Court of the Archdeaconry of Essex

History and Background
Probate records of the Court of the Archdeaconry of Essex were once held in the Chelmsford Cathedral Registry. After the setup of civil courts by act of Parliament in 1858, they were removed to Somerset House, London in 1858. In 1958, almost all of Essex wills were transferred back to Chelmsford and at the County Hall, where they reside today.

These records date from 1400 to 1858 and cover 140 parishes in Essex.

Searching for probates in this court
CALENDAR

Calendar (first-letter-of-surname index) of Wills and Administration Acts are divided in to four calendar books:


 * First Calendar 1400-1603
 * Second Calendar 1604-1725
 * Third Calendar 1726-1794
 * Fourth Calendar 1795-1858

In addition to the general index above, most of the filmed volumes also contain a separate index to the wills and administrations

REGISTERED WILLS

Alpha Indexes precede the Wills 1420-1858 Wills from 1420-1858

ORIGINAL WILLS

Original Wills (unindexed) 1400-1637

ACT BOOKS Indexes mostly at end of each Act Book for the preceding entries Act Books are often in Latin and in chronological order 1558-1858

Indexes
The Archdeaconry Court of Essex probate records are well-covered with indexes.

general note about indexes and any overlap between indexes

Online indexes
A general will index for Essex County is available   online. This single index consolidates just about all Essex county wills of the various probate court jurisdictions into one database.

list and explanation

printed indexes
The Essex County Record Office officials under the direction of F.G. Emmison compiled a complete surname  index covering wills and admons from all Essex County probate court jurisdictions (see "Printed Indexes" and "Online Indexes")

original handwritten indexes
list and explanation (difference between calendar and index, identify which this is)

microfilmed copies of indexes
indentify which, link to FHLC?

Strategies, Tips, Other?
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