Talk:England Probate Records

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Kara 20:14, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

England Probate Guides The Family History Library has compiled probate guides (also called probate hand lists) for each county of England. These give the call numbers for the pre-1858 probate records (including indexes) available at the library and include maps showing the probate jurisdictions. These guides are available in booklet form at the Family History Library. They are also available on microfilm and microfiche. The table below gives the library book, film, and fiche numbers for the guides. COUNTY: FHL BOOK NUMBER: 942 S2ha (all counties) FHL FILM NUMBER: FHL FICHE NUMBER: 6026312 (all counties) Bedford No. 1 0599217 vol. 1 (1 fiche) Berkshire No. 2 0599217 vol. 2 (1fiche) Buckingham No. 3 0599217 vol. 3 (2 fiche) Cambridge No. 4 0599217 vol. 4 (1 fiche) Cheshire No. 5 0599217 vol. 5 (2 fiche) Cornwall No. 6 0599217 vol. 6 (1 fiche) Cumberland No. 7 0599217 vol. 7 (2 fiche) Derby No. 8 0599217 vol. 8 (4 fiche) Devon No. 9 0599217 vol. 9 (1 fiche) Dorset No. 10 0599217 vol. 10 (2 fiche) Durham No. 11 0599218 vol. 11 (2 fiche) Essex No. 12 0599218 vol. 12 (2 fiche) Gloucester No. 13 0599218 vol. 13 (3 fiche) Hampshire No. 14 0599218 vol. 14 (2 fiche) Hereford No. 15 0599218 vol. 15 (2 fiche) Hertford No. 16 0599218 vol. 16 (2 fiche) Huntingdon No. 17 0599218 vol. 17 (1 fiche) Kent No. 18 0599219 vol. 18 (3 fiche) Lancashire No. 19 0599219 (no fiche copy) Leicester No. 20 0599219 vol. 20 (2 fiche) Lincoln No. 21 0599219 vol. 21 (4 fiche) London/Middlesex No. 22 0599220 vol. 22 (3 fiche) Prerogative Court of Canterbury No. 23 0599220 vol. 23 (6 fiche) Norfolk No. 24 0599220 vol. 24 (2 fiche) Northampton No. 25 0599220 vol. 25 (2 fiche) Northumberland No. 26 0599220 vol. 26 (3 fiche) Nottingham No. 27 0599221 vol. 27 (3 fiche) Oxford No. 28 0599221 vol. 28 (1 fiche) Rutland No. 29 0599221 vol. 29 (2 fiche) England Probate Guides Research Guidance Version of Data: 03/08/01 2 Shropshire No. 30 0599221 vol. 30 (4 fiche) Somerset No. 31 0599221 vol. 31 (1 fiche) Stafford No. 32 0599221 vol. 32 (4 fiche) Suffolk No. 33 0599221 vol. 33 (2 fiche) Surrey No. 34 0599221 vol. 34 (1 fiche) Sussex No. 35 0599222 vol. 35 (2 fiche) Warwick No. 36 0599222 vol. 36 (3 fiche) Westmoreland No. 37 0599222 vol. 37 (1 fiche) Wiltshire No. 38 0599222 vol. 38 (2 fiche) Worcester No. 39 0599222 vol. 39 (2 fiche) Yorkshire No. 40 0599222 vol. 40 (4 fiche) The film or fiche copies may be available at a Family History Center near you. If not, they can be sent on loan to the center.

Family History Library • 35 North West Temple Street • Salt Lake City, UT 84150-3400 USA England - How to Use District Registry Wills for 1858- 1925 Guide Introduction Starting in 1858, a civil court system called the Principal Probate Registry probated the estates of deceased persons throughout England and Wales. In consists of a central court in London, called the Principal Registry, and several District Probate Registries. The district registries send copies of their records into the Principal Registry in London. While the indexes to the Principal Probate Registry encompass the whole court system, the records of the Principal Registry are filed separately from those of the District Probate Registries and have been microfilmed separately. This guide will teach you how to obtain a copy of a will from a District Probate Registry. If you need a Principal Registry will, click this link. For administrations, you must write to England. For more information about the Principal Probate Registry, see Background. What You Are Looking For You are looking for a post-1857 will of one of your ancestors which was probated at a District Probate Registry. The information you may find varies from will to will. The will may include: • Names. • Relationships. • Residences. • Property names. • Witnesses. • Other valuable information. What You Need To Know All you need is the information you found in the index, which includes the date of probate and the name of the District Probate Registry where the will was proved. Steps These 7 steps will help you obtain a copy of a District Probate Registry will either from microfilm or from original records. England, How to Use District Registry Wills for 1858 to 1925 Research Guidance Version of Data: 03/08/01 2 Step 1. Look in the Family History Library Catalog. The District Probate Registry wills for 1858 to 1925 are available on microfilm at the Family History Library. You will find a list of the microfilms in the Family History Library Catalog: • For 1858 to 1899. • For 1900 to 1925. Step 2. Select the correct microfilm number. The films are arranged by: • Year. • First letter of the surname. • Month of probate. Scroll down the list of microfilms until you match the year, letter, and month for the index entry you previously found. Write the microfilm number on your research log. Tip: If your month is divided between two films, be sure you select the film that covers the district court you need. Step 3. Obtain a copy of the microfilm. The microfilmed wills of the District Probate Registries are available to you at several different locations. See Where to Find It. Step 4. Find the will on the microfilm. On the film the wills are arranged by month, then alphabetically by the district court. Within the court they are arranged by probate date. Turn through the film until you come to the will you want. Step 5. Make a copy of the will for your records. If possible, make a photocopy of the will for your records. If you are not able to make a photocopy, handcopy the whole will, or carefully extract all of the details. You may also request a photocopy of a will from the Family History Library. You may also write to England for a copy of a will. Step 6. Copy the information and note the source. Copy the family information from the probate record onto the family group sheets and pedigree chart for your ancestor. Be sure to note the source of the index and record you found. When you note your source, you document the record. If you should ever need to find the source of the record again, your documentation will show you where to find it. If others consult your research, they will also see where to find the source. Note your source on your research log, and include the library call number. Your research log will serve as a guide to your research. When making a photocopy of a record, also note the source on the copy. For further tips on record keeping, see the Society of Genealogists' (London, England) leaflet Note Taking &amp; Keeping for Genealogists. England, How to Use District Registry Wills for 1858 to 1925 Research Guidance Version of Data: 03/08/01 3 Step 7. Analyze the information obtained from the probate record. Compare the information you found in the probate record with what you already know about your ancestor. Does it: • Support what you know? • Add to what you know? • Conflict with what you know? (If it does, use other sources to verify the information.) Then ask yourself: • Did the record have the information I wanted? • Is the information accurate? • Does the information suggest other sources to search? Background Description Prior to 1858, the estates of deceased persons in England and Wales were probated by courts under the jurisdiction of officials of the Church of England. In 1857 the British government created a new civil system for probating estates, which went into effect on 11 January 1858. This system is called the Principal Probate Registry. In the beginning the Principal Probate Registry consisted of more than forty District Probate Registries located throughout England and Wales and a Principal Registry in London. The registries had territorial jurisdictions. Estates of deceased persons were probated within the district where each person lived or owned property. The Principal Registry served as the district registry for the London area as well as the central registry for the whole probate system. The district registries sent copies of their records into the central registry in London but kept the originals. If a person owned property within the jurisdictions of more than one district registry, his or her estate would usually be probated at the Principal Registry. The territorial jurisdictions were abolished in 1926, and an estate may now be probated at any registry regardless of where the deceased lived or owned property. As the indexes cover the whole of the Principal Probate Registry system, this should not prevent you from finding a reference in the indexes, but you should be aware that a will may not have been probated where you expect. DISTRICT PROBATE REGISTRIES Bangor Bedford (closed in 1865) Birmingham Blandford (closed in 1941) Bodmin Brighton Bristol Bury St. Edmunds (closed in 1928) Canterbury (closed in 1928) Exeter Gloucester Hereford (closed in 1928) Ipswich Lancaster Leeds (relocated from Wakefield in 1969) Leicester Lewes (closed in 1969) Lichfield (closed in 1928) Norwich Nottingham Oxford Peterborough St. Asaph (closed in 1928) Salisbury (closed in 1928) Sheffield Shrewsbury (closed in 1941) Taunton (closed in 1933) Wakefield (moved to Leeds in England, How to Use District Registry Wills for 1858 to 1925 Research Guidance Version of Data: 03/08/01 4 Carlisle Carmarthen Chester Chichester (closed in 1928) Derby (closed in 1928) Durham (closed in 1969) Lincoln Liverpool Llandaff Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne Northampton (closed in 1930) 1969) Wells (closed in 1928) Winchester Worcester (closed in 1928) York Where to Find It Family History Centers Most Family History Centers will not have microfilmed copies of the records of the District Probate Registries in their permanent collections, but centers can borrow microfilms from the Family History Library. A small fee is charged to have a microfilm sent to a center. Family History Centers are located throughout the United States and other areas of the world. See Family History Centers for the address and phone number of the center nearest you. Family History Library The Family History Library has microfilmed copies of the wills for the District Probate Registries for 1858 to 1925. There is no fee for using the microfilms in person. You may request a photocopy of a will from the library for a small fee. You will need to fill out a Request for Photocopies form, which you can obtain at all Family History Centers. Complete the form using the film number you found in your search of the catalog. Send the form and the fee to the Family History Library. Only the wills have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library. You must write to England for a copy of an administration or for wills later than 1925. See Library Services and Resources for more information about using the Family History Library or a Family History Center. In England Copies of the original records of the District Probate Registries are available at the Principal Registry in London. You may visit the Principal Registry and obtain a copy of a probate record. It is located at: Probate Search Room Fist Avenue House 42-29 High Holborn London You may also write to England to obtain a copy of a District Probate Registry will or an administration. The address is: York Probate Sub-Registry Dunscombe Place York YO1 2EA England