Research

Scope and Content Note

These volumes register mortgages given to the people of the State of New York, primarily for lands sold by the state in various patents and former Indian reservations. Each entry gives the name of the mortgagor, a detailed description of the property mortgaged, the terms of the mortgage (principal, interest, and time of payment), and the acknowledgement of the instrument before a judge or a master in chancery. (In books 1 and 3 the entire text of the mortgage deed is not entered, but only essential information; book 2 contains printed forms of mortgages filled out.)

Many of the mortgages are discharged or cancelled. In such cases, a certificate of payment and cancellation is entered in the margin and signed and dated by the Deputy Secretary of State. Additional discharges of mortgages are found in the appendix to book 1. The discharges are mostly for lots in the East and West Cayuga Reservations, and were entered between 1814 and 1883.