Court of the Peculiar of Langford

England Berkshire  Berkshire Probate Records

Description
Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. The term probate refers to a collection of documents, including wills, administrations (also called admons), inventories, and act books. The Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process until to 1858. This article explains about probates and how to get started to search for a will.

Beginning in 1858, authority over probate matters was taken from ecclesiastical courts and put under the civil authority of the Principal Probate Registry.

Step by Step
1. First search each index (see below) to help you more quickly find the will, writing down each detail cited in the indexed entry. 2. Proceed to the "Probate Records Held in This Archive" (below) to determine what original probate records exist for this court. Also see "Probate Records of This Court in The Family History Library". 3. Contact or visit the Oxford Record Office or, hire a professional record searcher to view these records on your behalf. Officials may send upon request a list of record searchers. 4. Visit The Family History Library, or, one of its 4,500 satellite family history centers worldwide and search indexes to probate records; then with the information obtained from the index[es] you can search more quickly the original wills and admons also on microfilm via any centers near you.

Indexes
Indexes are included with the original records as listed above; also with the microfilmed records as listed above.

In addition, a manuscript index to the records of the peculiar courts of Berkshire is available on microfilm at the Society of Genealogists in London, and the Family History Library:


 * Index to the wills and administrations of the Peculiar Courts of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire &amp; Oxfordshire, 1550-1858

Records
The original records of this court are deposited at the Oxfordshire Record Office in Oxford, England. They include:


 * Filed wills and administstration bonds, 1560-1576, 1607-1833
 * Registered wills and administrations, 1698-1733 (included with records of the peculiars of Banbury, Dorchester, Faringdon, Monks Risborough, and Thame)

Records have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library and through family history centers. They include:


 * Wills and administrations, 1560-1833
 * Probate records, 1547-1858 (includes records of Langford for 1698-1733)

Jurisdiction
This court had jurisdiction over the detached parishes of Langford and Little Farringdon, which are separated from the rest of Berkshire by the parish of Kelmscott, Oxfordshire.