North Carolina Probate Records: Difference between revisions

''[[United States Genealogy|United States]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]]  [[North Carolina Genealogy|North Carolina]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]]  [[North_Carolina_Probate_Records|Probate Records]]'' {{Adoption NCGenWeb}}  

Probate is the “court procedure by which a will is proved to be valid or invalid” and encompasses “all matters and proceedings pertaining to the administration of estates, guardianships, etc.”<ref>Henry Campbell Black, ''Black's Law Dictionary,'' 5th ed. (St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Co., 1979), 1081, "probate."</ref> Various types of records are created throughout the probate process. These may include, [[United States Probate Wills|wills]], bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. These documents are extremely valuable to genealogists and should not be neglected. In many instances, they are the only known source of relevant information such as the decedent’s date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their places of residence. They may also include information about adoption or guardianship of minor children and dependents. For further information about&nbsp;the [[United States Probate Process|probate process]],&nbsp;types of probate records,&nbsp;[[Analyzing United States Probate Records|analyzing probate records]], and to access a [[Glossary of United States Probate Terms|glossary]] of probate terms, see [[United States Probate Records|United States Probate Records]].  

Most probate records in [[North Carolina Genealogy|North Carolina]] were created on a county level though many were later sent to the North Carolina State Archives. For the colonial period, dozens of North Carolina wills were proved in the [[Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury|Prerogative Court of Canterbury]] in London, England. The contents of probate records vary greatly depending on the prevailing law and the personality of the record keeper.  

*A discussion of&nbsp;North Carolina&nbsp;Probate Records written by Johni Cerny and Gareth L. Mark&nbsp;for ''Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources ''can be found at [http://www.ancestry.com/wiki/index.php?title=North_Carolina_Probate_Records Ancestry]. ($)

Understanding the North Carolina probate laws and how they changed over time can help us learn how the estate was administered, taxed, and distributed and might help to solve difficult genealogical problems.  

Additional information about North Carolina state statutes relating to probate matters can be found at law libraries. Online digital versions of state statutes can often be found by conducting a search engine search for the term, "North Carolina statutes."  

==== Local  ====

*The Family History Library has a&nbsp;good collection of&nbsp;{{FHL|376838|subject-id|disp=North Carolina Probate Records}} from 1663 - 1923 on both a state and county level.&nbsp;Some are films of the originals, but many are abstracts.

The first source you should check to determine if your ancestor left a will in North Carolina between the years 1665 and 1900 is:  

*Mitchell, Thornton W. ''North Carolina Wills: A Testator Index, 1665–1900''. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 1992. {{FHL|605214|item|disp=FHL Book 975.6 P22t 1992}}. Available [http://mars.archives.ncdcr.gov/BasicSearch.aspx online]. This book lists the name of the testator (the person who had the will prepared), the county where the will was probated, the year it was probated, the volume and page number of the recorded will, and the location of the original will. Wills that were not recorded in the county records are also listed. The book has a county-by-county summary of available wills.

'''Prior to 1760''' most wills were probated by the County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions in the county. The original wills and accompanying estate papers were supposed to be sent to the secretary of state for filing, regardless of where the will was probated. Some counties did not send their records in.  

'''Breakdown of 28 Will Boxes at North Carolina State Archives''' '''Website'''  

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'''Since 1966''' all documents relating to probate cases are kept in case files. After the estate is settled, the files are microfilmed and indexed by the name of the deceased and the names of the heirs.  

North Carolina wills and administrations proved in the [[Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury|Prerogative Court of Canterbury]] in London have been abstracted and published multiple times. Each edition is listed here:  

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| 1611-1775<ref>Peter Wilson Coldham, ''American Wills Proved in London, 1611-1775'' (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992). {{FHL|619298|title-id|disp=FHL Book 973 P27ca}}; digital version at [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=48497 Ancestry] ($).</ref>  

| [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=48497 Ancestry] ($)

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#[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5111 Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858] ($) at Ancestry.

When an individual died leaving a will, the legal process carrying out the provisions of the will created many loose estate papers. Most early residents of North Carolina who possessed real property did not leave a will and died intestate. The process of settling a person’s intestate estate also created loose papers. These loose papers have a variety of titles and were generally created in the following sequence:  

Many later loose estate papers or copies of them have been sent to the North Carolina State Archives. Counties often send their papers to the archives after 60 years. Estate papers in the state archives are presently being microfilmed in alphabetical order, county by county.  

*''Index to Wills at the North Carolina Commission, 1682-1905. ''Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1941. {{FHL|353866|item|disp=FHL Film 18082}}.<br><br>  

NORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY]- PROBATE RECORDS  

==== Published Materials  ====

*[[North Carolina Estate Files (FamilySearch Historical Records)]]

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