Hi Michael. I have not forgotten about Mary Ann O'Neil. I will go to Calvary next week as to finding out what they have on microfilm so we can find a death certificate or transfer permit or burial permit; they have to have something. My leg injury has prevented me from getting down there. But will go next week. It's not far, but I cannot yet walk the graves. I can go to the Administration Building.
As to your other questions: when able to do stairs I can try the Surrogate's court and I expect the files are buried in some court archive. Name, date of death, ANY index #, date file, liber, page, and whatever numbers will be most helpful. More is better.
Today, court records are filed by an Index #, which are a number and a year. It may be that back at that time they did not use index #'s. Writing to them will take centuries -- best to go down there. I saved the .pdf files on Mary Ann O'Neil.
This will take awhile; I have to go by subway and cannot yet do stairs. But I also may have to work next week or the week after and have no choice but to go into the city, and may have to find a way to get there anyway. I know I have not been too quick on this, but the fall has put me back and the doctor said no stairs. Sorry for the delay.
These will be public records due to the length of time passed. I'm not sure about looking up someone who may or may not have been probated. I don't work in probate but I'm a paralegal. Probate is not required if there is no will. If William Dickers and Hannah O'Neil did not do wills, there will be no probate. At least not here and not now. Is there any indication that they had substantial estates, because those with substantial estates are more likely to do a will than not?
I can tell you this, since Felix had a will to be probated he named executors or executrixes. The wording always says about someone failing to act -- so when the mother did not want to take on the job of administering the estate, secondary and ever tertiary choices are named. Or were they co-executors? It's problematic to name a person residing in a foreign country. Was the mother back home in Europe because she would have a tough time adminstering the estate. Second, an Ohio citizen is acceptable to adminster an estate in New York. As long as they are in the U.S. the only problem is travel from Ohio to New York and so on. We are cautioned not to name Executors who are out of the U.S. When the mother declined for whatever reason, Felix might have been named already. However, if the mother declined or the Surrogate's Court saw that she was out of country, and no secondaries, etc. were designated, they would have appointed someone -- and could have been Felix chosen by the court. As I said, if there's a will -- it has to be probated and Felix would have to show that he followed the will in administering the estate.
My thoughts are 6 months and so on. Letters Testamentary -- letters of authority from the court to the Executor to act in authority are renewable every six months. So, he would have been given letters testamentary when he filed for Probate and every six months therafter because they expire. I would look soon after death for the initial filing -- and then every 6 months thereafter. If someoned died in October, I would look for October and November. People dont' wait on this too long, but in your case even December because the mother had to decline and then who knows how Felix was appointed. So, begin with soon after death date moving forward. If you find the month -- then it's 6 months after that that he would have to request new Letters Testamentary, and so on.
I hope this helps. I will make a sincere effort next week to get on with Mary Ann and Calvary, at the least.
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barb
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