![]() Block and lot numbers have changed over the years, so it might be a good idea to consult any one of the fire insurance maps held by the New York Public Library. ![]() You can work out current block and lot numbers by visiting the NYC Department of Finance Block and Lot calculator. It's a good idea to work out the block and lot number in advance. To search for land conveyances by block and lot number, you will need to vist one of the institutions described below. Indexes (collated): *ZI-1067 (Grantor Index) and by name, (not block and lot number). Broadly speaking, the years of coverage for conveyances in the boroughs available are: The New York City land conveyances available on microform, searchable using Grantor / Grantee indexes, i.e. What does The New York Public Library have? If you are more interested in the buying and selling habits of an indivdual, group, or institution, then Grantor / Grantee indexes are the best way to search land conveyances. Deaths, marriages, legal problems, contested wills, illegibile handwriting, missing documents, and multiple lots, for instance, may make this narrative more complicated. Over time a record of ownership of the property can be traced: In 1828 William Stone, the next grantor, sells the land to Thomas Garfield, the new grantee. For instance, in 1815, in make believe Manhattan, Block 100, Lot 10 is owned by one Michael Gill (the grantor), who is selling to William Stone (and his wife Henrietta) (the grantee). ![]() Using land conveyances it is possible to trace the ownership of a piece of land across a period of time. Typically one searches land conveyances using either Block and Lot numbers, or Grantor / Grantee indexes. A conveyance records the names of the grantor and grantee, and a third-party witness, information about the location of the property, the date of the transaction, and when that transaction was recorded. Land conveyances may also include additional information about a plot of land’s history, any buildings erected on the site, street numbers, and even a map. Want to know how great-great-grandpapa wheeled and dealed his way to property millions? Or simply how he worked his socks off to scrape together enough money to buy that first family home? Here's where you start.Ī land conveyance, sometimes referred to as a land or property record, or just a plain deed, is a document that records the transfer of the ownership of land, and in many cases, though not always, the building or buildings on that land, from one party (the grantor) to another (the grantee). These documents are a boon to building and house historians, genealogists, and historians alike. all the land in Manhattan (officially) bought and sold by an individual, group or institution during those years. Land conveyances are just such a document. The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society recently donated to the New York Public Library's Milstein Division, a microfilmed collection of land conveyances, complete with some wonderful indexes, that collate all transactions between 16 associated with a particular name, e.g. Being a librarian, I spend a lot of time rummaging through old documents, seemingly dull and indecipherable tracts that often prove to be invaluable sources of the good stuff. Who cares? This is digitized, right? Yes, sometimes, often, and not yet. On microfilm, in olde worlde language, in undecipherable hand writing.
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