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Under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration (later called the Work Projects Administration, or WPA) during the Great Depression, the Historical Records Survey was organized in 1935 to document resources for research in U.S. history. Their workers combed municipal and religious archives, historical societies, and public and university libraries for vital records and created comprehensive inventories, many of which were published in book form. These inventories are an invaluable and often overlooked resource for genealogists, but are not widely available today. As we read in the forward to WPA Transcriptions of Early County Records of New York State: Records of the Road Commissioners of Ulster County, 1722-1769: “Public records are the frozen mind of a people. In the official records are crystallized not only the struggle for law and order in our gradual social evolution, but also the personalities of the leaders of an earlier time[…]The Historical Records Survey has rendered a real, and it is hoped enduring, service in emphasizing the importance of public records.”

The available information will fluctuate depending on which titles you are perusing. You may be able to discover the following information:

• Church histories and records
• Local histories
• Societies’ histories
• Guides to vital records
• Inventories of local records

There is also a searchable version of these records, which can be located in the Useful Links & Resources section.

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society has digitized 29 volumes in the WPA series for New York State:

• WPA Albany County Archives, Inventory of the County Archives of New York State (Exclusive of the Five Counties of New York City)
• WPA Broome County Archives, Inventory of the County Archives of New York State (Exclusive of the Five Counties of New York City)
• WPA Chautauqua County Archives, Inventory of the County Archives of New York State (Exclusive of the Five Counties of New York City)
• WPA Chemung County Archives, Inventory of the County Archives of New York State (Exclusive of the Five Counties of New York City)
• WPA Church Archives Inventory, Eastern Orthodox Churches and Armenian Apostolic Church
• WPA Church Archives Inventory, Lutherans
• WPA Church Archives Inventory, Methodist Church
• WPA Church Archives Inventory, Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
• WPA Church Archives Inventory, Protestant Episcopal Church, Brooklyn and Queens
• WPA Church Archives Inventory, Protestant Episcopal Church, New York, Bronx, Richmond
• WPA Church Archives Inventory, Reformed Church in America
• WPA Church Archives Inventory, Roman Catholic Church, Archdiocese of New York
• WPA Guide to Depositories of Manuscript Collections in New York State (Exclusive of New York City)
• WPA Guide to Depositories of Manuscript Collections in New York State (Exclusive of New York City)
• WPA Guide to Manuscript Depositories in New York City
• WPA Guide to Public Vital Statistics Records in New York State, Volume I: Birth Records
• WPA Guide to Public Vital Statistics Records in New York State, Volume III: Death Records
• WPA Guide to Vital Statistics Records of Churches (Exclusive of New York City), Volume I and II
• WPA Guide to Vital Statistics Records of Churches in New York State (Exclusive of New York City) vol. 1
• WPA Guide to Vital Statistics, Borough of Brooklyn Churches
• WPA Guide to Vital Statistics, Borough of Queens Churches
• WPA Inventory of the Church Archives of New York State, Exclusive of New York City: Protestant Episcopal Church, Diocese of Rochester
• WPA Public Archives Inventory, Bronx Borough Archives
• WPA Public Archives Inventory, Bronx County Archives
• WPA Public Archives Inventory, Kings County Archives
• WPA Public Archives Inventory, Richmond County and Borough Archives (Volumes I and II)
• WPA Transcriptions of Early County Records of New York State: Records of the Road Commissioners of Ulster County, 1722-1769
• WPA Transcriptions of Early County Records of New York State: Town Minutes of Newtown, 1656-1688
• WPA Cattaraugus County Archives, Inventory of the County Archives of New York State (Exclusive of the Five Counties of New York City)