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Family History in England
Part 3
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Probate Records
Pre-1858:
• Previous to 1858, wills were proved in many different courts. The best way to know in which court your ancestor’s will was proved is to consult the probate binders near the reference desk. There is a binder for each county and color-coded maps which tell you which court presided in your ancestor’s area of residence.
• Probate records are very well-indexed, so be sure to search an index first for your ancestor’s will.
• If your ancestor did not leave a will, you may still find him in an index with reference to an “Administration.” The administration papers will give the name of the person in charge of taking care of his estate. This was usually the widow or eldest son.
Post-1858:
• After 1858, wills were all sent to the Principal Probate Registry. The whole country is indexed together and is covered by about one microfilm per year, so it’s important to find your ancestor’s burial date so you know about when he died.
PCC wills:
• If your ancestor owned land in more than one court and lived in Southern England, his will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. These wills are indexed online at: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Go to “Search the Archives” and select “Documents Online” from the drop-down menu. Then scroll down and click on “Search the wills” (it’s a bit hard to find). Try many different spellings for your surname.
• The actual wills are at the Family History Library. Use the binder called “Prerogative Court of Canterbury” for help. You must first find your ancestor is an index to get the folio number (but you know he is there and what year the will was probated from the online index), then look up the actual will. The folio number will cover several pages.
Estate Death Duty Registers:
• These are available from 1796 to 1903. They exist because a tax was placed on estates when a person died. They list heirs to the estate and are especially helpful when a person’s will no longer exists.
• To find these, search the “Estate Death Duty” binder on B2 near the probate binders.
Civil Registration
History:
• In 1837, the government began keeping records of all births, marriages, and deaths in England and Wales.
• These were registered quarterly, so there was a March Quarter (January-March), June Quarter (April-June), September Quarter (July-September), and December Quarter (October-December). Your ancestor’s certificate will be indexed by the quarter in which the event was registered, which is not always the same as the quarter in which the event actually took place.
Birth Certificates:
• These contain: the date and place of birth, name, gender, father’s and mother’s names (including mother’s maiden name), father’s occupation, signature and residence of the informant (usually the mother), and date birth was registered.
Marriage Certificates:
• Contain: date and place of marriage and who performed it, names of both parties, ages of both parties (although this generally just says “of full age” meaning over 21), conditions (bachelor, spinster, widow), occupations, residences, fathers’ names, fathers’ occupation, signatures of both parties, signatures of witnesses.
Death Certificates:
• Contain: name of the deceased, date and place of death, age at death, cause of death, occupation, name and residence of the informant. Later death certificates will give additional information, such as birth date and place and maiden name.
How to find them:
• Civil registration certificates are held in England. The Family History Library has microfiche of the complete index to these certificates. They are located near the microfiche cabinets on B2. There are four quarterly indexes for each year, so if your ancestor was born in March of 1845, you will want to search the index for the March Quarter and the June Quarter of 1845 (see “History” above).
• Most of this index is also now available online at www.ancestry.com. You can also search most of the index for free at: http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/. To see whether your year of interest is currently included in the database, click on “Information,” then “Coverage Charts” in the “Statistics” section.
• The indexes will give you a volume and page number. Use this information, plus the name, date, and registration district, to order the certificate from England. Go to the General Register Office’s home page, found at:
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificate/index.asp to order. You can pay by credit card and each certificate costs £7.00, or about $15.00. The General Register Office will also search a certificate to see if it’s the right one if you’re not sure. This costs about £3.00.
Additional Info:
• The indexes will tell you which registration district your ancestor was part of. A registration district presided over several parishes. To find out which parishes were part of the district, go to http://www.fhsc.org.uk/genuki/REG/ or follow links provided at both http://freebmd.rootsweb.com and www.ancestry.co.uk.
• Sometimes a child was registered as “female” or “male,” and then later given a name.
• The online indexes let you look at who else was listed on the same page as your ancestor. This is really helpful if you are searching for a marriage. If your ancestor’s spouse was also listed on that page, you can be confident you are ordering the correct certificate.
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