New York State Circuit Court (1st Circuit) Engrossed Minute Books

Entries are chronological by date of sitting, then by date of trial or other court action.

The engrossed minute books contain the minutes, in fine handwriting, of civil trials and other proceedings in regular terms of the Circuit Court and in additional "sittings" in the city and county of New York. A Supreme Court justice presided. All actions were commenced in the Supreme Court of Judicature and an issue roll was sent to the Circuit Court if a trial was required.

Trial minutes include the names of plaintiff and defendant, attorneys, jurors, and witnesses, and may list documents introduced as evidence. The minutes state the amount of money judgment awarded by jury verdict after trial, or by jury inquisition if the defendant defaulted. The minute books also contain entries of motions and orders, fines against non-appearing jurors, and naturalizations of aliens. (Almost all of the naturalization orders appear during the years 1795-1799.)

Volumes for 1824-1827 are available on microfilm.

High resolution images of selected original documents in this series are available in State Archives Digital Collections.

Naturalizations of aliens are indexed at the end of the first two volumes.

These records were transferred by the New York State Unified Court System, Office of Court Administration in 2017.

Volumes for 1824-1827 were destroyed after microfilming.

Use and reproduction of fragile documents may be restricted.