ENGLISH WILLS AND PROBATES
©2008 by Donald R. Snow
Sections of the Class Notes
This page was last updated 2008-02-08.
Return to the Hyde Park Family History
Centre Home Page
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WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION TO CLASS
- Instructors are Elder and Sister Donald R. and Diane
M. Snow of the England London Mission, Hyde Park Family History Centre
(snowd@math.byu.edu ,
dms34@juno.com)
- These notes with active Internet links are posted on the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group website http://uvtagg.org under Class
Outlines , Don's Listings , and are linked on the Hyde Park
Family History Centre website http://www.hydeparkfhc.org under Events.
Many other class notes for family history are linked on both sites
also.
- This class is to learn about wills and probates in
England.
BRIEF HISTORY OF WILLS AND PROBATES IN ENGLAND
- Legal terminology -- see the Glossary
on http://www.familysearch.org
- Will -- what the person wrote or dictacted as to
what he or she wanted done with their real property (land and
buildings) when they died
- Testament -- what the person wrote or dictated as
to what he or she wanted done with the personal property (belongings, crops,
etc.)
- Probate -- the result of "proving" the will in
court -- the judge decides that the will really is what the person
wanted done
- Intestate -- when the person died without a
will
- Letter of Administration -- what a judge gives to
someone of how to divide up the estate of someone who dies intestate
(i.e. without a will)
- BEFORE 1858 -- all wills were probated by the Church of England courts
- Prerogative Court of York -- probated most of the wills in the north
- Prerogative Court
of Canterbury -- probated most of the wills in the south and for property owned in more than one county
- AFTER 1858 -- all wills were probated by the
Principal Probate Registry, London and District
Registries
- There is no complete index to all wills -- the Death
Duty Registers (1796-1903) are the closest thing to an index since they show the duty (tax) owed on the
inheritance
LINKS TO ARTICLES AND DATA
- To find films of UK wills and probates by county in the UK go to http://www.hydeparkfhc.org , then Catalogue,
then County, then click
on Probate Records
- Shows the FHL film numbers for various films
with wills, probates, and indexes
-
Hyde Park FHC has all these films onsite
- Salt Lake Family History Library and http://www.familysearch.org
- England
Research Outline section on wills and probates
- England,
How to Use District Registry Wills for 1858 to 1925
- England,
How to Use Pre-1858 Probate Records
- England,
How to Use Principal Registry Wills for 1858 to 1925
- England,
How to Use Probate Records from 1858 to the Present
- England,
Probate Guides - Hyde Park FHC has this
complete set in microfiche set 6026312
- England,
How to Use Principal Probate Registry Indexes -- Hyde Park FHC has these index
films up through 1957 - See this list of films in the red binder
labeled NATIONAL WILL INDEX 1858-1957
- Wills
and Administrations, 1389-1858, Church of England, Archbishop of York
- Hyde Park FHC has this complete collection of PCY Indexes
and Wills - See this list of films in the red binder labeled PCY WILLS 1389-1858
- England,
How to Use Court Records
- The National Archives - Documents Online
- Wills
and Death Duties
- Prerogative
Court of Canterbury wills (1384 - 1858) - Good summary and links
for wills in the UK
- Famous
Wills in PROB 1
- Death
Duty Registers (1796 - 1811)
- Wills
of Royal Naval Seamen (1786 - 1882)
- Sample
Wills
- Probate Records, Legal Records
Information 23
- Wills Before 1858: Where To
Start, Legal Records Information 46
- Wills and Death Duty Records, After
1858, Legal Records Information 45
- Death Duty Records, From 1796,
Domestic Records Information 57
- How to Interpret Death Duty
Registers, Domestic Records Information 58
- Family
History in England and Wales, Domestic Records Information 11
-
has
sections on wills and probates
- The Records of the Court of King's
Bench, c. 1200-1600, Legal Records Information 36
- Court of Wards and Liveries,
1540-1645: Land Inheritance, Legal Records Information 11
- The Court of Star Chamber,
1485-1642, Legal Records Information 3
- Early Chancery Proceedings: Equity
Suits before 1558, Legal Records Information 42
- Chancery Proceedings: Equity Suits
from 1558, Legal Records Information 22
- Family
Records Centre - Research
- The Borthwick Institute, York -Simple
Guide to Finding PROBATE RECORDS - pdf - by The
University of York
- Her Majesty's Courts Service (hmcs) - The
Probate Service, Wills Since 1858
- FamilyRecords.gov.uk - How To Access
Wills
-
Article on GENUKI - Wills and
Probates in the UK
ABSTRACTING AND TRANSCRIBING WILLS
-
The National Archives - Palaeography: Reading
Old Handwriting 1500 - 1800, A Practical Online Tutorial
- Abstracting vs transcribing a will
- Abstracting means recording the basic data, names,
dates, relationships
- Transcribing means writing it word-for-word,
line-by-line
- Number the lines.
- Type each line starting with the line number
regardless of where the previous line ended.
- Type the words exactly as they are in the written
will, using [ ] for editorial comments or
corrections.
- Start each new line with the line number.
- Chapter on Abstracting Wills and Deeds in online version of Val D. Greenwood's The
Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy
- Freeware program Transcript is very
helpful in transcribing a will.
CONCLUSION
- Wills are important since they frequently give names and relationships.
- Some people say they are the most accurate documents
for family history since, in most cases, they are precise legal
documents.
ASSIGNMENT
- Find the description of a Death Duty Register.
- If someone who owned land in both of the UK counties Somerset and Devon, died in 1825, which court would have probted the will?
- What is the website and the address of the Principal Registry of wills in London?
Return to the Hyde Park Family History
Centre Home Page or the Events Page or the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group Home Page or Don's Class Listings Page.