New York State Court of Probates Probated Wills
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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:
This series consists of wills probated with the provincial secretary, the Prerogative Court, or the State Court of Probates.
Some wills include a letter of administration or a property inventory. Wills typically include the dates the will was executed,
proved, and probated; names of the testator, witnesses to the will, heirs, and executor; testator's occupation; how the estate
was to be divided; and proceedings for how the will was proved.
Creator:
Title:
Probated wills
Quantity:
Quantity:
11 35mm microfilm roll(s)
Inclusive Dates:
1665-1815
Series Number:
J0038
Arrangement
J0038-82: Alphabetical by name of testator and then numerical by file number (e.g. A1, A2, A3, . . . B1, B2, B3).
J0038-92: Arranged in two subseries and therein numerical by assigned file number.
Administrative History
The Duke's Laws of 1665 gave the Courts of Sessions and the Mayor's Court of New York City the authority to probate wills.
A 1670 ordinance by the Court of Assizes required all probated wills and grants of administration to be recorded in the provincial
secretary's office. Pre-1686 wills included in this series reflect this procedure. When New York became a royal colony in
1686, probate jurisdiction was granted to the royal governor.
Chapter 27 of the Laws of 1692 established a Prerogative Office or Court with the royal governor as its head. This court exercised
sole probate jurisdiction over all estates in the southern district of the province (New York, Westchester, Orange, Richmond,
and Kings counties) and over estates worth over 50 pounds everywhere in New York. (In these latter districts, wills for estates
worth less than 50 pounds were probated in the Courts of Common Pleas; these wills are now filed with the county clerks.)
This jurisdiction was transferred to the state's Court of Probates by Chapter 12 of the Laws of 1778. Wills in this series
which were probated between 1686 and 1787 are for individuals who resided in the southern district or possessed estates worth
50 pounds or more.
Scope and Content Note
This series consists of wills, originals or copies, probated with the provincial secretary, the Prerogative Court, or the
State Court of Probates. Around five percent of the wills are in Dutch (some include English translations) and a small number
are in German or French. With a few wills a letter of administration or a property inventory is filed.
Not all wills originally probated by the Prerogative Court or the Court of Probates are included in this series. Pursuant
to Chapter 64 of the Laws of 1799, many pre-1787 wills were transferred to the New York County Surrogates Court. This transfer
was supposed to include only the wills of persons who had resided in the southern district. However, at present many wills
from other districts are on file in New York County while this series includes a large number of wills from New York City
and surrounding counties. Pursuant to Chapter 38 of the Laws of 1787 are wills of individuals who died out-of-state or who
were non-residents. This law transferred original probate jurisdiction in all other cases to the county Surrogates Courts.
(One will dated 1828 and another dated 1837 are obviously misfiled from the New York County Surrogates Court.)
The following information is usually contained in each will: the dates the will was executed, proved, and probated; the names
of the testator, witnesses to the will, heirs, executor, and the official before whom the will was proved; the occupation
of the testator; how the testator wished the estate to be divided; and a short statement describing the proceedings at which
the will was proved, signed by the probate officer.
Letters of administration included in this series contain an abstract of the proceedings proving the will and the official
appointment of the administrator by the royal governor or judge of the Court of Probates. The property inventories contain
a detailed listing of real and personal property owned by the testator.
J0038-92: These are probated wills (ca. 4,100 wills) dated 1665-1787. They are organized in two subseries. Subseries 1 spans
years 1665- ca. 1738. Subseries 2 spans years ca. 1739-1787. Wills may be of special interest for the study of under-documented
people such as women and African Americans. A detailed description of accretion contents is available.
Alternate Formats Available
Microfilm, except for subseries 2 of accretion J0038-92 (ca. 1739-1787), is available at the New York State Archives.
The wills in this series also appear on microfilm produced by the Genealogical society of Utah.
Items Online
High resolution images of most original documents in Subseries 2 of J0038-92 are available in State Archives Digital Collections.
Portions of the series are digitized (from microfilm) as part of a larger collection of Wills and Probate Records and are
available to New York State residents for free on Ancestry.com New York. You must sign up for a free account to access these
records without a paid subscription. To learn more, go to How to Use Ancestry.com New York
Ancestry.com
Wills and Probate Records, 1658-1880 on Ancestry.com
New York State Archives Digital Collections
Probated Wills in Digital Collections
Related Material
J0033 Administration Papers contains records relating to some wills in this series.
J0301 Inventories and Accounts, contains records relating to some wills in this series.
J0043 Record of Wills and Probates, contains related probate records.
Other Finding Aids
Available at Repository
Container list for each accretion.
Microfilm copies of the following indexes to wills are available: "Record of Wills, Albany, New York from a Collection of
New York State Court Records: Index"; Ray C. Sawyer, "Index of New York State Wills, 1662-1850..."; and Ray C. Sawyer, "Index
to Wills Probated in New York County ..., from 1851 to 1875."
Series A4700, Testator index to probated wills, 1671-1815, indexes accretion J0038-92.
Berthold Fernow's Calendar of Wills (New York, 1896) indexes and abstracts the wills in this series as well as wills filed
with the Albany County Clerk and at other locations.
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.
Access Terms
Corporate Name(s):
Geographic Name(s):
Subject(s):
Genre(s):
Function(s):
Detailed Description
Contents |
Box |
Roll |
Accretion: J0038-82 |
Aretse, Rutt - Alworth, James (files AA1 - AA38); Betts, William, Jr. - Bevier, Samuel (files AB1 - AB40) |
1 |
1 |
Bayles, Joseph - Brower, Nicolas (files AB41 - AB120) |
2 |
1-2 |
Barker, William - Brevoort, Elias (files AB121 - AB162); Croon, Catrina - Cuyper, Tunis, (Thones) (files AC1 - AC40) |
3 |
2 |
Cornell, Richard - Cruger, Nicholas (files AC41 - AC120) |
4 |
2-3 |
DuFour, David - DePuy, Jacobus (files AD1 - AD70) |
5 |
3 |
Duryee, Abraham - DeSeGur, V. Compt Louis Antoine (files AD71 - AD130); Earle, Edward, Sr. - Eltinge, Josia (files AE1 - AE20)
|
6 |
3-4 |
Eckersen, Cornelus - Everitt, Richard (files AE21 - AE40); Fowler, William - Fitzgerald, Thomas (files AF1 - AF41); Glen,
Jacob Sanders - Gardiner, Andris (files AG1 - AG35)
|
7 |
4 |
Glenn, Johanns - Gego, Francis (files AG36 - AG68); Hutchinson, Ralph - Helling, Elizabeth (files AH-1 - AH45) |
8 |
4-5 |
Holland, Hitchen - Hepworth, Thomas (files AH46 - AH129) |
9 |
5 |
Jansen, Mathys - Jayne, Daniel (files AJ1 - AJ27); Kettell, Jeremy, Sr. - Kniffin, Natham (files AK1 - AK49); Lamberts, Thomas
and Jannetje, Jans - Lane, Henry (files AL1 - AL10)
|
10 |
5 |
Lansingh, Gerrit I. - Leake, John G. (files AL11 - AL70); Meyer, Martin Janse and his wife, Hendrikje - McNeall, John Jr.
(files AM1 and 2 - AM15)
|
11 |
6 |
More, Robert - McNeil, Donald (files AM16 - AM106) |
12 |
6 |
Noell, Thomas - Neely, Samuel (files AN1 - AN22); Outhout, Hendrick - Owen, Jonathan (files AO1 - AO19); Pawling, Henry -
Pates, Gilbert (files AP1 - AP40)
|
13 |
7 |
Peters, George - Pulteney, (Sir) William (files AP41 - AP63); Quackenbos, Johannes - Quackenbos, Margritje (files AQ1 - AQ3);
Ryerse, Gerrit - Richard, Elizabeth (files AR1 - AR45)
|
14 |
7-8 |
Riker, Abraham - Regnier, Daniel (files AR46 - AR63); Salisbury, Silvester - Smith, Joseph (files AS1 - AS70) |
15 |
8 |
Stevens, Timothy - Stocker, Hugh (files AS71 - AS170) |
16 |
8-9 |
Titus, Hana - Tully, John (files AT1 - AT82); Urquhart, William - Upham, John (files AU1 - AU4); VanRensselaer, Killian -
VanElmendorp, Grietjen (files AV1 - AV5)
|
17 |
9 |
Van Ness (E), Garrit - VanBenthuysen, Jacob (files AV6 - AV95) |
18 |
10-9 |
Vernooy, Cornelius - VanCortlandt, Stephen (files AV96 - AV157); Wick, John - Westbroeck, Jonathan (files AW1 - AW32) |
19 |
10 |
Wing, Jedediah - Winthrop, John, Esq. (files AW33 - AW98); Youngs, Henry - Youngs, Abimael (files AY1 - AY13); Zunicher, John
(file AZ1)
|
20 |
11 |
Accretion: J0038-92 |
Subseries 1: Files 1-63 |
1 |
1 |
Subseries 1: Files 64-127 |
2 |
1 |
Subseries 1: Files 128-188 |
3 |
1-2 |
Subseries 1: Files 190-246 |
4 |
2 |
Subseries 1: Files 247-310 |
5 |
2 |
Subseries 1: Files 311-369 |
6 |
2 |
Subseries 1: Files 421-480 |
7 |
3 |
Subseries 1: Files 481-540 |
8 |
3 |
Subseries 1: Files 541-602 |
9 |
3 |
Subseries 1: Files 603-660 |
10 |
3-4 |
Subseries 1: Files 661-714 |
11 |
4 |
Subseries 1: Files 715-773 |
12 |
4 |
Subseries 1: Files 774-830 |
13 |
4-5 |
Subseries 1: Files 831-892 |
14 |
5 |
Subseries 1: Files 893-959 |
15 |
5 |
Subseries 1: Files 960-1020 |
16 |
5 |
Subseries 1: Files 1021-1079 |
17 |
5-6 |
Subseries 1: Files 1080-1140 |
18 |
6 |
Subseries 1: Files 1141-1205 |
19 |
6 |
Subseries 2: Files 1-65 |
20 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 66-162 |
21 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 163-279 |
22 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 280-375 |
23 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 376-473 |
24 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 474-581 |
25 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 582-687 |
26 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 688-786 |
27 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 788-900 |
28 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 901-1002 |
29 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 1003-1110 |
30 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 1111-1215 |
31 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 1216-1313 |
32 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 1314-1425 |
33 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 1426-1537 |
34 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 1538-1644 |
35 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 1645-1743 |
36 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 1745-1852 |
37 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 1853-1950 |
38 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 1951-2052 |
39 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 2053-2165 |
40 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 2166-2273 |
41 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 2274-2394 |
42 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 2395-2499 |
43 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 2500-2625 |
44 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 2626-2742 |
45 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 2743-2861 |
46 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 2862-2965 |
47 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 2966-3075 |
48 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 3076-3184 |
49 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 3185-3312 |
50 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 3313-3407 |
51 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 3408-3525 |
52 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 3526-3633 |
53 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 3634-3740 |
54 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 3741-3851 |
55 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 3858-3955 |
56 |
|
Subseries 2: Files 3959-4050 |
57 |
|