Questions tagged [probate-records]
For questions about finding or interpreting wills, administrations, probate bonds, petitions, inventories, and other records associated with distribution of a person's estate after their death.
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What does it mean if a probate index lists a person's record as "Insanity of", instead of "Estate of"?
I found my ancestor listed in a probate index for McLeod County, Minnesota, USA around the year 1882. His record is in the format "Last Name, First Name, Insanity of", instead of "Last Name, First ...
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England - What are some possible reasons an ancestor would name his accountant in his will as a beneficiary?
I found my 2x great-grandfather's probate record on Ancestry:
https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/19716606?h=660803&utm_campaign=bandido-webparts&utm_source=post-share-modal&utm_medium=copy-...
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England - what are some possible reasons that my ancestor only listed his daughters in his will and none of his sons?
I found the will of my 3x great-grandfather.
Robert Fowler
BIRTH ABT. 1767 • Thorganby, Yorkshire, England
DEATH ABT FEB 1833 • Thorganby, Yorkshire, England
He had several children:
Ann Fowler ...
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Unknown Abbreviations in abstract of probate
I have found a number of abstracts from another researcher and do not know exactly what they mean. The following is a typical one:
Eliab Cooper
b. 1767, Charles County, MD
Father: Jesse Cooper
...
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1
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Working with browsable images of probate records?
FamilySearch.org makes images available for browsing before the (computer) indexes to the collections are available. Recently some probate collections have come online, and I have made a couple of ...
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2
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Why did the executor or administrator for somebody dying intestate in UK in 1800s have to pay a bond?
I have received 2 wills in the UK only to find the person died intestate and those responsible for administering their estate had to pay a bond, which is described on a separate printed page. What is ...
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Would a Wife be mentioned in 18th Century English Will?
I have been transcribing a number of 18th Century English wills and noticed that there don't seem to be mentions of wives -- at least not in the ones that I'm working on. Given the legal doctrine of ...
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1
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Who are the Campbells in this document?
These documents are from the Warren County, Mississippi probate records of Mississippi Emily (Strong) Folkes. The administratrix was her daughter Ida W. (Folkes) Smith.
This Administrator's Bond ...
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2
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Are probate records typically only for males?
I'm looking at the probate record of Samuel Bangs, who died in 1786 (Or thereabouts) in Dutchess County, New York. I'm noticing that his wife, Thankful, was still alive, and there are mention of ...
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4
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Where to find Will of Giles Chichester from 1820s, probably in Somerset or Guyana?
My 4th great grandparents Robert Chichester (1767-1830) and Martha Noake (1762-1836) married on 13 Apr 1797 at Branscombe, Devon and had five children:
Priscilla (my 3rd great grandmother) was born ...
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2
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Where can I find Pennsylvania Archives Series II?
I'm trying to locate the probate of James Wright from March 4, 1760 in Frederick County, Virginia and see references on the web to it being in Pennsylvania Archives Series II. I cannot find any such ...
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3
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Interpreting names and abbreviations at the end of wills?
I have been transcribing several wills over the last few months and am pretty much done. However, at the end of the wills, after the names of the witnesses there are letters that I think are shorthand ...
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1
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Inferring father/son relationships from Senior (Sr.) / Junior (Jr.) naming?
As in my other questions, I am investigating the spread of the Blackstone family name in early America. I came across the following tidbits and I would like to know if my interpretation is (likely to ...
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1
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Reading words on old document relating to share of Will?
I was just given this old document by my grandmother. It is a document relating to a share of a Will in which her grandmother was mentioned (Emily Pynn nee Hughes). There are a few words I cannot make ...
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1
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How to order copies of English wills (post-1858)?
I have the following entry from the National Probate calendar and would like to find the will:
ELLIOTT Augusta of The Myrtles Slapton near Kingsbridge Devonshire
widow died 17 April 1947 Probate ...
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2
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Identifying difficult words in 1651 will?
I am transcribing a Nottinghamshire will and probate bond dated 1651, and two passages of the will are eluding me.
In the first passage the testator bequeaths unto his
"sonne my house & my ...
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5
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1
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Using a card index to find Probate records?
Since I asked the question about working with unindexed probate records, I have located some card indexes for administrations in Queens County New York online (as images which can be browsed) and one ...
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1
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Are these two signatures from the same person?
Are there any standard techniques for comparing signatures to determine the likelihood that they are or are not by the same person?
When my great-5-grandfather Daniel Cooper signed his will in 1792, ...
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2
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Reading a will to get land information?
This is the will of William Linley. I am trying to work out what land he owned and where it went when he died. The property was in Oldbury (probably on-the-hill, rather than on-severn) in Glos.
...
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2
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Best practices for producing document abstracts or summaries?
I usually transcribe documents or manuscripts in full so that I do not miss important details. However, often these documents ramble on for pages and pages of legal jargon, so it is useful to produce ...
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Why name John Doe as surety?
It's not uncommon to find John Doe named as surety on a bond, as shown in the eighteenth century probate bond below:
Either there were an awful lot of John Does in Leicestershire, or John Doe was ...
- 18.7k
4
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1
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Understanding the disposal of an estate in Jersey
On 21 May 1858, Edward Harper died in Grouville parish, Jersey; he made a will 3 days before he died (accessible via the Jersey Archives site at https://catalogue.jerseyheritage.org/collection/Details/...
user6485
4
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2
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Accuracy of place of death recorded in the National Probate Calendar?
When I do not need or wish to obtain a death certificate, I have often used the National Probate Calendar for England & Wales as my main source for death date and place information (in conjunction,...
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Where can I find New York state probate records after the 1920s?
FamilySearch has New York probate records for county courts but "most records end in the 1920s." I'm particularly interested in Montgomery county where FamilySearch only has records through 1922. ...
user47
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1
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Finding widow's relinquishment from 1844 Ohio probate record?
Probate record for George Hay, died 1844, Hamilton Cty, Ohio, has a note that reads "Widows relinquishment filed"...and nowhere can I find the widow's name!
The Guardianship notes for the children ...
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3
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Interpreting the year a 16th century will was written?
How would you interpret the year this 16th century Nottinghamshire will was written, and why?
yeare of our lorde god one thousande ..........................
The year is not as I expected based on ...
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1
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Were nephews and nieces sometimes referred to as cousins in 18th century Cornish wills?
I have copied a sizable chunk from The Will of William Bond [Clothier in Ladock, Cornwall], dated 7 April 1747, below, and would like to draw your attention to the parts that I have highlighted in ...
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1
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What relation could godson be, and brothers of another surname?
In this entries on page 20 of Wills and Administrations of Isle of Wight County, Virginia, 1647-1800:
HIGGINS, Roger: Leg. mother Mary Lupo; at the death of mother my cattle at Edward Millers and ...
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3
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1
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Understanding Index to Death Duty Registers 1796-1903 for 1799 death in Radnorshire, Wales?
This question is closely related to Finding wills/probate for printers of Brecon, Wales who died in 1794, 1820 and 1839? where @HarryVervet provided an excellent answer.
Today I came across a record ...
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1
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Widow's probate in 18th century US?
When my ancestor Elias Van Court died in 1750 in New Jersey, he left everything to his wife Ann "as long as she lives".
(from "Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State ...
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2
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How to cite the National Probate Calendar?
The National Probate Calendar for England and Wales is now available on multiple websites (Ancestry.co.uk, Gov.uk, FindMyPast). Not all of these sites are fully name-indexed. I would like to know the ...
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2
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2
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Strange Probate record: Could this death record not be correct?
I have been trying to resolve an issue with death records for a Mary Ann Callen born 10 Aug 1870 in Southampton, Hampshire, England. She married Joseph Horatio Follett Sept. quarter of 1890 in ...
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1
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Comparing currency in different time periods?
In the question How to order copies of English wills (post-1858)? I used as examples these two Probate Calendar entries, which are for a husband and wife. At the bottom I added some notes about the ...
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2
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1
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Finding wills/probate for printers of Brecon, Wales who died in 1794, 1820 and 1839?
From Finding birth/baptism/marriage record for Priscilla who married printer Henry Hughes probably about 1810 in Breconshire, Wales? I know that my Hughes ancestors included three prominent printers ...
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1
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Proving Jane Middleton of Somerset only Next of Kin in 1872 to Thomas Chichester who died 1838 in Guyana?
From the England & Wales National Probate Calendar entry below I know that my 3rd great grand uncle Thomas Chichester (who is mentioned in Where to find Will of Giles Chichester from 1820s, ...
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1
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1
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What are these abbreviations in Wills and Administrations of Isle of Wight, Virginia?
I see entries like this one on page 20 of Wills and Administrations of Isle of Wight County, Virginia, 1647-1800:
HIGGINS, Roger: Leg. mother Mary Lupo; at the death of mother my cattle at Edward ...
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1
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Locating and reading will of Elwyn Bernard Blair who died in 1934 at Atchison, Kansas?
Elwyn Bernard Blair was the youngest son of Edward and Barbara Blair.
At the time Elwyn died on 28 Jun 1934 at Atchison, Kansas, he was married and had an infant son Robert who was buried on 21 Dec ...
