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These series consist of documents relating to the partition (court-approved sale) of lands held by joint tenants or tenants in common. (Joint tenants possessed real property by the same legal title; tenants in common possessed it by distinct, different titles.) Each file contains some or all of the following documents: petition to Supreme Court seeking a rule appointing commissioners to partition lands held jointly or in common; affidavit of publication of notice of petition, in cases where the identity or residence of some or all of the tenants was unknown; report of commissioners describing in detail (sometimes with a survey and map) the real property as partitioned and allotted by them; and copies of the court rule appointing the commissioners and of the oath sworn by them. There may also be a commissioner's report of sale of the property, giving date of sale, name of purchaser, and amount paid; and a copy of the court rule approving the sale and ordering distribution of the proceeds to the tenants.
Many of the cases involved minor heirs for whom the court appointed guardians. In such cases the file usually includes the petition and rule for appointment of a guardian for a tenant who is a minor; bond of guardian's sureties for the "faithful discharge" of the guardian's duties; report of court clerk approving sureties and setting the amount of their bond; and guardian's plea of confession consenting to partition. The series also contains a few petitions for appointment of guardians for minors who were involved in actions other than partition.
Partition cases were brought in the Supreme Court pursuant to Laws of 1785, Chap. 39, and Laws of 1788, Chap. 8. These acts were consolidated in Laws of 1801, Chap. 176. The Revised Laws of 1813, vol. 1, p. 507, and the Revised Statutes of 1829, Part III, Chap. 5, Title 3, Sections 1-102, again outlined the procedure in partition cases, which after 1813 could be brought in the Supreme Court, a court of common pleas, or the Court of Chancery. Judgments in partition cases are found in the regular series of judgment rolls. Final partition orders are found in the minute books.
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| J0019 |
Reports of Commissioners to Partition Lands (Albany), 1802-19, 1824, 1829. 1.7 cu. ft.
The files are arranged alphabetically by first letter of petitioners name. The documents within each file are in a roughly chronological arrangement by filing date. Each file is numbered consecutively in red on the dorso of one of the documents in the file, starting with "1" for each letter of the alphabet. Final orders are entered in J0l30 Minute Books (Albany). J2l30 Index to Minute Books (Albany) includes references to partition cases.
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| J9913 |
Reports of Commissioners to Partition Lands (Utica), 1825-30. .4 cu. ft.
The largest single file in this series relates to the partition of lands of Joseph Ellicott in the city of Buffalo. The documents in this series are unarranged and unindexed. Final orders are entered in J0128 Minute Books (Utica).
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