Using Wills for research

From Lawpack's Trace Your Family Tree Kit.

Much useful information can be gleaned from Wills and administrations, copies of which for England and Wales going back to 1858 may be seen and photocopies obtained at the Principal Registry of the Family Division, First Avenue House, 42-49 High Holborn, London WC1V 6NP (Tel. 020 7947 6000; open Monday to Friday, 10.00-4.30). No reader's ticket or appointment is required. Documents can take an hour to be produced but it is more usual to arrange to collect them or have them posted on.

For those with something to bequeath, the annual Will indexes on the open shelves here are more informative than death certificates. They show date and place of death as well as the names (and, in early years, relationships) of a testator's executors.

'Letters of administration' are granted when someone dies without leaving a Will. From 1858 to 1870 the Wills and administrations are indexed separately but from 1871 onwards they are indexed together in annual volumes covering all of England and Wales.Wills of people who died overseas but with property in England or Wales also appear.

The indexes are easier and quicker to use than the General Register Office death indexes at the Family Records Centre and if you are searching over a long period or cannot find the death entries you require, a search here is recommended. In cases where the surname is very frequent the Will indexes may be used to eliminate possible entries found in the death indexes.

There are copies of the indexes of Wills and administrations in some major libraries and District Probate Registries. There is a set on microfiche 1858-1943 at the Family Records Centre and there are microfilm copies 1858-1930, re-organised by the initial letter of the surname, at the Society of Genealogists. Postal searches can be undertaken by the York Postal Searches & Copies Department, The Probate Registry, Duncomb Place, York YO1 7EF.

Prior to 1858 a Will was 'proved' in one of the 300 local church courts depending on where the deceased's personal property was located. The Family Records Centre holds records 1383-1858 of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, the senior probate court in England and Wales, with many Wills for London, the south-east of England and some for those who died overseas and had property in the United Kingdom.

Fully alphabetical indexes are available there for the period 1383-1800 and 1853-1858, otherwise the manuscript calendars must be searched. All the Wills are indexed and available online through the National Archives documents online service at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.

The Family Record Centre also holds copies of the Estate Duty Office Registers 1796-1858 that contain abstracts (i.e.summaries) of most Wills in England and Wales 1815-1858.

Wills proved in the subsidiary church courts before 1858 are usually to be found in the appropriate county record offices. If the Will was proved between 1796 and 1858, then you may be able to discover in which ecclesiastical court by looking at the indexes to the Estate Duty Registers. The Society of Genealogists holds copies of indexes for many of them.

04 July 2008