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New York County Court, Probate, Tax and Other Miscellaneous Records

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New York Court Records

See Also Research In State Court Records

The county clerk is the keeper of most civil and criminal trial court records, naturalizations, marriages (1908-35), censuses (county copies of the federal census and the state censuses), as well as deeds and mortgages. Estate matters are recorded with the clerk of the county surrogate court , but before 1847 cases involving property of minor heirs and incompetents were often heard in the Court of Chancery. Unpublished material, excluding that for the five counties of New York City, is at the New York State Archives.

Much state court record material is at the state archives and the Old Records Division of the New York County Clerk's Office. Federal court records are at the National Archives-Northeast Region, covering the U.S. district and circuit courts in New York for various periods from 1789 to 1967 and early admiralty courts from 1685 to 1838.

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New York Probate Records

See Also Research In State Probate Records

Most of New York's probate records are maintained by the Surrogate's Court, which was established in each county in 1787. However, the New York State Archives holds two large groups of probate records: wills, inventories, and other documents recorded, filed, or maintained by the colonial Prerogative Court, 1686-1783, and its successor, the State Court of Probates, 1778-1823; and wills from the New York County Surrogate's Court, 1787-1879.

The Archives also has small groups of wills probated by the higher State courts prior to 1847; and out-of-state wills filed in the Secretary of State's office, 1823-1966.

Probate records in the State Archives are a rich source of genealogical and historical data. The records contain information on the property of decedents, the relationships of heirs, controversies over wills, and the settlement of estates. Of special interest for social history are the many wills made by women; wills bequeathing or manumitting slaves; and wills and estate inventories listing personal property such as clothing, furniture, and tools.

Prerogative Court (1686-1783); Court of Probates (1778-1823)

Between 1665 and 1686 wills were usually proved (determined to be authentic), and administration granted in a local court of sessions or the mayor's court in New York City, or by the governor. After 1686 the royal governor possessed final jurisdiction in probate matters. The provincial secretary or his deputy served as the governor's delegate or "surrogate" and presided over what was called the Prerogative Court. After 1670 wills and grants of administration were required to be recorded in the secretary's office. A 1692 act exempted from this requirement wills for estates valued at less than £50, and located in counties "remote" from New York City. All wills from New York, Kings, Richmond, Westchester, and (until 1750) Orange County were to be recorded in New York City. Starting in the early eighteenth century a deputy surrogate was appointed in each county to perform routine duties in relation to settling estates.

The Prerogative Court continued to operate in British-occupied New York City, Long Island and Staten Island during the Revolutionary War. In 1778 the State Legislature established a Court of Probates, which assumed most of the colonial governor's powers in probate matters. A 1787 statute established a Surrogate's Court in each county. The Court of Probates' jurisdiction was limited to hearing appeals from the Surrogate's Courts; supervising estates of New York residents who died out of state, and of non- residents who died within the state; and issuing certain types of orders. The Court of Probates was abolished in 1823, and its remaining jurisdiction was given to the Surrogate's Court. Between 1823 and 1847 appeals from the Surrogate's Court went to the Court of Chancery. Since 1847 appeals from orders and decrees of the Surrogate's Court have gone to the Supreme Court.

The pre-1787 records of the former Prerogative Court and the Court of Probates were divided in 1802: original wills and other filed papers relating to the "Southern District" (New York, Kings, Queens, Suffolk, Richmond, and Westchester Counties) and all record books were transferred from Albany to the New York County Surrogate's Court. (The records sent to New York City included series J0038-92 and J0043-92, described in this leaflet.) Other filed papers of the Court of Probates remained in Albany. After the court was abolished, the Albany records passed into custody of the Secretary of State (1823-29), the Court of Chancery (1829-47), and the Court of Appeals (1847+). These records were placed on deposit at the Historical Documents Collection, Queens College, CUNY, in 1973, and transferred to the State Archives in 1982 and 1985.

Surrogate's Court (1787+) (New York County)

Certain New York County Surrogate's Court records were located at the Historical Documents Collection, Queens College, CUNY, between the mid-1960s and the late '80s, and after that at Queens Borough Public Library. Inventories and accounts for 1783-1844 were transferred to the New York City Municipal Archives in 1990. Recorded and original wills (series J1038-92 and J1043-92, below) were transferred to the State Archives in 1992.

Supreme Court of Judicature

Between 1786 and 1829 the Supreme Court and the county courts of common pleas shared with the Surrogate's Courts the power to prove and record wills devising real property, and also wills whose witnesses were unable to appear in court. In addition, between 1801 and 1829 the Supreme Court had the exclusive power to prove and record wills devising real property located in several counties. (Wills proved in the courts of common pleas were recorded by the county clerks. The record of wills proved in the Supreme Court at New York City, 1787- 1829, is in custody of the New York County Clerk's Office.) After a will was proved and recorded in the Supreme Court or a court of common pleas, the Surrogate's Court supervised the administration and disposition of the estate.

Estate records have been handled in New York in the surrogate's court since 1787 when a system of county surrogate's courts was established. Prior to that time most estates were handled in New York City, the capital until 1797. Abstracts of most of the earlier records are found in Abstracts of Wills on File in the Surrogate's Office, County of New York, 1665-1800, in volumes 25-41 of the New-York Historical Society Collections (New York, 1892-1909), usually referred to as "New York Wills,". These includes letters of administration, but contains errors. Many original wills are available on microfilm at the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

Before 1787, some wills were recorded in the counties and occasionally in town records. Better abstracts of the Westchester County wills are found in Pelletreau's Abstracts of Wills on File. Other early New York wills have been published in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, such as those for Kings County mostly from deeds, 1684-1719, in volume 47; Queens County wills from deeds, 1683-1744, in volume 65; Dutchess County wills in volume 61; and Westchester County wills in volume 55. For the period 1688-90, New York was part of the Dominion of New England, and during that time estates valued at over £50 were to be probated in Boston. Seventeen wills of New York residents were brought to Boston, and abstracts of these are found in volumes 12 and 13 of The American Genealogist.

Beginning in 1830, a New York law required that the petition for probate include a list of each legal heir-whether or not there was a will, and whether or not he or she was named in the will-his or her relationship to the deceased, and his or her residence. This is often the single most important document in an estate file, but it is not generally found in the record books until modern times.

Most counties have consolidated indexes to all estate matters including wills, administrations, guardianships, and so forth. In some counties, however, the types of estates may be indexed separately. Likewise, all the documents pertaining to a particular estate may not be filed together but separately according to type of action such as bonds, accounts, and inventories, and thereunder by date of filing. Many counties have particularly separated the original wills-many early ones are not on file-from the rest of the documents pertaining to an estate. Some early letters of administration give the relationship of the administrator to the deceased, and some early letters of guardianship provide the date of birth of the minor.

A New York law permits clerks of the surrogate court to impose a stiff fee to search for an estate over twenty-five years old (Surrogate's Procedure Act Section 2402, item 14), and the cost of copies of the documents can be extra. Some indexes to wills, administrations, and guardianships, and some abstracts of these records for many counties can be found in the New York State Library, the New York Public Library, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, and in other libraries. The indexes and abstracts serve as guides only and should be verified in the original record books and files. Abstracts of New York state wills to about 1830 with an all-name index by W. A. D. Eardeley at the Brooklyn Historical Society are also helpful. Abstracts of wills and letters of administration and guardianship have been published in such journals as Tree Talks, and The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record.

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New York Immigration & Naturalization Records

See Also Research In State Immigration & Naturalization Records

Immigration: Microfilm lists of ships' passenger arrivals at the port of New York are at the National Archives-Northeast Region for 1820-1909 and 1943-52, and at the New York Public Library for 1820-1910. The archives has name indexes for 1820-46 and 1897-1948, and the public library has them for 1820-46 and 1897-1943.

Naturalization: County naturalization records are kept by the county clerk. U.S. court records are in federal buildings in Buffalo and Albany, with most downstate records to the 1940s or 1950s at the National Archives-Northeast Region.

At the latter is a microfilm of a WPA-created card index, arranged by Soundex, for all naturalizations (but not declarations of intention) performed in all courts in all five New York City boroughs, 1792-1906, together with dexigraphs (photostats) of the original records. Until the late 1800s and early 1900s, these records provide little information; upstate records up to the mid-1800s are generally more informative.

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New York Land Records

See Also Research In State Land Records

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New York Tax Records

See Also Researching in Tax Records

Scattered town and precinct tax records for a few years in the 1770s and 1780s and nearly complete lists for the whole state, 1799-1804, are at the New York State Archives, although for the latter period the surviving 1804 rolls cover only delinquent taxes of nonresidents. New York City tax records are at the Municipal Archives.

Some early assessment rolls have been published in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, such as those for New York City, 1730, in volume 95; New Rochelle, 1767, in volume 107; and Ulster County, 1709-21, in volume 62. See also volumes 43-44 of the New-York Historical Society's Collections for New York City assessments 1695-99.

A few counties such as Ontario have retained their early tax records, but most do not have them until about 1850 or even later. Many old tax lists are to be found in manuscript collections. Dutchess County is fortunate to have a long series of eighteenth century tax records. Some of the 1798 U.S. Direct Tax records survive for New York.

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