The documents compiled in this collection consist of “petitions, letters of renunciation, bills and receipts” regarding the estates of the deceased. Specifically, it details how the state managed the estates that the deceased left behind. What is abstracted here is listed alphabetically according to the name of the decedent. NYG&B Fellows Kenneth Scott and James A. Owre compiled and transcribed Genealogical Data From Inventories of New York Estates, 1666-1825 in 1970.
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This is an invaluable source for researchers since it contains the name of the deceased and the day they passed away. Details of the deceased’s “last illness, funeral expenses, his business, his family and his heirs” are also documented, which provides a fuller picture of a person’s life and their relationships. More details can be drawn from this collection such as the names of “[e]xecutors, administrators, appraisers,” overseers, auctioneers, “heirs, widows, widowers, children, other relations, business associates, debtors, creditors and purchasers of articles at public or private sale.” A great deal of attention is also given to “real estate, jewelry, Negro slaves, books and weapons.”
These documents can help historical researchers who are interested in jurisprudence pertaining to how the state managed the dead’s estates between New York’s colonial era and Early Republic period.
Suggested citation for this collection:
New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, “New York State Estate Inventory Abstracts, 1666 - 1825” digital images, New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, (www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org), 2019.