New York State Department of Audit and Control Maps of Undivided Tracts and of Tracts Sold by the Comptroller for Unpaid Taxes

This bulk of accretion B1610-99 is arranged by category of map (old or new) and then numerically by map number.

NOTE: In accretion B1610-99, certain maps in both categories are stored separately. See Box 202 and Folders 203-211 for listings of specific maps.

In accretion B1610-99A, bound "Case O" maps are arranged alphabetically by county and then numerically by map number. Unbound maps in folders are numbered and often grouped by tract, township, or municipality, but lack any discernible arrangement as a set.

These maps were collected and/or created by the Office of the State Comptroller for the purpose of identifying land to be sold for unpaid taxes. Beginning in 1809 the comptroller began to require (from county boards of supervisors) maps of lands that were to be sold for unpaid taxes, so that those lands could be more accurately located and described. The result was this collection of manuscript maps.

The maps depict land in every area of the state, and especially in the Adirondack, Catskill, and western regions. Many maps are extremely detailed and frequently show names of owners of individual lots and parcels. Most of the maps are manuscript originals or hand copies on tracing cloth. Some are blueprint copies or printed maps with annotations.

B1610-99A: This accretion primarily consists of one volume of hand-drawn or hand copied maps on graph paper. Each of the maps is designated "Case O" and numbered consecutively. The accretion also includes approximately 75 unbound maps stored in folders. The maps depict a variety of tracts and patents, mainly located in the Adirondack region. Some are hand-drawn or copied on paper or tracing cloth; some are blueprint or blueline print copies.

B1610-15: This accretion consists of a statewide set of maps referred to by the State Comptroller's Office as "Case O" maps. As with the consecutively numbered rolled and foldered maps that comprise the rest of this series, the "Case O" maps were compiled by the comptroller's office for the purpose of identifying land to be sold for unpaid taxes. The agency's reason for compiling and maintaining this separate set of maps, arranged by county, is not known. While the bulk of the maps are done in ink on linen, some maps are hand-drawn in pencil on paper. A few scattered blueprint maps are also included. In a small minority of cases, only narrative survey descriptions of land tracts are included.

Scanned images of a small sample of maps are available at the New York State Archives.

High resolution images of selected original documents in this series are available in State Archives Digital Collections.

B1606 Indexes to Maps of Lands Sold by the Comptroller, indexes this series (including "Case 'O'" maps and numbered maps in folders).

Maps predating 1859 are indexed by David E. E. Mix, "Catalogue of Maps and Surveys, in the Offices of the Secretary of State, State Engineer and Surveyor and Comptroller..." (Albany, 1859) pp. 309-321.

B1610-99: An alphabetical index by county, and then by town or tract, is also available.

B1610-99: Container list; Item list for oversized maps.

B1610-99A: Volume list and item list.

B1610-15: This accretion was transferred to the State Archives by the Department of Taxation and Finance in 1989 and originally accessioned as Series B1259. Further investigation in 2015 revealed the relationship of these maps to the much larger set of maps in Series B1610. The records were therefore reaccessioned as an accretion to Series B1610 at that time.

B1610-99A: Why the maps in folders were not incorporated into the bulk of the series is unknown; they may have been removed from the series and not refiled. Some maps are unnumbered and may be estrayed from other series.

Restricted: May not be photocopied due to fragility. Use with assistance of archivist.