The New York Mix Catalog of Maps and Surveys

The New York Mix Catalog of Maps and Surveys
How to Use the Catalog at the New York State Archives

The New York State Archives holds pre-Civil War maps and surveys. The 1859 catalog created by David Mix has an index to specific items. Unfortunately, that catalog is not online. A printed copy of it is held at the reading room at the Archives. I used it to search for Lake and Van Corlaer family members and for all references to the patents in the vicinity of White Creek, New York (the Lake-Van Corlaer, Walloomsac, Hoosick, Hendirck Snyder and Gerrit van Sante patents). [See the results of my searches here.]

I made images of the relevant index pages and of the relevant pages with lists of items. What I digitized can be seen in this PDF.

Google Books has a downloadable version of the original 1851 book. The Hathi Trust has the same version; in fact, it is just a copy of the Google Books file. However, this original 1851 version has only 288 pages while the version at the Archives has about 375 pages. The Archives has received more maps and surveys than are included in the 1851 book. You can use the 1851 book to begin your research from home, but you really need to complete your research in the current version of the book at the New York State Archives once you are there.

This web page explains how to request a specific item when you are at the Archives. Some of the items are already digitized or microfilmed so that you may be told to use those versions. But the others will be the original records. Be very careful with these and do not change the order in which they are in a folder. -- Wesley Johnston

Step 1 - Using the Index

We will use the example of John Lake. So the first thing to do is to look for him in the index, where we find him on page 356, pointing to page 142 in the main part of the catalog.

Step 2 - Find the item on the indicated page

Find the page (142) indicated in the index. On that page, find the item that references John Lake. Note that item's number and the page number in the catalog.

Thus, in this case, we want catalog page 142, item number 233.

Step 3 - Give the Archivist on duty the catalog page number and the item number.

Give the Archivist on duty the catalog page number (142) and the item number (233). The Archives allows you to have up to 10 boxes at a time. So, if you have multiple items you want, then it is best to group them.

The Archivist will use the online Mix Catalog file that is only accessible to them. The catalog references multiple series, and this version of the catalog tells the Archivist which series and what box and folder holds the item you want. They will fill out the pull sheet with the necessary information so that you will receive the requested box when the next pull is done. The first pull is at 10 AM, and the Archives opens at 9:30 AM. So, there is little time to do all the needed lookups. So, if you want to have the items in the 10 AM pull, it is best to do your homework before coming to the Archives so that you can give the Archivist the page-item number pairs that you want.

The Archivist may find that the item is on microfilm due to it being in fragile condition. In that case, they will find the microfilm reel which you can view on the microfilm readers in the same area. I preferred to learn how to use the high-tech reader that allows you to save the desired images to a PDF that on your USB stick.

The Archivist may also find that the item you want has been digitized and is available on the Archives website. They will send you an e-mail with the link to the page about the record.

Step 4 - Wait for the record.

Once the box is pulled with your desired item, the box will be brought to you on a cart.

In addition to the box(es), there will be the green pull sheet that details what was pulled. I begin by taking a picture of the pull sheet and then of the label(s) on the box and then of any writing on the folder that holds the record. This not only assures that I can cite the record later but also helps when I have hundreds of images to go through a week or two later so that I know exactly which record the following images represents.

Last updated August 29, 2025 - Add link to NY State Archives version of Mix catalog