Wisconsin, Probate Estate Files - FamilySearch Historical Records

United StatesWisconsin

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of images of probate estate case files from various counties in Wisconsin. This collection includes the following:


 * Ashland County (1894-1938)
 * Barron County (1910-1930)
 * Bayfield County (1874-1919)
 * Burnett County (1898-1933)
 * Door County (1862-1938)
 * Dunn County (1858-1940)
 * Fond du Lac County (1848-1948)
 * Green County (1848-1885)
 * Jackson (1897-1935)
 * La Crosse County (1877-1935)
 * Pepin County (1900-1935)
 * Shawano County (1861-1933)
 * Trempealeau County (1900-1920).
 * Washburn County (1890-1935)

Sample Image
Probate 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.

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.

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.

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. The records in this collection are for the years 1848 to 1948.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Probate records or succession records include petitions, successions, inventories, accounts, decrees and other court documents. Information found in these records usually includes:


 * 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 (Used to approximate event dates, i.e. a will was usually written near time of death)

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


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

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the "County" ⇒ Select the "Case File Number and Year Range" which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

What Do I Do Next?
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.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use probate records to identify heirs and relatives.
 * Use the information in the probate record to substitute for civil birth and death records since the probates exist for an earlier time period.
 * 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 other types of records such as employment or 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.
 * You may be able to use the probate record to learn about adoptions or guardianship of any minor children and dependents.
 * You may be able to use the probate record to learn about land transactions.
 * 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.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

For a summary of this information see the wiki article: United States, How to Use the Records Summary (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection citation:

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