Wisconsin, Probate Estate Files - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
The records in this collection are for the years 1861 to 1933.

Record History
Probate records were generally recorded in the county where the person resided. Estates were probated for approximately 25 percent of the heads of households in the United States before 1900, whether or not the individual left a will. Wills were more likely to have been found in rural communities than in larger cities and industrial areas.

Why this Record Was Created
Probate records were used to legally dispose of a person’s estate after his or her death. If the deceased had made a will, the probate process transferred the following from the deceased to an executor or executrix: legal responsibility for payment of taxes, care and custody of dependent family members, liquidation of debts, and transfer of property title to heirs. If there was no will, the transfer went to an administrator or administratrix. A guardian or conservator was appointed if the deceased had heirs younger than 21 or if the heirs were incompetent due to disability or disease.

Record Reliability
The death date, residence, and other facts that were current at the time of the probate proceeding are quite reliable, though there is still a chance of misinformation. The records may omit the names of deceased family members, those who have previously received an inheritance, or the spouse mentioned in a will may not be the parent of the children mentioned. Some wills do not name family members.

Record Description
Probate records were court documents and may have involved loose papers and/or bound Volumes. These records were generally known as a case file or probate packet. These files normally included wills, settlement papers, inventories, receipts, and other records pertaining to the estates. Some probate records were recorded in books which may have carried many titles such as accounts, administrations, appraisals, minutes, petitions, guardianships, inventories, settlements, and so forth.

Wills are normally transcribed into a bound volume. Wills are more likely to be found in rural communities than in larger cities and industrial areas.

Record Content


Probate records or succession records include petitions, successions, inventories, accounts, decrees and other court documents. Genealogical facts found in these records include:


 * Name of testator or deceased
 * Names of heirs such as spouse, children, and other relatives or friends
 * Name of executor, administrator, or guardian
 * Names of witnesses
 * Residence of testator
 * Document and recording dates. (They are used to approximate event dates, i.e. a will was usually written near time of death.)

How to Use the Record
Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the index. Name indexes make it possible to access a specific record quickly. Check the index for the surname and then the given name. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

When searching the index it is helpful to know the following:


 * The place of residence.
 * The approximate death or probate date.
 * The name of the deceased.

Use the locator information found in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestors in the records. Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example:


 * Use probate records to identify heirs and relatives.
 * You may be able to use the probate record to learn about adoptions or guardianship of any minor children and dependents.
 * Use the information in the probate record to substitute for civil birth and death records since the probates exist for an earlier time period.
 * You may be able to use the probate record to learn about land transactions.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the residence or place of birth of the deceased to locate census, church, and land records.
 * Use the occupations listed to find employment records or other types of records such as military records.
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the deceased, this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have died in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Keep in mind:


 * Wills are more likely to be found in rural communities than in larger cities and industrial areas.
 * The information in the records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the deceased or the testator.

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Shawano County, Wisconsin

Sources of This Collection
“Wisconsin Shawano County Probate Records,” database, FamilySearch Historical Records, 2010; from Wisconsin State Historical Society. “Shawano County Probate Records.” Wisconsin State Historical Society, Madison. FHL digital images. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

“Wisconsin Shawano County Probate Records Index,” database, FamilySearch Historical Records, 2010; from Shawano County Courthouse. “Probate Record Index.” Shawano County Courthouse, Shawano, Wisconsin. FHL digital images. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah..

How to Cite Your Sources
For instructions on citing specific records or images within this collection