New York Land and Property: Difference between revisions

*'''1630-1975''' {{RecordSearch|2078654|New York, Land Records, 1630-1975}} at FamilySearch - [[United States, New York Land Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; Browse images only

*[http://www.sampubco.com/wills/ny/newyork.htm New York Will Books Testators Records], In the FREEFind box, type the last name first and put quotations around the name to search on the phrase, such as “Robertson John.” Optionally, add a town or county (“Robertson John” Worcester) to narrow the search.

There are few pre-1660 New York land records. Some records of earliest land grants during the Dutch period are in the following publications:  

*Van Laer, Arnold Johan Ferdinand, translator. ''New York Historical Manuscripts. Dutch. Register of the Provincial Secretary''.<ref>Van Laer, Arnold Johan Ferdinand, translator; Kenneth Scott and Kenn Stryker-Rodda, editors. ''New York Historical Manuscripts. Dutch. Register of the Provincial Secretary''. Four Volumes. Published under the Direction of The Holland Society of New York. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1974.</ref> Volumes 1-3 contain translations of conveyances recorded in the minutes of the provincial secretary, 1638–1660. Gives name, date, and location of the patent. {{FSC|196619|item|disp=FS Library book 974.7 H2vL v. 1–4}}.

A patent is a right to a parcel of land granted by the governor. A map and information about the larger patents can be found in:  

Bowman, Fred Q. ''Landholders of Northeastern New York, 1739–1802'' (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1983). Indexes patents, 1739–1775, and deeds and mortgages, 1764–1802, for the present-day counties of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Warren, and Washington. {{FSC|343454|item|disp=FS Library book 974.7 R24b; film 1321009 item 8}}. [http://www.worldcat.org/title/landholders-of-northeastern-new-york-1739-1802/oclc/9616511&referer=brief_results Other libraries with this book].  

Surveys sometimes contain descriptions, proprietor's records, names of buyers, names of neighbors, and maps. These surveys and accompanying maps sometimes show settlers or occupants of property; most of the surveys were made prior to subdivision of patents or other tracts.  

New York. Department of Transportation. ''Land Survey Field Notes, 1665–1927''. These are at the State Archives and consist of notes and maps of land surveyed as well as books of sale, cashbooks, and registers.  

Some pre-1810 land sales between individuals were recorded by the secretary of state instead of a county clerk. Many are deeds in which one of the parties resided in another county, state, or country. Many are transfers between wealthy people. The deeds are not recorded chronologically. Deeds deposited with the Secretary of State are now at the State Archives.

Deeds usually show buyer, seller, residence, and dates. Sometimes they show previous residence and give relationships.  

*New York. Secretary of State. ''Abstracts and Indexes of Deeds''. Seven Volumes. {{FSC|634818|item}}, FS Library films 947105–106 and 947114–15. These are handwritten ledgers indexing and abstracting the 43 volumes of deeds, years 1659–1846, giving volume and page references.

Mortgages establish when a family resided at a specific place. Mortgage information is found in:  

*New York. State Comptroller. ''Bonds and Mortgages for the Sale of State Lands, 1797–1878''. 38 Volumes. (Not at FamilySearch Library.) These are account books recording mortgage payments on land purchased from the state.

A manor was a tract of land granted by the governor. In some cases, manors had their own courts and exercised civil and criminal jurisdiction over the tenants who leased land. Manorial records are used to establish a place of residence.  

*The Viscount de Fronsac. "Lords of Manors of New York," ''The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record'', Vol. 39, No. 4 (Oct. 1908):292-300. Digital version at [http://www.archive.org/stream/newyorkgenealog00unkngoog#page/n330/mode/1up Internet Archive] - free; [http://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/public-elibrary New York Family History] ($); {{FSC|161380|item|disp=FS Library Book 974.7 B2n v. 39}}.<br>

New York granted military bounty land patents for service in the French and Indian War, and in the Revolutionary War, but did not grant lands to veterans of the War of 1812. Most French and Indian War grants were in the region of the upper Hudson River. In 1782, Revolutionary War veterans were issued land by lottery in the Finger Lakes region of central New York (28 townships in the present counties of [[Onondaga County, New York Genealogy|Onondaga]], [[Cayuga County, New York Genealogy|Cayuga]], [[Seneca County, New York Genealogy|Seneca]], [[Cortland County, New York Genealogy|Cortland]], [[Oswego County, New York Genealogy|Oswego]], [[Wayne County, New York Genealogy|Wayne]], [[Schuyler County, New York Genealogy|Schuyler]], and [[Tompkins County, New York Genealogy|Tompkins]]). Many men sold their grants and never settled the land. Before this, lands were made available in the Old Military Tract—located in present-day [[Clinton County, New York Genealogy|Clinton]], [[Essex County, New York Genealogy|Essex]], and [[Franklin County, New York Genealogy|Franklin]] counties—but few soldiers settled there.  

*Pierce, Grace M. "The Military Tract of New York State," ''The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record'', Vol. 40, No. 1 (Jan. 1909):15-22. Digital versions at [http://www.archive.org/stream/newyorkgenealog040newy#page/15/mode/1up Internet Archive] - free; [http://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/public-elibrary New York Family History] ($); {{FSC|161380|item|disp=FS Library Book 974.7 B2n v. 40}}.

Between 1786 and 1791, the New York Land Commission sold 5.5 million acres of western New York to speculators. Many settlers first obtained land from companies such as the Holland Land Company. The Hartford Treaty of 1786 gave Massachusetts the title to land in western New York but reserved political governance to New York.  

The Macomb Purchase was made in 1791<ref>Dill, David Jr. "Portrait of an Opportunist: The Life of Alexander Macomb." Watertown Daily Times. 9, 16, 23 September 1990. (http://www.mlloyd.org/gen/macomb/text/amsr/wt.htm, accessed 29 December 2010)</ref>. This four-million-acre tract included all of modern Lewis County; most of modern St. Lawrence, Franklin, and Jefferson counties; and parts of Oswego and Herkimer counties.

'''Deeds and Mortgages'''. After land was transferred from the proprietors to individual owners, county clerks were to record subsequent transactions. Sadly, in many cases the deeds were never recorded. Some colonial deeds were, however, recorded in town records.  

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