South Africa, Eastern Cape, Estate Files - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Suid-Afrika, Oos-Kaap, boedel lêers

Record Description
This collection contains images of copies of primary genealogical records such as death notices, marriage certificates, birth certificates, and wills, from the probate estate files located in the Master of the High Court Offices in Grahamstown. This collection is being published as images become available.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in this collection may include:

Estate Files


 * Name of the deceased
 * Birthplace and Nationality of the deceased
 * Name of parents
 * Age at death
 * Place and date of death
 * Occupation
 * Marital status
 * Name of spouse and death date
 * Place of marriage

Birth Records


 * Name of the child
 * Name of parents
 * Date and place of birth
 * Occupation of father

Marriage Records


 * Names of bride and groom
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of parents for bride and groom
 * Ages
 * Names of witnesses

Death Records




 * Name of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Occupation
 * Marital status
 * Cause of death

How to Use the Record
Beginning Your Search

To begin your search, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of ancestor
 * Approximate year of the event
 * Names of parents

Searching the Index

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

Using the information

When you have found the ancestor that you are looking for, the following will help you further your research:


 * Use the ages on the marriage or death records to calculate a birth year for the bride and groom. This will make it easier for you to find the names of the parents for your ancestor.
 * The marriage place may be the birth place for the bride or groom. To find this, calculate the ages to get both of their birth years (bride and groom), and search for the bride and groom’s birthplaces with the birth year that you have found.

Related Websites

 * Cape Master Death Notice Index Project
 * South African Genealogy

Related Wiki Articles
South Africa

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.