Research


Scope and Content Note

This series consists of executed copies of last wills and testaments; real property appraisals; photographs of real properties; incoming and outgoing correspondence; deeds of trusts; indentures establishing trusts; court orders "modifying tax order and fixing a tax"; estate inventories; copies of receipts for payment of taxes; and numerous other legal documents pertaining to the transfer of estates and payment of taxes on these estates as set forth in Articles 10 and 10-C of the Tax Law. The bulk of the files pertain to the estates of decedents who established life trusts to dispose of their estates.

The last wills and testaments, property appraisals, and estate inventories are by far the most historically significant documents in the series because they provide detailed information about the decedent's estate and its disposition. These documents often provide the names of beneficiaries; their relationship to the decedent; amount or properties bequeathed by the decedent; and the names and addresses of philanthropic, charitable, or other organizations and institutions to which the decedent bequeathed part(s) of his or her estate.

19802-78: This accretion consists of records of transfer tax for the estates of J.J. Astor; J.P. Morgan; William H. Frear (husband of Martha F.W. Frear and owner of Wm. H. Frear and Co., Troy, NY); and Francis Emory Trowbridge (husband of Minnie Hackett Trowbridge of New York City).

19802-97: Because these files relate to estates for which decedents established life trusts, many of them concern wealthy individuals. In fact, the series contains files concerning the estates of Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and Vincent Astor. Other files pertain to the estates of persons not as readily recognized, but who nonetheless had large estates (frequently in the millions of dollars) for which life trusts had been established. In addition, the bulk of the files pertain to individuals who lived in or near the greater metropolitan New York area.

The bulk of a file typically consists of executed copies of the various legal documents and associated correspondence filed with the County Surrogate Court clerk's office. These pertain mainly to court orders modifying and fixing taxes or the establishment and/or amending of trusts. These documents are frequently quite technical in nature since they pertain to very fine points of the Tax Law and the Estates, Powers, and Trusts Law.