New York, Bronx Probate Estate Files - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes county probate records for the years 1914 to 1931. It consists of indexes and images of estate files. Currently only adminstration files for 1914-1916 are available. The files may include lists of heirs, oaths of administrators, reports of witnesses, forms about guardians, etc.

The borough of the Bronx remained part of New York County until Bronx County was created in 1914. After the creation of Bronx County, the administered estate files were handled by the Surrogate's Court.

These court documents may be loose papers or bound volumes. They are usually divided into individual estate files or probate packets. Records pertaining to estates may include any of the following:


 * Settlement papers
 * Inventories
 * Receipts
 * Wills
 * Accounts
 * Administrations
 * Appraisals
 * Minutes
 * Bonds
 * Petitions
 * Guardianships
 * Inventories
 * Settlements

Probate records are used to legally dispose of a person’s estate after his or her death. The probate process transfers the legal responsibility for payment of taxes, care and custody of dependent family members, liquidation of debts, and transfer of property title to heirs from the deceased to an executor or executrix if the deceased had made a will, to an administrator or administratrix if the deceased had not made a will, or to a guardian or conservator if the deceased had heirs under the age of twenty-one or if heirs were incompetent due to disease or disability.

The death date, residence, and other facts that were current at the time of the probate proceeding are quite reliable, though there is still a chance of misinformation. The records may omit the names of deceased family members and those who have previously received an inheritance, or the spouse mentioned may not be the parent of the children mentioned.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Probate records include petitions, inventories, accounts, decrees, oaths of executors, forms about guardians and other court documents.
 * Name of testator or deceased
 * Names of heirs such as spouse, children, and other relatives or friends
 * Names of witnesses
 * Residence of testator
 * Lists of belongings, property, and so forth
 * Document and recording dates (Sometimes the date of death will be given. Recording dates are also used to approximate event dates, i.e. a letter of administration was usually written shortly after the time of death.)

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The place of residence
 * The approximate death or probate date
 * The name of the deceased

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use probate records to identify heirs and relatives
 * Use the document (such as the will) or the recording dates to approximate a death date
 * Use the information in the probate record to substitute for civil birth and death records since the probates exist for an earlier time period
 * You may be able to use the probate record to learn about
 * Land transactions.
 * Adoptions or guardianship of any minor children and dependents.


 * Use the birth date or age along with the residence or place of birth of the deceased to locate census, church, and land records
 * Use the occupations listed to find other types of records such as employment records or military records
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the deceased; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have died in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names
 * Look for an index. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of New York.
 * New York Guided Research
 * New York Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step New York Research, 1880-Present

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Bronx probate estate files, 1914-1931

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.