1. 1
The Contractual Fabric of Life: Using Wills,
Deeds, and Other Records To Discover the
Past in New York
BY JOHN THOMAS McGUIRE, J.D., Ph.D.

2. 2
It is a pleasure to be here today.
To start, why the title?
In law school, almost before the first day is over in Contracts class,
one learns that a contract involves three elements: an offer, an
acceptance, and consideration. Then the class goes into a discussion
of what the third element consists of, such in the famous “hairy hand”
case discussed in the 1973 classic film, The Paper Chase.
But I chose the title because our lives, from birth to death, consist of
contracts, or agreements, between two or more parties, for better or
worse.
Deeds, wills, and civil/religious marital documents are among the
most precious, most valuable documents in peoples’ lives. One of the
reasons for this factor involves descendants trying to piece together
familial records and genealogists assisting such descendants or just
trying to provide viable historical records for future generations.
I will be focusing on earlier periods of New York State history, from
roughly the mid-seventeenth century to the early twentieth century.
In response to previous requests, moreover, I’ll discuss the history of
adoption in the Empire State, and the available means to use
adoption records for genealogical purposes.

3. 3
But before we get into the nitty-gritty of searching for such records,
let’s look at some legal terms that we’ll be using throughout the
lecture:
DEED: A legal document that is signed and delivered, especially one
regarding the ownership of property or legal rights.
The term replaced the medieval one of “charter,” used with
mercantile houses, and the requirements of attesting witnesses
replaced that of seals. (Perhaps the most famous example is the
Magna Carta, which was on exhibit at the Clark Museum two years
ago.) The term can be expanded to a wide variety of forms, such as
licenses and commissions, but we will restrict the term to property
conveyances for purposes of this lecture.
Most deeds naturally were handwritten before the early twentieth
century and the advent of the typewriter, so handwriting can be a
problem.
Sometimes, however, the deeds were pre-printed, fill-in-the-blank
documents (still around today!), so it might be easier to read and
analyze.

4. 4
The deed from time immemorial contains the following elements”
“Grantor”—Transferor of property
“Grantee”—Transferee of property
“Consideration”—What exchange is made between the parties
“Property Description”—Quite complex, usually in metes and bounds
Three types of general deed:
WARRANTY—This deed is the golden standard, because it involves
warranties or guarantees against any claims. There can be general
warranties, which are more common in residential transactions,
which guarantee the grantee of the property transaction any coverage
for claims before he or she takes possession of the property, or
special warranties, more common in commercial transactions, which
involves only claims after the grantor took possession of the property.

5. 5
BARGAIN AND SALE—This is a transaction usually undertaken when
legal authorities (such as courts) need to transfer property. This deed
conveys the power to sell the property, but does not guarantee full
and proper title. Thus the grantor is saying, “Grantee, I can sell this
property, but I can’t guarantee that there’s no problems with the
chain of possession.”
QUITCLAIM—The worst type of deed, except that it was commonly
used in Western states until the early twentieth century, and in New
York until the mid-nineteenth century. All the grantor is doing is
saying, “Hey, I have no rights to this property after the transfer,” or in
other words, “I’m quitting my claim to this property.”
MORTGAGES: This seems supplemental, but the documents describing
the acquisition of loans using the real property in question may
provide not only clues or information about the mortgagee’s financial
status, but other information about the property itself.

6. 6
WILL: The term has changed to include so-called “living wills,” but this
is a relatively recent historical development, we will restrict the
definition to “a written or oral communication by a person stating
how their real and/or personal property should be disposed of after
their deaths.”
Until the mid-twentieth century, most wills were HOLOGRAPHIC, or
written by hand. So the legibility of writing can be an issue, unless an
official notary or scrivener was used.
One must also keep in mind that, unfortunately, people in the past
often did not leave wills behind, and thus died INTESTATE. (That also
happens in the present, but we shall leave that for a law course.)
With MARRIAGE RECORDS, we can have three possibilities:
(1) Civil certificates of marriage;
(2) Religious certificates of marriage; and
(3) Indexes of marriages.
Now that we’ve defined these records, the main question now
becomes: HOW DO WE GO ABOUT FINDING THEM?
DEEDS AND MORTGAGES
A little history is in order.

7. 7
In 1664, New Netherland, the Dutch colony, surrenders to the British
navy, headed by the Duke of York, without a shot being fired. (It
didn’t help that the Dutch colonial government possessed no
sufficient forces to defend the area.)
The Duke of York, later the ill-fated (and little loved) James II
After a troublesome twenty years, during which the Dutch reoccupy
the colony (albeit for a year), the British government begins to
organize New York into counties. The clerk’s office of each county
starts to collect copies of deeds, but it is not a uniform requirement
until 1823.
If one needs to examine deeds from the pre-English (or pre-1664)
periods, one must usually look at the following translations of such
deeds (since the deeds were naturally written in Dutch):
Arnold J.F. Van Laer, trans., New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch, 3
vols. (1638-1660) (Baltimore: 1974). A small number of deeds are
translated in Charles Gehring, trans., New York Historical Manuscripts:
Dutch, Volumes GG, HH & II; Land Papers (Baltimore: 1980).
If one does not want to travel to far-away counties to look up deeds
and/or mortgages, the NEW YORK STATE ARCHIVES have the deeds
and/or indexes for the post-1664 period. Indexes, as I will discuss
with marriage certificates, are simply registers that record basic

8. 8
information on the transfers, such as the name of the grantor, the
name of the grantee, and the date of transfer. Here’s an example
from the seventeenth century:
These, however, are only available on microfilm, and are not
available either on-line or by interlibrary loan, at the present time.
You can find information on them at
http://www.archives.nysed.gov/research/res_tips_014_deeds.sht ml
WILLS
This is an interesting area. Some of you may be aware of the New
York Surrogate’s Courts, which are the county courts which oversee
the probate process, or the proper administration of decedents’ wills,
including any controversies that might arise concerning such
documents. But those courts were not established until 1787. The
courts that handled such matters before the Constitution’s ratification
were the colonial PREROGATIVE COURT and its post-1777 successor,
THE COURT OF PROBATES. Interestingly, while the latter court was

9. 9
established for the whole of New York State, a little conflict known as
the American Revolution was going on at the time, and thus some
areas of the state (especially New York City) were still under British
control. Thus the Prerogative Court’s records lasted until 1783, or the
official end of the Revolution with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
The Court of Probates continued to function after 1787, albeit in
limited circumstances, until its final dissolution in 1823.
These records can be found at
http://www.archives.nysed.gov/research/res_tools_nysa_path_prob
ate
For after 1787, the situation is much easier, in a way. You will need to
contact the Surrogate Court office for the county you are interested
in. As is usual with such requests, email inquiries cannot be readily
answered to. So you make inquiries by the “snail mail” route. Old-
fashioned, perhaps, but required. You should be as specific and
succinct as possible.
You can find more information at:
http://www.archives.nysed.gov/research/res_tools_nysa_path_pro
bate
SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS
There are certain exceptions for the post-1787 period: certain wills
and probate documents for the city of Manhattan (New York City did
not become incorporated until 1898); authenticated (or “proven”)
wills by the New York State Supreme Court between 1786 and 1829;
and out-of-state resident wills from the nineteenth century. The

10. 10
locations of these documents can be found at the first website
indicated above (pre-1787).
MARITAL RECORDS
We must make a clear distinction between civil and religious records
of marriage. If you are looking for the latter, the parish, congregation,
or synagogue where the marriage took place (or apparently took
place) is the first place to look, particularly if there is no
corresponding civil record. But if we are only looking for the former,
then this is the way to go:
The keeping of vital statistics, unlike court records, possesses a
patchwork pattern in New York State history. This was not
uncommon in the United States until the Progressive Era (1890-1920),
when the modern organization of governments, particularly
municipalities and agencies, became the accepted form.
The New York State legislature did not create a statewide mandate
for the keeping of birth, death, and marital records until 1881, when
the newly created Department of Health became charged with the
responsibility in coordination with local boards of health. But this
mandate did not become compulsory until the original law was
amended in 1913, so the keeping of pre-1913 records was haphazard,
to say the least.
The Department of Health indexes, which include the persons
married, date of marriage, and place of the event from 1881 onwards
(sporadically) and after 1913 (definitely), do not include, however, the
records of any of the New York City boroughs. You must go through
the Vitalsearch Company (for a fee) or the Italian Genealogical Society
for such information. Some information is available for areas of Kings

11. 11
and Queens County before their incorporation either into the city of
Brooklyn or New York City in the late nineteenth century, but that
information can be spotty. The indexes do not include any marriage
records for Albany, Buffalo, and Yonkers prior to 1908.
Moreover, you must still inquire at either the State Department of
Health or the local registrars of vital statistics for marriage
certificates, because the New York State Archives only have the
indexes, not the certificates. The good thing, however, is that you can
receive uncertified records of such certificates for genealogical
purposes, as long as the persons are deceased.
For the New York City boroughs, you must inquire at the New York
City Municipal Archives, which contain the following areas and years:
Manhattan: 1847-1848, 1853-1937
Brooklyn: 1866-1937
Bronx, Queens, Staten Island: 1898-1937 (records before the 1898
incorporation are incomplete).
Post-1937 records can be obtained from the borough offices of the
New York City Clerk.
The New York Public Library has a nice description of available marital
records at
http://www.nypl.org/about/divisions/milstein/vitalrecords.
Find more information at:
http://www.archives.nysed.gov/research/res_topics_gen_vitalstats

12. 12
DIVORCE RECORDS
As you may know, divorces were historically hard to undertake in this
state until the adoption of no-fault divorce in recent years; you had to
prove adultery or domestic violence, for example.
But divorces were practically non-existent before 1787, mainly
because they could only be granted through petitions to either the
colonial or state legislatures, and such petitions were granted only in
a very few instances.
From 1787 through 1847, the New York State Chancery Court took
care of divorce cases, which were allowed. They are available at
http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_legal_probate
_chancerycourt.
Since 1847, the New York State Supreme Court has had primary
jurisdiction over divorce case files, and a supreme court is located in
most of the counties, unless jointly shared by two counties.
Interestingly, you must get a judicial order to unseal any divorce
records less than 100 years old, unless you are a party to the divorce
or an attorney for one of the parties (Domestic Relations Law Section
235). “Good cause,” moreover, must be shown for such an unsealing.
Domestic Relations Law § 235 : NY Code - Section 235: Information
as to details of matrimonial actions or proceedings
1. An officer of the court with whom the proceedings in a matrimonial action or a written agreement of
separation or an action or proceeding for custody, visitation or maintenance of a child are filed, or before
whom the testimony is taken, or his clerk, either before or after the termination of the suit, shall not
permit a copy of any of the pleadings, affidavits, findings of fact, conclusions of law, judgment of
dissolution, written agreement of separation or memorandum thereof, or testimony, or any examination
or perusal thereof, to be taken by any other person than a party, or the attorney or counsel of a party,
except by order of the court. 2. If the evidence on the trial of such an action or proceeding be such that
public interest requires that the examination of the witnesses should not be public, the court or referee
may exclude all persons from the room except the parties to the action and their counsel, and in such case

13. 13
may order the evidence, when filed with the clerk, sealed up, to be exhibited only to the parties to the
action or proceeding or someone interested, on order of the court. 3. Upon the application of any person
to the county clerk or other officer in charge of public records within a county for evidence of the
disposition, judgment or order with respect to a matrimonial action, the clerk or other such officer shall
issue a "certificate of disposition", duly certifying the nature and effect of such disposition, judgment or
order and shall in no manner evidence the subject matter of the pleadings, testimony, findings of fact,
conclusions of law or judgment of dissolution derived in any such action. 4. Any county, city, town or
village clerk or other municipal official issuing marriage licenses shall be required to accept, as evidence of
dissolution of marriage, such "certificate of disposition" in lieu of a complete copy of the findings of fact,
conclusions of law and judgment of dissolution. 5. The limitations of subdivisions one, two and three of
this section in relation to confidentiality shall cease to apply one hundred years after date of filing, and
such records shall thereupon be public records available to public inspection.
SPECIAL ISSUES
What if the name of the town or village in question has changed or
vanished?
Over the years, decades, and centuries towns or villages either change
their names (as during the anti-German hysteria of World War I) or
simply “vanish.”
The United States Geographic Names Information System is a logical
tool to obtain the names of different towns or villages. This can be
found at http://geonames.usgs.gov.
ADOPTION RECORDS
And now, by popular demand, we come to a new topic: the use of
adoption records for genealogical purposes.
It’s hard to believe today, in our legalistic (over legalistic?) world, but
adoptions did not become “officially” recognized until the mid-19th
century, and our neighbor state to the east--otherwise known as the
Bay State, or Massachusetts (also Red Sox Nation?) led the way. By
passing the 1851 Adoption of Children Act, the Massachusetts
legislature became the first state to shift the system of adoption to

14. 14
the jurisdictional process to ensure that adoptions would be “fit and
proper.” Although this state did establish such central adoption
organizations such as the Children’s Aid Society and the State
Charities Aid Association by the 1890s, New York apparently did not
follow the Massachusetts model until the late 1800s.
In retrospect, this seeming reluctance to adopt (no pun intended) our
present-day system does not seem surprising. Since colonial times
adoptions were always considered an informal process, either in
intra-familial (a couple adopting the child or children of a deceased
relative, for example) or, quite frankly, a business transaction (a child
needing support being incorporated into a family as another source of
work/income.)
The two best ways to ascertain whether a child was adopted in New
York before the late nineteenth century is through CENSUS RECORDS
or through records connected with the BIRTH MOTHER’S LAST NAME,
such as local parish records which may record the birth, adoption, or
both. Admittedly, this can be a time-intensive, frustrating process,
but unfortunately there are no easy ways in dealing with what one
could call a “pre-bureaucratized society.”
For more on this topic, an excellent article can be found under
Maureen Taylor, “About Adoption Research,” available at
http://www.genealogy.com/articles/research/69_taylor.html
As for adoptions incorporated under the legal system (say, by 1890), it
can be VERY difficult, for understandable reasons, for any party to
find out such records. NYS Domestic Relations Law §114 (Article 7,
Title 2) seals adoption records:

15. 15
N.Y. Domestic Relations Law 114 – Order of Adoption
2. No person, including the attorney for the adoptive parents shall
disclose the surname of the child directly or indirectly to the
adoptive parents except upon order of the court. No person shall be
allowed access to such sealed records and order and any index
thereof except upon an order of a judge or surrogate of the court in
which the order was made or of a justice of the Supreme Court. No
order for disclosure or access and inspection shall be granted except
on good cause shown and on due notice to the adoptive parents and
to such additional persons as the court may direct. Nothing
contained herein shall be deemed to require the state commissioner
of health or his designee to secure a court order authorizing
disclosure of information contained in adoption or birth records
requested pursuant to the authority of section forty-one hundred
thirty-eight-c or section forty-one hundred thirty-eight-d of the
public health law; upon the receipt of such request for information,
the court shall transmit the information authorized to be released
thereunder to the state commissioner of health or his designee.
3. In like manner as a court of general jurisdiction exercises such
powers, a judge or surrogate of a court in which the order of
adoption was made may open, vacate or set aside such order of
adoption for fraud, newly discovered evidence or other sufficient
cause.
4. Good cause for disclosure or access to and inspection of sealed
adoption records and orders and any index thereof, hereinafter the
“adoption records”, under this section may be established on
medical grounds as provided herein. Certification from a physician

16. 16
licensed to practice medicine in the state of New York that relief
under this subdivision is required to address a serious physical or
mental illness shall be prima facie evidence of good cause. Such
certification shall identify the information required to address such
illness. Except where there is an immediate medical need for the
information sought, in which case the court may grant access to the
adoption records directly to the petitioner, the court hearing
petition under the subdivision shall appoint a guardian ad litem or
other disinterested person, who shall have access to the adoption
records for the purpose of obtaining the medical information sought
from those records or, where the records are insufficient for such
purpose, through contacting the biological parents. The guardian or
other disinterested person shall offer a biological parent the option
of disclosing the medical information sought by the petitioner
pursuant to this subdivision, as well as the option of granting
consent to examine the parent’s medical records. If the guardian or
other disinterested person appointed does not obtain the medical
information sought by the petitioner, such guardian or disinterested
person shall make a report of his or her efforts to obtain such
information to the court. Where further efforts to obtain such
information are appropriate, the court may in its discretion
authorize direct disclosure or access to and inspection of the
adoption records by the petitioner.
But things can be a bit easier for adoptees born or adopted in New
York State:
Adoption Information Registry
While adoption and birth records remain confidential and under court
seal, an adoptee who was born or adopted in New York State, the

17. 17
birth parent of that adoptee or the biological sibling of that adoptee
can register with the Adoption Information Registry to obtain certain
kinds of information.
The Registry helps adoptees obtain available non-identifying
information about their birth parents and enables the reunion of
registered adoptees with their birth parents and biological siblings.
Finally, the Registry provides a place for birth parents to file medical
information updates which may be shared with registered adoptees.
To learn more about the New York State Adoption Information
Registry Program and to download registration forms visit:
 Adoption Information Registry
https://www.health.ny.gov/vital_records/adoption.htm

18. 18
Adoptees
Search Strategy Material
Askin, Jayne, with Molly Davis. Search: A Handbook for Adoptees and
Birthparents, 2nd ed. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1992. (R,362.8,A835,83-
24192,1992)
Beard, Timothy Field. "Adoptees in Search of Their Natural Parents." How to
Find Your Family Roots. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1977, pp.157-166.
(R,929.1,B368,78-26290)
Berko, Robert L. Using Public Records to Find and Investigate Anyone. South
Orange, NJ: Consumer Education Research Center, 1997.
(R,363.2336,qB513,97-12664)
Carroll, Susan. "Genealogy for Adult Adopted Persons-Not an Insoluble
Problem". The Genealogical Helper. V.32 N.6, Nov/Dec 1978, pp.8-12.
(R,929.105,qG326)
Culligan, Joseph J. Adoption Searches Made Easier. Miami, FL: FJA, Inc.,
1996. (R,353.0071,C967,96-17121)
Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet. Scroll down and click on
"Adoption". Internet Address: http://www.CyndisList.com/
Johnson, Richard S. Find Anyone Fast, Spartanburg, SC: MIE Pub., 1997.
(R,362.8,J68,97-12902)

19. 19
Klunder, Virgil L. Lifeline: the Action Guide to Adoption Search. Cape Coral,
FL: Caradium, 1991. (R,362.829,K66,96-5446)
Rillera, Mary Jo. The Adoption Searchbook, 3rd ed. Westminster, CA:
Triadoption Publications, 1991. (R,362.734,R574,83-32287,1991)
Schooler, Jayne E. Searching for a Past: the Adopted Adult's Unique Process
of Finding Identity. Colorado Springs, CO: Pinon Press, 1995.
(C,362.8,S372,96-16747)
Shea's Search Series-online. Internet Address:
http://www.plumsite.com/shea/series.html
Strauss, Jean A. S. Birthright: the Guide to Search and Reunion for
Adoptees, Birthparents, and Adoptive Parents. New York: Penguin Books,
1994. (R,362.8298,S912,96-16967)
Helpful Organizations
NYS Adoption & Medical Information Registry created by Public Health Law
§4138 b-d (Article 41, Title 3). A mutual consent registry. NYS Dept. of
Health, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12237-0023. (518)-474-9600.
http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/consumer/vr.htm
AAC-American Adoption Congress, 100 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 9,
Washington DC 20036. (202) 483-3399. Committed to adoption reform by
allowing access to records. http://www.americanadoptioncongress.org/

20. 20
AIML-Adoptees Internet Mailing List.
ALMA-Adoptees' Liberty Movement Assoc., PO Box 727, Radio City Sta.,
New York, NY 10101-0727. (212) 581-1568. Provides search assistance and
works for legislative change. http://www.almasociety.org/
CUB-Concerned United Birthparents, 2000 Walker St., Des Moines, IA
50317. (800)-822-2777. Support group and works for legislative reform.
http://www.cubirthparents.org/
ISRR-International Soundex Reunion Registry, PO Box 2312, Carson City,
NV 89702-2312. (702)-882-7755. A free mutual consent registry. Internet
Address: http://www.plumsite.com/isrr/
NAIC- Child Welfare Information Gateway-Formerly the National Adoption
Information Clearinghouse, National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and
Neglect Information and Child Welfare Information Gateway. Provides
information on all aspects of adoption and includes links to other resources.
http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/index.cfm
Materials Concerning Open Records
NYS Domestic Relations Law §114 (Article 7, Title 2). Seals adoption
records. See also, NYS Social Services Law sect.372 (Article 6, Title 1)
"Records and Reports". (RT) . Internet Address for New York State
Consolidated Laws at the NYS Assembly web site:
http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?COMMONQUERY=LAWS

21. 21
Hollinger, Joan H. "Aftermath of Adoption: Legal and Social Consequences,"
Adoption Law and Practice, Chapt. 13, V.2. New York, NY: M. Bender,
1991+. (L, 346.730178, A239, 92-3876)
Kuhns, Jason. "The Sealed Adoption Records Controversy: Breaking Down
the Walls of Secrecy," Golden Gate Univ. Law Review, V.24 N.1 Spring 1994,
pp.259-297. (LAW/PER)
Sachdev, Paul. Unlocking the Adoption Files. Lexington, MA: Lexington
Books, 1989. (C,362.734,S121,89-36233)
Wegar, Katarina. Adoption, Identity, and Kinshi: the Debate Over Sealed
Birth Records. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press, 1997.
(C,362.734,W411,97-12184)

22. 22
CONCLUSION
The search for the contractual fabric of life, either for our ancestors or
for people from the past in general, can be a never-ending, sometimes
frustrating, but always fascinating endeavor. Good luck with your
efforts!