Index to New York State Deaths Outside of New York City, 1880-1956
Deaths that occurred in Buffalo, Yonkers, and Albany are not included until around 1914. Towns & villages outside of the City of Buffalo should be included here. Courtesy of Reclaim the Records.
Index of Cholera Deaths, 1854, kept by Dr. James W. Newman, Buffalo, NY. The original ledger is in the collection of The Buffalo History Museum. Indexed by Roseanne Higgins, PhD, September 2016
NY State Death Index, 1957-1963, Excluding New York City, via FamilySearch
This index is provided by the NY State Department of Health and is also available on their website at https://health.data.ny.gov/Health/Genealogical-Research-Death-Index-Beginning-1957/vafa-pf2s. It contains information on decedents, date of death, gender, age at death and NYS file number that will allow the public to search for individuals if on file for at least 50 years.
The Name Index includes individual names appearing in the records of various state agencies whose records are held by the New York State Archives.
Brought to you by the NY State Department of Corrections. Lists inmates in state prisons going back to the early 1970s. Youthful offenders are not included.
Erie County Penitentiary Prisoner Identification Cards
Listed here are the names of 1,025 inmates at the Erie County Penitentiary from 1896 to 1914. The majority of the pictures date from 1899-1905. We do not know if the collection includes every single person who was committed to the Penitentiary during this date span. These photographs have warped over the years, are not digitized, and may be seen by visiting us in person.
New York State Archives Policy on Access to Records
Explains restrictions on state prison records and psychiatric records, which would include patient records from the Buffalo Psychiatric Center (Richardson complex).
Guide to Records of the NY Department of Correctional Services
This lengthy PDF "describes more than 300 records series comprising approximately 4,000 cubic feet of records. Most of the records described relate to inmates and programs at major correctional facilities and the facilities that preceded them. The records date from 1797 to about 1980, most dating from the 20th century. The majority of records relate to programs at maximum security prisons for male felons, which is the largest segment of the inmate population confined in New York." -New York Corrections Historical Society
The registers include the name of the convict, county, crime, court, judge, date of sentencing, date received in prison, sentence, commutation earned, and discharge date. In some cases, you'll find correspondence regarding commutations as well.
The New York State Archives holds over 10,000 cubic feet of records of trial and appellate courts, dating from the 1660s to the 1990s. They are not online. This page describes what they have.