New York State Surrogate Court (New York County) Probated Wills

Numerical by assigned file number (generally equivalent to chronological by year, then alphabetical by testator's name).

Chapter 38 of the Laws of 1787 provided that the county surrogates retain wills proved before them, unless return of the will was requested by the executor or the devisees.

This series consists of probated wills filed and maintained by the clerk of the Surrogate Court (New York County). Each will provides for the disposition of the testator's real and personal property and designates an executor. The will is signed (or marked) and sealed by the testator and witnessed by three persons. The name of the testator and date of the will are noted on the reverse, but the wills contain no added information about probate proceedings.

The entire series is digitized (from microfilm) as part of a larger collection of Wills and Probate Records and is 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 how to create the free account, go to How to Use Ancestry.com New York.

J1043 New York State Surrogate Court (New York County) Record of Wills and Probates, contains recorded versions of the wills in Series J1038.

Indexed in: Kenneth Scott and Leo Hershkowitz, "Index to Original Wills (1776-1829)," in National Society Quarterly, Vol. 55 (1967), pp.119-145.

Container list.

Restricted due to fragility. Use with supervision of archivist.