New York State Court of Probates Inventories and Accounts

Chronological by three period groupings: 1666-1699; 1700-1775; and 1776-1822. Within each grouping the inventories and accounts are arranged in strict alphabetical order by last name of decedent.

This series consists of property inventories and the accounts of administrators and executors for those dying testate (with a will) and intestate (without a will). The Duke's Laws of 1665 first required the taking of an inventory of real and personal property for all decedents in New York and dictated the method by which intestate estates would be inventoried and appraised. Chapter 27 of the Laws of 1692 changed the method of inventorying intestate estates and required that such inventories be filed with the Royal Governor as head of the Prerogative Court. Chapter 12 of the Laws of 1778 transferred the jurisdiction of the Prerogative Court to the Court of Probates. Chapter 38 of the Laws of 1787 required the administrator of an intestate estate and the executor of a will to inventory a decedent's real and personal property. These inventories were to be filed with the court in which the will was proved or the letter of administration granted.

An inventory in this series usually contains the name of the decedent, his or her occupation and place of residence, a list and appraisal of personal and real property, the date the inventory was submitted to the court, and the signatures of those persons compiling and those appraising the inventory. An inventory also contains a statement signed by the court official receiving it that it was duly filed.

Most accounts in this series were filed after 1787 by executors or administrators at the request of a creditor, next of kin, or litigant pursuant to Chapter 38 of the Laws of 1787. These accounts are often filed with an inventory. Accounts contain the names of the decedent and his or her executor or administrator, the date the account was exhibited and filed, a list of outstanding debts and credits with all the decedent's creditors and debtors or with one individual creditor, and the signed certificate of a court official that the account was exhibited before and filed with the court on a certain date. Many accounts are organized in double entry bookkeeping method with debits on the left side and credits on the right. Occasionally a petition for an administrator, a letter of administration, or a receipt relevant to an account is filed with the inventories and accounts in this series.

Microfilm is available at the New York State Archives, with the exception of 13 inventories that were refiled with this series in January 2015.

Portions of the series are digitized (from microfilm) 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

J0038 Probated Wills contains related records.

J0033 Court of Probates Administration Papers contains related records.

"Genealogical Data from Inventories of New York Estates 1666-1825," by Kenneth Scott and James A. Owre, serves as an index to this series.

The first and second chronological groupings in this series are indexed by Kenneth Scott's article "New York Inventories 1666-1775," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 54, no. 4 (December 1966), pp. 246-259. The article, however, contains a number of inaccuracies and omits a number of inventories which were previously misfiled.

List to inventories refiled in this series is available at the repository.

In January 2015, 13 inventories were identified and refiled in this series as part of a project to integrate unidentified records.

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