New York, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999

Validator (claude-sonnet-5-5, 2026-10-28): supports, confidence 3/4, tier record.
The image of the original Saratoga County Surrogate's Court record shows the probate of the will of Norman S. Bentley of Hilton, who died in September 1901. The name matches the claim, and the death year is consistent with a person recorded as 1831–1901. The record does not state a birth year, so only the name claim is directly supported.
Matches: Right-hand page (p. 13) is headed "The Last Will and Testament of Norman S. Bentley", late of the Town of Hilton, Saratoga County, deceased; Surname and middle initial match the claimed name Norman S Bentley; Death date is given as September 20(?), 1901, which fits the claimed death year of 1901; Will admitted to probate 9 Nov 1901; the widow Emilie R. Bentley is named as executrix
Limits: The record supports the name and the 1901 death but gives no birth date or age, so the 1831 birth year cannot be checked; The handwriting is a little hard to read, so the exact death day and the first name are read with some uncertainty; The left-hand page (p. 12) belongs to a different will (John E. Fort) and is not relevant; The entry as shown does not confirm that this is the same Norman S. Bentley as the person in the database, though the 1901 death fits