The Town of Torrey and Its Records
The town was organized in 1851 from parts of Milo and Benton, in a
desire to increase the importance of Dresden as a municipal center. It
was named for Henry Torrey, supervisor of Potter and chairman of the
county's Board of Supervisors when the second and successful vote was
taken there to erect the town.
The town has a spectacular frontage along Seneca Lake, and some of
the county's best farms, including the vineyards that supply several
boutique wineries. Dresden never grew to meet its founders'
expectations, but the village and its immediate neighborhood contain
much of the town's population and all of its industry. Keuka Lake Outlet
flows into Seneca Lake at Dresden, and the Outlet Trail has its
downstream terminus in the village; pedestrians and bicyclists may
travel along the Outlet as far as the upstream trailhead in Penn Yan, at
the foot of Keuka Lake.
The village of Dresden lies entirely within the town, and the two
municipalities have formed a single district, in order that the town
clerk can serve as Registrar of Vital Records for both. The town hall is
on Geneva Street, Dresden NY 14441, south of its intersection with Main
Street. The following records series were microfilmed, and the films may
be viewed at the town office, and (with the exception of the Vital
Records Registers) at the County Historian's office in Penn Yan and at
the New York State Library in Albany.
TOWN RECORDS ON MICROFILM
ASSESSMENT ROLLS
1890 - 1972 (missing 1896-1907, 1913)
MINUTE BOOKS
1852 - 1992
VITAL RECORDS REGISTERS
Births, deaths and marriages 1883-1913 [INDEX], Births 1888-1938 and deaths 1914-1937, Births
1892-1966, Marriages 1908-1971, Births 1914-1941 and deaths 1914-1942,
Deaths 1938-1968, Births 1968-1994 and deaths 1968-1993, Marriages 1971-1993
HIGHWAY SURVEYS
Record of highway survey commissioners' minutes 1807-1887, school
district records 1818-1881
CHATTEL MORTGAGES AND CONDITIONAL SALES INDEXES
Chattel Mortgages
1852-1930; 1930-1949; 1949-1956; 1957-1964; Conditional Sales 1926-1938;
1938-1955; 1956-1964
JUSTICE DOCKETS
Docket 1830-1831; 1849-1869; Justice Yates 1869;
1873; Justice Bradley 1887; Criminal Cases: Papers 1930-1933; Justice
DuVall 1940-1946; Hood 1946-1949; Gunderman 1949-1951; Schiek 1952-1960;
Jensen 1950-1969; Reiners 1970-1973; Weaver 1974-1977; Edmonds
1971-1979; Pace 1978-1982; Civil Cases: Justices Nutt and DuVall
1937-1945; Hood 1947-1949; Gunderman 1950-1951; Schiek 1952-1960; Jensen
1950-1966; Reiners 1970-1973; Weaver 1974-1977; Edmonds 1973-1979; Pace
1978-1982
ELECTION RECORDS
Poll books 1940, 1948, 1955-1966; Board of
Nominations book 1898-1935; Oath of office book 1931-1966; Civil War
service record 1861-1865
OATH BOOKS AND MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS
[see under Election Records
above]
SCHOOL DISTRICT RECORDS
[see under Highway Surveys above]