{"id":209,"date":"2017-07-18T18:45:54","date_gmt":"2017-07-18T23:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nyblog.arleneeakle.com\/?p=209"},"modified":"2017-07-18T18:45:54","modified_gmt":"2017-07-18T23:45:54","slug":"probate-records-and-your-new-york-genealogy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyblog.arleneeakle.com\/?p=209","title":{"rendered":"Probate Records and your New York Genealogy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Probate is the court process following a person&#8217;s death which:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>proves the authenticity of the deceased person&#8217;s will<\/li>\n<li>appoints someone to handle the deceased person&#8217;s affairs<\/li>\n<li>inventories the deceased person&#8217;s property<\/li>\n<li>collects debts due the estate<\/li>\n<li>pays debts and taxes<\/li>\n<li>identifies and notifies heirs<\/li>\n<li>distributes the deceased person&#8217;s property according to the will or, if there is no will, according to law<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Probate records include wills, estate inventories, letters of administration, and other documents relating to the administration and settlement of deceased persons\u2019 estates. These records contain information on the property of dead persons and those who are no longer able to handle their own affairs. Probate records state identity and relationships of heirs and order legal actions taken to prove wills and settle estates.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Before 1787,<\/strong> wills and other papers relating to the estates of deceased persons in New York were filed in the provincial courts in Albany. The New York State Archives holds these records, including appellate court records. <strong>Since 1787<\/strong>, wills and probate papers were filed in and retained by the <u>Surrogate&#8217;s Court<\/u> in each county.<\/p>\n<p>Knowing approximately when your ancestor died is the first step in locating the records&#8211;where the will was probated and filed. And what supporting documents were created.<\/p>\n<p>A <strong>witness<\/strong> is someone who:<br \/>\n__is present in court to certify the signatures<br \/>\n__is a resident of the jurisdiction where the document is issued<br \/>\n__is at least 14 years of age, usually 21 years of age or older<br \/>\n__ is not a legatee or beneficiary of the property in question<br \/>\n__can be related to one or both of the contracting parties&#8211;the court expected at least one family member to sign off on the court documents<\/p>\n<p>The term <strong>\u201celdest son\u201d<\/strong> is a <u>legal term<\/u> and does not imply that there are other sons! The eldest son inherited under primogeniture and entail. He did not have to be named in the will. Distribution of his inheritance was automatic under the law. The eldest son was usually \u201cthe heir of the body\u201d mentioned in land and probate proceedings. He was responsible to oversee the welfare of the family as a whole and to provide for his mother, if she was left a widow. He also was expected to provide his sisters with dowries upon marriage and to launch his younger brothers into adulthood if they were not marked for the church or the military. This could involve purchase of military commissions or acquisition of a church living if needed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Research Strategy One.<\/strong> Search for your ancestors in online resources <strong>by name<\/strong> Look for wills of siblings, in-laws, namesakes, and other relatives. Those siblings who never married or who died without heirs, often left their stuff to relatives who may be unknown to you. This approach is not a one-time shot\u2013you will want to check these online sites frequently for newly indexed records that may include your ancestors.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Research Strategy Two.<\/strong> Nearly 25% of all wills filed were made <strong>by women<\/strong>\u2013of all social classes and locations. And while only 15-20% of all people filed wills, those wills can include up to <strong>48% of the population<\/strong> in any given area. These stats require that you search for the wills naming your female ancestors that tie these ladies and other relatives into family units as you build them, and then tie them to your pedigree, <u>whether you have a previous reference to a will or not<\/u>. For example,<br \/>\nWill of the widow Barbara Rampton, Grewell (Greywell), Hampshire: 2 Aprill 1695 (Hampshire Archdeaconry Wills, FS #1597338)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bequests:<\/strong> Everyone received 20 pounds&#8211;<br \/>\n__\u201dunto my brother Richard Rampton\u201d<br \/>\n__\u201dunto my son-in-law William Rampton\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kinsman or Kinswoman named as legatees:<br \/>\n<\/strong>__John Baigen Junior<br \/>\n__Christopher Steapeles<br \/>\n__Jone Grove<br \/>\n__John Mortemur<br \/>\n__William Cooperthwait<br \/>\n__George Watts<br \/>\n__Sarah Collens|<br \/>\n__Elizabeth Mortmur<br \/>\n__________Barnham<br \/>\n__\u201dunto Will Rampton my Grandchild\u201d<br \/>\n__\u201dunto my son-in-law James Hare, whome I make my sole execut.\u201d<br \/>\n__my very good friends:\u00a0 John Baigen Senior and Richard Lynam of Grewell to be my overseers<\/p>\n<p><strong>Witnesses:<\/strong>\u00a0 The marke of\u2026Elizabeth Vidler, Rebeckah Vidler, Elizabeth Helyor<\/p>\n<p>Note the contents of this will&#8211;many relatives, some precisely identified by relationship. Note also the number of women mentioned and the role they played. I have stripped this will down to the bare bones so you could see the parts. Your favorite New York genealogist, Arlene Eakle. <a href=\"http:\/\/arleneeakle.com\">http:\/\/arleneeakle.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>PS English and Dutch traditions and customs vied with each other for mastery in early New York. And in many families they combine. Watch carefully.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Probate is the court process following a person&#8217;s death which: proves the authenticity of the deceased person&#8217;s will appoints someone to handle the deceased person&#8217;s affairs inventories the deceased person&#8217;s property collects debts due the estate pays debts and taxes &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/nyblog.arleneeakle.com\/?p=209\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":525,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyblog.arleneeakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyblog.arleneeakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyblog.arleneeakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyblog.arleneeakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/525"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyblog.arleneeakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=209"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nyblog.arleneeakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210,"href":"https:\/\/nyblog.arleneeakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions\/210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyblog.arleneeakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyblog.arleneeakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyblog.arleneeakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}