New York State Department of Law Bureau of Real Property Railroad Deed Files

Numerical by unique file number.

This series consists of an assortment of deed files concerning the transfer of real property between private individuals and railroad companies. A typical file contains original deeds (with signatures) describing the amount paid for the real property; exact description of property being conveyed; names and addresses of seller(s) and buyer(s); signatures of attorneys, county clerks, and notaries public; date recorded; book/liber number and page number; and a map depicting the property being conveyed. The maps may be tracings, old photocopies, blueprints, or originals executed on linen. In addition, files may contain title abstracts tracing the ownership of specific parcels of real property; original releases; notices of retainer; summonses; and complaints.

The files pertain exclusively to transactions that occurred in Oneida, Erie, Essex, Niagara, and Franklin counties and deal primarily with the Mohawk Valley and Northern Railway Company, the Railway Construction & Equipment Company, the Mohawk & Adirondack Railway Company, the Suspension Bridge & Erie Junction Railroad Company, and the Erie Railroad Company. The vast majority of the transactions concern the conveyance of miniscule pieces of real property (less than one acre and frequently measured in feet). Most of the files pertain to transactions occurring in the last quarter of nineteenth century but there are many others that were recorded between 1900 and 1910; during the 1930s; and a few from 1953 through 1954.

Individual documents have been tri-folded and filed in manilla file envelopes. The files are arranged numerically by a unique number but there are large gaps in the numbering scheme. This indicates that these files were once part of a much larger series. For example, there are files labeled 1-23; 108-182C; 450-462; 1944-2000; and 5730-6397 (with extensive gaps). There is no index to the files. There is also a small quantity (ca. .25 cu. ft.) of oversized materials that were filed separately because they were too big to fit in the envelopes.

This accretion contains maps pertaining to a 1961 proceeding (Agency No. 1901) involving interstate highway route connections and the N.Y. Central Railroad right of way in Onondaga County. The maps detail takings from the N.Y. Central Railroad in the area extending from the eastern boundary line of the city of Syracuse to the village of East Syracuse. Also included are right of way and track maps pertaining to the Plattsburgh and Dannemora Railroad, operated by the Delaware and Hudson Company; right of way and track maps pertaining to the West Shore Railroad, operated by the N.Y. Central Railroad Company; and additional maps pertaining to the Syracuse Division of the N.Y. Central Railroad. This accretion also contains correspondence and copies of recorded instruments pertaining to the acquisition by the State of New York of former rights of way of the New York, Ontario and Western Railroad Company.

19720-97, 1870-1955, 3 cubic feet:

19720-03: The deed files in this accretion pertain exclusively to transactions that occurred in Onondaga County. Most files document the conveyance of real property in the Town of Manlius from private individuals to the Syracuse and Chenango Valley Railroad Company. Unique file numbers run from 1758 to 1832 with very few gaps. Several files from the 1960s document the transfer of real property in the Town of Manlius from the New York Central Railroad Company to private individuals and corporations.

Series B1420, Deeds, Abstracts and Agreements Relative to Railroad Easements, contains similar records.

19720-02, 1916-1962, 2 cubic ft. (31 maps):Container list

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.