Death Records Now

and when I go, how much do I need to pay, and should i bring the info I already have on my ancestry?

http://www.archives.com/genealogy/records-new-york.html

http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/genealogy/vitrec.htm

There is Ellis Island but I think you are better to search Castle Garden first as your ancestors came before Ellis Island opened….although there are other ports that they could have come to besides Castle Gardens……………………………………………….

You need to take some information with you and generally it is free

Looking for parents of :
James Francis Johnson..dob March 1871 in Buffalo,New York.
father :James Johnson born in Ireland.
mother of Irish decent: Margaret Hassen ( this is on his death certificate) born in New York. I do not have a birth date for either. This is a clasic brickwall.Any help would be so welcomed. Thank you.

Have you tried to secure his birth record. That will give you more definite information on the dates and location for his parent’s marriage.

According to the New York state archives http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_gen_vitalstats.shtml "The indexes do not include births and deaths in Albany, Buffalo, and Yonkers prior to 1914, or marriages in those cities prior to 1908. (Contact the local registrar of vital statistics in those cities for information about earlier records.)"

So my best guess is to start with the registrar Buffalo about your ancestor’s records. They were likely married in the area as well so you should check about the marriage records at the same time.

Are you sure that Hassen is his mother’s maiden name and not a 2nd marriage after becoming a widow?