September 14, 1901, whereupon Theodore Roosevelt was summoned to Buffalo and hastily inaugurated. Czolgosz was found guilty and was executed on October 29, 1901. Shown here are books and manuscript material in the collection of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society.

These books form the core collection for anyone who wants to research a house, church, factory, or any other kind of building in the Buffalo, NY area.

Behemoth concrete silos still line the Buffalo waterfront, monuments from the years when Buffalo was one of the largest grain ports in the world. All items listed below are in the collection of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society and focus on the grain elevators, grain scoopers, and Buffalo's flour milling & feed industry. Omitted are maps, articles, ephemera, and most of our photos.

America's most notable architect designed seven buildings for Buffalo, more than any other city on Earth except Chicago. Today, six survive. Listed below are items about Wright in general and his Buffalo works in particular. All are in the collection of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. Omitted are newspaper clippings, articles, and photographs.

From the early 19th century to the present, here are nonfiction accounts of crimes and trials in the Buffalo/Niagara area. All are in the collection of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. Be sure to see our McKinley Assassination list, too!

The easiest way to access most of Buffalo's church records is to use the ones that have been microfilmed. Few original, paper church records are in libraries. Most remain the property of their congregations or governing bodies (such as the Presbytery or Catholic Diocese). The items on this list are all available at the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. The only online church records that we know about are here: http://delicious.com/BECHS/Church-Records

Listed here are books, manuscripts, theses, and dissertations about Buffalo-area Hispanics & Latinos in the collection of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. Omitted are articles, newspaper clippings, pictures, pamphlets, and other ephemera.

President Millard Fillmore (1800-1874) returned to Buffalo after his political career and devoted himself to civic efforts. He is considered the founder of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. Listed here are Fillmore-related books and manuscripts in our collection, including items pertaining to his family. Omitted are our many Fillmore articles, clippings, pictures, and other ephemera.

There is nothing like a good bibliography to open your eyes to books and articles that you never knew existed on your topic. The bibliographies listed here all have something to do with the Buffalo area or Buffalonians. We threw in some inventories of major manuscript collections, too. Many but not all are owned by the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society.

Buffalo's most notable architectural firm, Green & Wicks (later E.B. Green & Son), was founded in 1881. They designed over 350 works throughout the Northeast, with a concentration of about 200 houses, banks, office buildings, churches, and public buildings in Buffalo, NY. The firm went through several changes in name and personnel and was called James, Meadow & Howard at the time it folded in 1974. For pictures, see the E.B. Green Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/ebgreen/

The name is self-explanatory. It didn't make sense to separate out each topic when they're all related. The items listed here are all owned by the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. Not shown here are our many newspaper clippings, pictures, and photographs, which must be viewed in person.

Buffalo is home to Frederick Law Olmsted's first park system, an integrated network of parks and parkways. Shown below are items by Olmsted and about our region's Olmsted legacy. All are in the collection of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. Omitted are maps, plans, drawings, newspaper clippings, and pamphlets.

Founded by John D. Larkin in 1875, the Larkin Company started out as a soap factory and became a mail-order house to rival Sears & Roebuck, selling furniture, china, groceries, paint, wallpaper, and dry goods. Largely defunct by the end of the Great Depression, Larkin is best remembered today for hiring a young Frank Lloyd Wright to design its Administration Building, an architectural landmark that was demolished in 1950. Featured here are books, theses, dissertations, manuscripts, company records, and similar print sources on the company and its subsidiaries in the collection of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. Not listed are our many Larkin photographs, catalogs, newspaper articles, premium lists, trade cards, postcards, and other small-scale ephemera.

Listed here are manuscripts and primary sources, mainly internal records of firms, in the collection of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. Not shown here are our many secondary sources, monographs, articles, pamphlets, brochures, pictures, and ephemera related to business history in Buffalo. Unfortunately, most businesses come and go without their records being saved. Employee or personnel records are rarely if ever retained.

Many architects practiced in Buffalo, NY, without their business records being saved. This list features architectural plans, drawings, records, and selected photographs that survive in the collection of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society.

Books about weird, obscure, idiosyncratic, unexpected, and "alternative" people, places, and events in Buffalo, NY and the surrounding region. Plus odd local book titles that amuse us and wacky stuff that has been published here.

Once a town in Erie County, Black Rock was annexed by the City of Buffalo in 1854. Today it is a neighborhood in the northwest part of Buffalo, proudly retaining its identity 150 years later. All items listed below are owned by the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. Omitted are maps, atlases, and most of our pictures.

Joseph Ellicott (1760-1826) is considered the founder of Buffalo, NY. As an agent of the Holland Land Company, he supervised land sales to the first settlers of Western New York. Listed here are books and manuscripts in the collection of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. Omitted are maps and newspaper clippings.