Genealogy Chat

nudge

Nudgin'

I was surprised to find that my Gr.Gr,Grandfather left a will in 1878. He described himslf as a Labourer. He left a cottage and two gardens. They were to be sold and proceeds to go to his nine children

Hi everyone,
as posted earlier a good site for help in reading old handwriting is
http://script.byu.edu

Linda

One point which must be emphasised.............

Only Wills which have been PROVED, i.e. gone to Probate. will be in the public domain.

The following is the official source........the application form can be downloaded

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/wills.htm

Search fee is £5.00 per item....non-refundable

I visited the probate office in Nottingham last Friday and was told the price for a copy of a will has increased to £6.

I searched their system and all the names I was searching were coming up as no results. I then entered the name of an ancestor whose probate details I'd got from Ancestry and again it came up as no results. When I checked this with staff all he said was the system isn't infallible. Great eh.

Fortunately though two records I was interested in were on their system. Wish I'd taken cash with me though as they do not accespt debit cards so ended up having to post a checque off to them.

Chris

Nudgin'

This site mentioned by Jonesey is well worth reading :

Publications - Guidance - Probate - Guide to obtaining copies ...
22 Feb 2011 ... C/o York Probate Sub-Registry 1st Floor, Castle Chambers Clifford Street York YO1 9RG .... Rep Ireland: Probate Office, Four Courts, Dublin ...

www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1226.htm - 30k -

Apparently poorer people would leave a Will to dispose of the tools of their trade, pots and pans, furniture or items of clothing. Remember things were used and mended years ago till they could be used and mended no more. A lady at our RO found a petticoat being left in a Will. Always worth looking as she said.

Please could someone let me know where I can find Wills for people who lived in Mere Wiltshire. As I do not live in the UK it is very difficult for me to visit places.

Thank you

Also have found this a very interesting thread.

09.22 hrs Spain.

Please could someone let me know where I can find Wills for people who lived in Mere Wiltshire. As I do not live in the UK it is very difficult for me to visit places.

Thank you

Also have found this a very interesting thread.

09.22 hrs Spain.

Spanisheyes,

Hi, You will not see the actual will itself but Ancestry has amongst its databases this one:.

England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations),1861-1941

If one of your ancestors wills was proven or a grant of administration of their estate made during that period then you can usually see the size of their estate and the name of their executors or the person who was granted administration rights. To search the database you will need to enter your ancestors name, the area they lived in and approximate date of death. If you find a record you can order a copy of the will/grant itself from any UK probate office (See opening post).

Good luck.

Wiltshire wills before 1858 (1540-1858)...

http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/heritage/probate.php

Free searchable database and a copy can be ordered, £5. Some are available to view online after payment.

If you have no luck then a search the in the PCC wills may be worthwhile..

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/

Chris

Nudge

Wills in Devon prior to 1858 can be a problem as many of the records were destroyed by the bombing of Exeter during WW2

There is an excellent webpage I have found at
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hughwallis/IGIBatchNumbers/CountryEngland.htm

which is worth a visit.

Also Death Duty records should not be discounted as a valuable source.
The DDR1 records for the period 1796 to 1811 are available to search at the National Archives and can be downloaded in the same way as a PCC Will. These records are not limited to any specific part of the Country.
These are Abstracts of a Will and normally contain details of Executors and Beneficiaries together with amounts bequeathed.

Kew (PRO) also hold records DDR2 for 1812 to 1857 which are only available on Microfiche.

:-)

oooh another one :)

wow 2/3 of people left a will ???!! Not in my family it appears...the odds were very much lower than that. very useful thread Jonesey. Thank you.

And thank you Joy for pointing me in the right direction :)

I am nudging this because it is so useful. I am now going to try to find some wills for my afford zfamily who originate from Mere in Wiltshire up to my grandfather when the family moved to London.

A lot of interesting advice on here, zthank you to all who have submitted information.

Bridget, still in Spain

Nudge up