New York State Court of Chancery Record of Foreign and Out-of-state Wills Proved

Chronological by date will was proved.

This series consists of the record of wills proved before the Chancellor. A law of 1830 required that wills in which the witnesses resided out of state or which were filed with a foreign or out-of-state court or government office be proved in the Court of Chancery. A will would normally have been proved in county surrogate's court during the 1830s and 1840s.

Each record of proof consists of: the minutes of the proceedings at which the will was proved; a copy of the commission issued in the case and often the detailed instructions to the commissioners; copies of the documents procured by the commissioners to authenticate the will (e.g. interrogatories, testimony, depositions, foreign or out-of state court records); certifications of authenticity by the commissioners, witnesses, or out-of-state officials; and in almost every case a copy of the will.

The following information usually is included for each case: the dates the will was proved, the commission was issued, and evidence was taken by the commissioners; the names of the testator, the witnesses to the will, the heirs, and others involved in authenticating the will; the instructions given by the cost to the commissioners; the location of the original will and documents examined; the residence of the witnesses; the substance of the will and the proofs taken to authenticate it. One case in this series includes the original Spanish text of a will and proofs as well as their English translation ("In the Matter of the Probate of the Will and Codicil of Catherine Roberts late of Havanah in the Island of Cuba deceased").

J0057Series J0057, New York State Court of Chancery In Re Papers, contains additional related records and the originals of records in this series, as well as wills not included in this series.

Index by name of testator in each volume.

The Court of Appeals placed these records on deposit at the Historical Documents Collection, Queens College, from 1973-1982.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