New York Probate Records: Difference between revisions

[[Portal:United States Probate|Portal:United States Probate ]]>[[New York|New York]]  

New York has a complicated history regarding the recording of probates. Before 1787, probates were handled by a variety of courts whose jurisdictions changed often.  

A 5,000 card index to notarial records of the city of Amsterdam from 1598–1750 gives information about persons in New Netherland (what is now Now York and New Jersey). It is called Noord Amerika Chronologie (North American Chronology). The abstracts give the old-world place of origin of immigrants to New Netherland. The collection is available on microfilm at the New York State Library at [http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/ http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/], microfilm number A-FM 200-I. It is not available at the Family History Library.  

*West-Indische Compagnie (Nederlands). Notulenboeken, 1623–1674 (Minute books, 1623–1674) (Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1964; FHL films 373422–23; Family History Library films 488127–30). Originals are at the Algemeen Rijksarchief (National Archives) at http://www.nationaalarchief.nl/ in 's-Gravenhage (The Hague) and microfilm copies are at the New York State Library. Some notarial records for Albany and Kingston have also survived.

From May 1787 to the present, county surrogate's courts have recorded probates. However, the court of probates and court of chancery handled estates of deceased persons who died in one county but who owned property in another. An 1823 law mandated that all probates come under the jurisdiction of the county surrogate's courts. Each surrogate's court has a comprehensive index to all probate records, including the unrecorded probate packets.  

The most important probate record is the probate packet, or estate file. A much larger percentage of the New York population is represented in the estate files than in the will books. The file contains copies of all documents related to estate settlement, including will or administration, bond, and inventory. Since about 1830, a petition that lists names of heirs, relationships to the deceased, and residences is also included. These packets have been microfilmed and made available at the Family History Library for some counties of New York.  

Beginning in 1787, copies of probates have been recorded in books by the surrogate. The Family History Library has copies of will books and index books for most counties. For example, the Family History Library has New York County wills from 1665–1916 and an index to 1923 on 525 rolls of microfilm. The library also has microfilms of administrations books and guardianships for most counties. Most counties have consolidated estate index books, which index estate files, wills, administrations, letters testamentary, guardianships, administration bonds, guardian bonds, and so forth. If you need copies of documents from a surrogate court, be prepared to pay a large fee.  

*New York. Surrogate's Court (New York County). ''Probate Proceedings, 1830–1865.'' Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1972. (On 228 Family History Library films.) The probate proceedings are arranged by month of final filing. This date can be found under the decedent's surname in the index to wills. The index to the wills from 1662–1910 is on Family History Library films 872164–69).

[[Category:New_York]]