New York State Supreme Court of Judicature (Utica) Record of Wills Proved at Utica

Chronological by date of proof of will.

This volume contains a record of wills proved in the Supreme Court of Judicature at Utica.

The entries for each case include a copy of the will and the proof of the will, including the following parts: either the text of the interrogatories administered to the witnesses to the will concerning the identity of the testator and the authenticity of his will and of their signatures, with their answers to the interrogatories, or summaries of testimony given in the court by those witnesses (a will might be proved by either method); copy of notice of motion to prove the will; and copy of affidavit of service of the motion to the heirs. A law provided for optional proof of wills in the Supreme Court of Judicature and required the clerk of that court to record the will and the proofs taken in court.

Wills were proved in the Supreme Court when there was a need for a speedier proof than that to be had in the Surrogates Courts (for instance, when the testator's property was in danger of loss). Proof of a will means the validation of the testamentary instrument in a court of law, required before the executor can legally proceed to settle the estate.

Microfilm: Genealogical Society of Utah film, reel 1 (of 12), available at the New York State Library (includes card index to testators).

J1020Series J1020, New York State Supreme Court of Judicature (Utica) Wills and Petitions for Probate, contains related records.

Some of the wills recorded in this volume are indexed and abstracted in Berthold Fernow, comp., Calendar of Wills on File and Recorded in the Office of the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, of the County Clerk at Albany, and of the Secretary of State (New York: 1896). These wills are cited in Fernow as "Vol. V."

The Court of Appeals placed these records on deposit at the Historic Documents Collection, Queens College, from 1973-1982.

Volume is fragile. Use under supervision of archivist.