New York State Court of Chancery Orders and Decrees Issued in the Matters of the Utica and Schenectady Railroad Company

This series consists of copies of orders and decrees issued by the Chancellor in cases of disputes between the Utica and Schenectady Railroad and owners of property it wished to appropriate. A law of 1833 incorporated the railroad and established the procedures for resolving such conflicts in the Court of Chancery.

The three types of records contained in this series reflect these procedures. They are: orders directing both parties interested in the property to attend an initial hearing; orders appointing commissions of three competent and disinterested freeholders of the county in which the property is located to appraise that property; and Chancellor's final decrees. The first of these documents contain the dates the order was issued and when the railroad filed its petition opening the case, the name(s) and place of residence of the owner(s) of the land, the location of the land, the reason for the dispute (usually on purchase price), name of the railroad's solicitor, and the contents of the order. An order appointing a commission of appraisal includes the above information and a brief description of the proceedings at the initial hearing, the names and date of appointment of the three commissioners, and a detailed description of the land involved. The final decree includes all the information contained in the orders preceding it and an abstract of the minutes and findings of the commissioners (including the amount awarded to the right-of-way property owner).

The Court of Appeals placed these records on deposit at the Historical Documents Collection, Queens College, from 1973-1982.

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