NCGS Membership
Membership is open to all, and memberships end on December 31 unless renewed. The annual membership fee is $25 USD if paid via check or $27 USD if paying online.
To apply online ($27 USD):
- Step 1: Submit a membership application or online renewal HERE
- Step 2: Pay your yearly membership dues HERE
To apply via mail ($25 USD):
- Step 1: Complete the membership form
- Step 2: Include a $25 check in US Dollars payable to the Niagara County Genealogical Society
- Step 3: Mail the membership form and check to: NCGS 215 Niagara St., Lockport, NY 14904
Membership Benefits
Members-Only Area
NCGS members receive access to our online Members-Only Area of the website. That area includes:
- Over 10,000 scanned items from our Surname Folders! Search by surname and find a variety of items including newspaper clippings, funeral cards, pictures, family histories, etc. You never know what you may find!
- Digital Files: Scanned and uploaded content includes cemetery records, school records, church records, clerk & court records, original newspapers, and so much more!
- Links to online resources
- Membership surnames of interest
- Recordings of our past programs
The Lookup Program
The Lookup Program is for members only. Non-members must sign up for a membership and pay dues before requesting a lookup.
With your membership fee, you are entitled to one lookup per year – either an obituary lookup at the Lockport Public Library or a 30-minute lookup in the holdings of the NCGS Library. Additional lookups cost $6 for obits or $10 for a 30-minute lookup. Payments can be made online or by mailing a check to NCGS at 215 Niagara St., Lockport, NY 14904.
To request a lookup, fill out the form online or download a printable copy.
Lookup Program FAQ:
What resources can I access for the 30-minute lookup?
Only those that are in residence at the NCGS Library. Because this is a volunteer-staffed facility, we felt we needed to put some limits on what we can reasonably search. For now, just the major references like census data, cemetery records, city and county directory information. However, in order to give people wider choices we have also designed a WILDCARD, which allows the Look-Up volunteer to select, based on their own knowledge of the Library’s holdings and the information the member has included in their request. This is at the risk of the member – we may not find anything! We also have a space to choose a specific publication, if known, such as one of those from the Manuscript list for example.
What if my information only takes 15 minutes to find? How can I maximize the 30 minutes?
We have thought a lot about that! Our form asks you to rank the priority of the things we can look up. After we finish what you rank as number one, we will go to your number two, and so on. We will also let you know where we left off in case you want to send another request.
I want to find an obit, but all I have is a month, year, and city.
We will search a one-week time frame during any year, but it is up to you to select that week. If you have even less information and still want us to look, you must at least guess at the city, month, year and week. Please understand that we may not come up with anything.
How will information be sent back to me?
The information will be sent via e mail.
What happens if I don’t use my free lookup before the year ends?
Lookups do not roll over, so you cannot carry over a lookup from one year to receive two lookups in the next year. Lookup requests must arrive at our library by December 14.
