Research

New York State Secretary of State Registers of Mortgages to the State


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Overview of the Records

Repository:

New York State Archives
New York State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230

Summary:
Mortgages to the state were required to be registered in the Secretary of State's office. This series contains mortgages primarily for lands sold by the state in patents and former Indian reservations. Information includes mortgagor, property description and mortgage terms. Many mortgages were discharged or cancelled. A certificate of payment and cancellation was entered in the margin. Discharges are mostly for lots in the East and West Cayuga Reservations.
Creator:
Title:
Registers of mortgages to the state
Quantity:

2.1 cubic feet

Quantity:

4 volume(s)

Quantity:

1 35mm microfilm roll(s)

Inclusive Dates:
1807-1883
Bulk Dates:
1807-1842
Series Number:
A0477

Arrangement

Chronological by date of registry.

Administrative History

Mortgages to the state were required to be registered in the Secretary of State's office by Laws of 1807, Chap. 74. The last entry for an ordinary land sale mortgage is dated 1822. All mortgages registered between 1825 and 1842 were executed to the state by railroad companies and other corporations undertaking internal improvements. In each case the mortgage secured a loan or an issue of state stock to the corporation, authorized by a special act by the Legislature.

The companies aided were the Buffalo Harbour Company, the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, the Neversink Navigation Company, the Canajoharie and Catskill Rail Road Company, the Ithaca and Oswego Rail Road Company, the Auburn and Syracuse Rail Road Company, the New York and Erie Rail Road Company, the Tonawanda Rail Road Company, the Auburn and Rochester Rail Road Company, and the Schenectady and Troy Rail Road Company.

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.

Alternate Formats Available

Microfilmed in 1973 at the Department of State by the Genealogical Society of Utah, microfilm reel 947101. Cataloged by the GSU as part of a collection called "Mortgages, 1807-1824, 1877-1878." GSU microfilm has been digitized by FamilySearch. Images can be viewed online at FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries (including the New York State Archives and New York State Library).

Other Finding Aids

Available at Repository

Alphabetical name index to mortgagors in each volume.

Container list and volume list available.

This series is indexed by Series A4692, Mortgagor index to state mortgages and U.S. Deposit Fund mortgages and by Series A4693, Location index to state mortgages and U.S. Deposit Fund mortgages.

Access Restrictions

Microfilm is available for onsite use only at the New York State Archives; not available through interlibrary loan.

Access Terms

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