Death certificates began being collected by the state in 1880. Birth and marriage certificates began being collected by the state in 1881. Some *cities* began collecting vital records earlier than 1880. The complete list is: Albany (began in 1870), Binghamton, Buffalo (1878), Elmira, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, and Yonkers (1875). I don't have dates for when the other cities began collecting vital records. Albany, Buffalo and Yonkers were required to begin submitting marriage certificates to the state in 1908. Birth and death certificates weren't sent to the state until 1914. The earlier certificates were never sent to the state. Only the three cities have them. It is my impression that the other cities complied with the normal submission dates of 1880 for death certificates and 1881 for birth and marriage certificates. The state law makes certificates for genealogical research available to the public after 75 year (births) or 50 years (marriages and deaths). You don't have to prove a relationship to order a certificate that old. You have to prove a very close relationship to get one that is more recent. Cliff Lamere