II. HOW TO SEARCH PROBATE RECORDS
A. Determine the decedent's date of death
or burial, or the interval in which it occurred. Your search will begin with
the earliest possible date of death, and continue for several years after the
latest possible date of death. Most probate action took place in the first year
after death.
B. Determine the probate court(s) to be
searched by consulting Camp, Pratt, Gibson, or the Family History Library's
probate research papers (probate keys).
C. Search the indexes, calendars, act
books, and/or original or registered documents of each court which might have
had jurisdiction, working from the lowest to the highest until the will or
admon is either found or shown to be unlikely to exist. Act books should be
consulted when you have reason to believe that a will should exist but you
can't find it.
D. Even though a particular ancestor may
not have left a will, his widow, children, siblings, parents, grandparents,
uncles and aunts, cousins, etc. may have, so references to wills of all persons
with the same surname should be noted and consulted where practical.
E. Answer the following questions in
searching for probate records of your ancestor:
1. Did the ancestor die before 1858?
NO-----------------------------go
to #16
a.
Did the ancestor die before 1796?
Probably
----------------------go to #2
NO
------------------------------go to #20 (estate duty)
2. Obtain a copy of the Family History
Department's Research Paper Series A, # ___ (each county has a different
number) for the county in which the deceased person was living (if in Northern
England, you can use Dr. Pratt's book). A copy of the research paper can be
found on the Register table (the Probate Handlist) or on the Reference shelves.
The papers may also be for sale in the Copy Center.
3. Find the county map within the research
paper and locate the parish or town of residence of the deceased person. Note
the color of this area on the map.
4. On the page before the map, there is a
Probate Jurisdiction Table listing the different courts, which is color-coded
to the map. Find the same color that you found on the map. Be aware that
sometimes the chart is on two pages instead of one. If there are two columns of
the same color on the chart, these columns cover different time periods for one
jurisdiction. Choose the column indicating the time period in which the person
most likely died.
5. Follow the column down until you come
to a number 1. Follow that row across to the court listing in the first column.
This court is usually the first court to search for wills.
6. To find the microfilm numbers for the
wills, it is best to use the Probate Handlist prepared by the Family History
Department. It can be found on the Register Table in the British Reference
area, or on microfilm numbers 599,217 - 599,222. Behind the research paper in
the Handlist will be a breakdown of the records under each court giving the
film numbers. Was the court found?
YES----------------------------go
to #7
NO-----------------------------go
to #11
7. Try to locate a calendar or an index to
Wills in the court before searching will by will. The indexes could be in books
or on film. The indexes can be found either under printed probate records in
the front part of the handlist after the research paper or under the listing of
the particular court. Was an index found?
YES----------------------------go
to #8
NO-----------------------------go
to #15
8. Obtain the index, and look up the
surname. Are there any entries which could be for the person you are
researching?
YES----------------------------go
to #9
NO-----------------------------go
to #14
9. After copying down the information
given in the index entry, go back to the Probate Handlist. Find the right
court, then look for the year given in the entry from the index. Be sure to
read what the handlist says about wills. Was a microfilm number found?
YES----------------------------go
to #10
NO-----------------------------go
to #15
10. Look up the Will on the microfilm. Did
you find it?
YES----------------------------end
of search
NO-----------------------------go
to #15
11. Does the court indicate the name of
another county?
YES----------------------------go
to #12
NO-----------------------------go
to #15
12. Find the Probate Handlist for the other
county and look up the court. Was the right court found?
YES----------------------------go
to #7
NO-----------------------------go
to #15
13. From the Handlist, obtain the film
numbers of the wills for the time period desired. It will be necessary to
search will by will. Did you find the will?
YES----------------------------end
of search
NO-----------------------------go
to #14
14. Return to the research paper and find
the color-coded chart again. Find the color for the area of interest, and
follow the column down to #2 (or 3, or...). Return to step #6. If you have done
all of the courts listed, consider the appropriateness of searching the Act
books (long and difficult), or try a relative of that person (see why you
should keep notes of people by the same surname that do appear in the index?).
End of search.
15. Find the book Wills and Their
Whereabouts (Ref 942 S2wa). Look up the court and find where the records
for that court are kept and for what time periods. It will be necessary to
write to the appropriate record office to obtain more information.
End of search
16. Look in the register for the film number
of the index for the year(s) when the will might have been probated. Look at
the film and record the information given, making special note of the date and
district in which proved. What did you find:
Proved
in London district or Principal Registry----------------------go to #17
Proved
in any other district--------------go to #18
Did
not find the name at all--------------go to #19
17. Look up the film number of the month and
year for the Principal Registry (CCF #650426). Go to the film and locate the
date, then look for the name. Find the will--End of search.
18. What was the year of the probate?
pre-1900----------------------------------Look
for month, year & district in CCF #464592
1900
or after-----------------------------Look for month, year & district in CCF
#624504
Go
to the film, find the month, then look for the district alphabetically, then
the name of the testator. Find the will. End of search.
19. Try the "other indexes" listed
in the register of post-1857 probates by year (admon indexes separate
1858-1870; Ireland & Scotland separate until 1877). If you find a
reference, go to #16. If you do not find a reference, there probably was not a
will. For further assistance, discuss with a reference consultant. End of
search.
20. Was the probate likely to be after 1811?
NO------------------------skip
to #23
21. Check the index to will abstracts (death
duty copies) on films 1818010-12, and to admon abstracts 1818012-3. Was the
name found in either index?
YES------------------------go
to #22
If
the probate could have occurred after 1811, and you have not already looked at
the post-1811 estate duty indexes, go to #23. If not, and you have not already
done so, go to #.
22. Look up the film number for the
reference found in the indexes in step 21. Use CCF #652444 to find the proper
film for the abstract. If you find the abstract and it is your ancestor, then
look up the actual will, which may contain more information. If it is not your
ancestor, return to #21 and try to look for another person by the same name.
23. Look at the indexes to death duty
registers (CCF #57585). Note that there are three parts, namely
1)
all wills
2)
PCC admons, and
3)
country courts admons. You need to check all three to cover all death duty
register entries 1812-1857. If you find a reference in one of the three
indexes, go to the appropriate register. The FHL CCF #'s are:
will
registers, country courts -- CCF 476085
admon
registers, country courts - CCF 475790
wills
& admons, PCC -- use PCC records (registers not filmed)
If
you find the abstract and it is your ancestor, then look up the actual will,
which may contain more information. If it is not your ancestor, return to #23
and try to look for another person by the same name.
24. If estate duty post-1811 yields nothing,
try the pre-1812, if appropriate (go to #21). If estate duty hasn't worked at
all, and the probate should have been before 1858, go to #6 and try looking at the
actual will indexes (may have been omitted or exempt from death duty). If you
have already looked at wills, admons, and death duty records,
End of search