Research

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of documents filed in cases brought before the Chancellor by petition and in certain administrative matters (e.g., the required annual financial reports of the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company, and the appointment of court officials). "In Re" means "in the matter of" which is the method in which petition cases and administrative matters were entitled (e.g.,"In the Matter of George Hallock et al, infants," "In the Matter of the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company").

Most of the records in this series concern cases involving matters of incompetency (i.e., lunatics, infants, drunkards); the administration of estates; and insolvent corporate bodies (i.e., churches, banks, railroads). These and other types of cases filed in this series were handled by the court through means other than the enrollment of a decree. Files vary in content but can contain copies or originals of any or all of the following: petitions; Master's and other reports; transcripts of testimony; copies of orders; affidavits; inquisitions; bonds for performance of duties; property inventories; documentary evidence and exhibits.

These files are not enrollments and therefore do not contain decrees. Decrees and special orders pertaining to cases in this series can be found in Chancery Minutes and Register's Minutes of Decrees. Files will usually contain information on the particulars of cases and the findings of the court. Cases involving lunatics, drunkards, insolvent corporations, and disputes over estates often contain detailed information on the background, behavior, and financial state of individuals or corporations.