Will of Chamion Arundell – 1666

CHAMION ARUNDELL, of the Island of Tortugas, makes “my loving wife Elizabeth Arundell, my attorney irrevocable,” to collect all debts, sell chattels, etc. “And if it shall please God I shall decease in this my intended voyage,” I appoint her sole executrix of this my will, of all my estate. Dated August 26, 1659. Witnesses, Elias Watt, Wm. Saltsbury, Peter Throppe. Elizabeth, the widow of Chamion Arundell, married Wm. Saltsburg, of Flushing, and they made proof of will at Court of Sessions, in June, 1666, and they were appointed executors February 4, 1666/7. Matthias Nicoll, Secretary. LIBER 1-2, page 10

Abstracts of Wills on File in the City of New York Surrogate’s Office 1660-1680

Sample Last Will and Testament

Abstracts of wills on file in the surrogate’s office city of New York 1660-1680. From May 1787 to the present, county surrogate’s courts have recorded probates. However, the court of probates and court of chancery handled estates of deceased persons who died in one county but who owned property in another. An 1823 law mandated that all probates come under the jurisdiction of the county surrogate’s courts. Each surrogate’s court has a comprehensive index to all probate records, including the unrecorded probate packets. Interestingly enough, there are wills existing and on record at the Surrogate’s Office in New York City for the time-span of 1660-1680. Genealogical extracts of these wills have been provided below.