Do they have a historical society there in New york? I know that when I asked for a birth certificate in Boston for 1869 I got a hospital entry, Do you know what religion he was, most people in those days were Either protistant or Catholic, Especially if they came from England or Ireland, Quakers and puritans were mostly in the early history of the early Americas, so if you know what kind of religion he practiced you might find the church that was in that area because many go back to the same church that they attend regularly for matrimony, and the church usually keeps a log of Marriages, dedications, baptisms and funerals. Ellie