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#Where did your ancestor live or own property? | #Where did your ancestor live or own property? | ||
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A key date is 1858, when the governance over the probate process was handed from the numerous courts of the Church of England over to one central probate court system under the civil government. | |||
*If you know where your ancestor lived before 1858, see the '''Court Jurisdictions''' section below to determine what courts to search and click on it to | <br>If your ancestor died before 1858, probates and administrations would have been proven by one of several possible ecclesiastical (church) courts. | ||
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*It is important to know your ancestor's place of residence or property, as that identifies which courts held jurisdiction and which you will need to search. | |||
*If you know where your ancestor lived before 1858, see the '''Court Jurisdictions''' section below to determine what courts to search and click on it to determine availability of records. | |||
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Beginning in 1858, probate authority was vested in the '''Principal Probate Registry''' system. For more information, scroll to the '''Post-1857 Probate Records''' section at the bottom of this page. | |||
Once you have answered the two questions and determined the courts, look for indexes first. Indexes will be found on the individual court pages (when you click on a court name) or in the '''Probate Indexes''' section below.<br><br> | Once you have answered the two questions and determined the courts, look for indexes first. Indexes will be found on the individual court pages (when you click on a court name) or in the '''Probate Indexes''' section below.<br><br> | ||