New York Alien Residents 1825-1848

Until 1825 an alien resident of New York could neither hold nor bequeath property but by an Act of the State Legislature April 21 1825 he was permitted to hold real property provided he deposed that he was a resident of the U.S. and intended to become a naturalized citizen. Kenneth Scott and Rosanne Conway have abstracted the genealogical data from these alien depositions which were filed in the office of the Secretary of State of New York for the years 1825-1848. This information on some 4260 alien residents is valuable to the genealogist for the following reasons: the alien's place of residence regularly by county and often by village town or city is stated; country of birth sometimes with name of county or department is often given; date of birth the age when the alien arrived in the U.S. or when he deposed is occasionally recorded; date of arrival may be found; and status of a woman (single married or widowed) is usually set forth as is the name of a husband with his trade or profession.