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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.

J0041-85 Record of Wills Proved at Albany, 1799-1829 (1 vol.)

Contents: Wills and probates (proceedings to determine authenticity of will). Volume is fragile. A few related documents concerning proof of wills in Supreme Court, including petitions for proof of will, affidavits of witnesses, and notices to heirs, are found in series J1041-82 Petitions and Affidavits for Proof of Wills (Albany), 1801-28.

Microfilm: Genealogical Society of Utah film, reel 1 (of 12), available in the New York State Library (includes card index to testators).

Indexes:

  1. Index to testators at front of volume;
  2. Berthold Fernow, comp., Calendar of Wills on File and Recorded in the Office of the Clerk of the Court of Appeals . . . (New York: 1896; repr. Baltimore: 1967, 1991) (cited as "Vol. IV");
  3. William A. D. Eardeley, "Index to Wills of New York State from 1653 to 1815" (typescript, 1941), pp. 7-8. J0020-82 Record of Wills Proved at Utica, 1818-29 (1 vol.)

J2041-04 Record of Wills Proved at New York, 1787-1829 (1 roll microfilm)

Contents: Two volumes of recorded wills and probates (summary of proceedings to determine authenticity of will). Original record is in the New York County Clerk's Office.

Microfilm:   Filmed by Genealogical Society of Utah.   New York State Archives has a copy of the film.

Indexes: Index to testators in each volume.

J0020-82 Record of Wills Proved at Utica, 1818-29 (1 vol.)

Contents: Wills and probates (summary of proceedings to determine authenticity of will). Volume is fragile.

Microfilm: Genealogical Society of Utah film, roll 1 (of 12), available at the New York State Library (includes card index to testators).

Indexes:

  1. Fernow, Calendar of Wills (cited as "Vol. V");
  2. Eardeley, "Index to Wills of New York State," p. 6. (There is no index in the volume itself.)
Last updated
Wed, 2019-04-10 13:22