Delaware Probate Records: Difference between revisions

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[[Portal:United States Probate|Portal:United States Probate ]]>[[Delaware|Delaware]]  
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==Online Resources==
==== Record Overview  ====
*'''1600-1850''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3223 Mayflower Deeds and Probates, 1600-1850] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
*'''1674-Onward''' [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-20199/delaware-probate-records?s=275764761 Delaware, Probate Records] at MyHeritage - index ($)
*'''1676-1971''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9044 Delaware, Wills and Probate Records, 1676-1971] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
*'''1680-1800''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=4020 Kent County, Delaware Probate Records, 1680-1800] at Ancestry - index ($)
*'''1683-1947''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2369 Delaware, Wills and Administrations, 1683-1947] at Ancestry - images ($)
*'''Pre-1925''' [http://archives.delaware.gov/checklists/index.shtml?fname=&lname=&keyword=&intention=Orphans&searchtype=byintention Probate records database, early to 1925 at the Delaware Public Archives] at Delaware State Archives
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/full-text Full-Text Search - Probate Records] at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P00oMDsAsSw How to Search]


==Record Synopsis==
Probate records are court records created after an individual’s death that relate to a court’s decisions regarding the distribution of the estate to the heirs or creditors and the care of any dependents. You may find the names of married daughters or other relatives and their residences; or information about the adoption or guardianship of minor children and dependents. Probate records do not always give an exact date of death, but the death usually occurred within four months of probate. These documents are important to family history researchers, because they usually exist for time periods before civil birth and death records were kept.


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 records are included in probate files. 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 the [[Probate Process|probate process]], types of probate records, [[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]].
Probate records may include: petitions, wills, bonds, inventories, publications, accounts, divisions,claims, letters of administration, probate journals, probate packets,  


{{Template:US-probate-topic_bar}}
Other documents may include: adoption, deed, guardianship, legitimation of children, manumissions, apprenticeships, dower rights and releases, deeds, tax leins, land sold for back taxes, widow allowances, order of distribution, decree of heirship


==History==
=== History<br> ===


Variations existed within counties as probate jurisdictions and county boundaries changed over the years.
Colonial


Colonial records may also be found in Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania
<br>


State  
=== State Statues  ===


==State Statutes==
<br>


Understanding the Delaware 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.
=== Jurisdictions  ===


Additional information about Delaware state statutes relating to probate matters can be found at law libraries. For example:<br>
Probate records in [[Delaware]] have been kept by the register of wills in each county from 1682 to the present. The Family History Library has probate indexes and records for all three counties, including wills, administrations, and guardian accounts to about 1850. Most of the original records are at the Delaware Public Archives.  
 
Online digital versions of state statutes can often be found by conducting a search engine search for the term, "Delaware statutes." The following are examples of free, digital books related to Delaware probate laws:
 
==Repositories==
 
====Local====
 
Probate records in [[Delaware Genealogy|Delaware]] have been kept by the register of wills in each county from 1682 to the present. The FamilySearch Library has probate indexes and records for all three counties, including wills, administrations, and guardian accounts to about 1850. Most of the original records are at the Delaware Public Archives.  


Published county court records for the 1600s refer to many probate matters. These can be found in the Library Catalog Place Search under DELAWARE, [COUNTY] - COURT RECORDS  
Published county court records for the 1600s refer to many probate matters. These can be found in the Library Catalog Place Search under DELAWARE, [COUNTY] - COURT RECORDS  
Line 49: Line 27:
Wills, administrations, and guardian accounts to about 1850 are frequently listed in Orphans' Court records. A statewide index has been prepared to the year 1800:  
Wills, administrations, and guardian accounts to about 1850 are frequently listed in Orphans' Court records. A statewide index has been prepared to the year 1800:  


====Regional====
=== Availability ===
 
Bureau of Archives and Records Management<br>Hall of Records<br>Dover, Delaware 19902
 
The Bureau has records from the Swedish colonial period, the Dutch settlement, the Duke of York, and the Penn proprietorship. Most of their records are from statehood.
 
====National====


==Statewide Record Collection==
=== Indexes  ===


Probate records database, early to 1925;available at the Delaware Public Archives site: [http://www.state.de.us/sos/dpa/collections/probate.shtml www.state.de.us/sos/dpa/collections/probate.shtml]
Virdin, Donald O. ''Colonial Delaware Wills and Estates to 1800: An Index''. Bowie, Maryland, Heritage Books, 1994. (Family History Library [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=703638&disp=Colonial+Delaware+wills+and+estates+to+1%20%20&columns=*,0,0 book 975.1 P22v].) This contains an alphabetical index of recorded wills of the entire state, listing name, date, county, book and page.  
 
<br>
 
===Indexes===
 
Virdin, Donald O. ''Colonial Delaware Wills and Estates to 1800: An Index''. Bowie, Maryland, Heritage Books, 1994. (FamilySearch Library {{FSC|703638|title-id|disp=book 975.1 P22v}}.) This contains an alphabetical index of recorded wills of the entire state, listing name, date, county, book and page.
 
*[http://archives.delaware.gov/collections/probate.shtml Probates Records Database ] These indexes are the primary finding aid to themanuscript probate records for all three Delaware counties from c. 1680 to c. 1925. They index the names of the deceased for whom the files were created. Contained in each index are the individual's name, and a date or dates. The dates correspond to the date of the documents within that individual's file and may refer to a date of the will or to a date for probate to begin. New Castle and Kent County Probates are on self service microfilm available in the Research Room of the Delaware State Archives, and Sussex is in the process of being filmed. Copies of this microfilm are also available for sale.
*Extracts of Delaware wills are at [http://www.ancestry.com www.ancestry.com] which is a subscription website.


Abstracts of wills up to 1800 have been published in the following volumes. Each volume includes an index that contains every name mentioned in the wills.  
Abstracts of wills up to 1800 have been published in the following volumes. Each volume includes an index that contains every name mentioned in the wills.  


*''A Calendar of Delaware Wills, New Castle County, 1682-1800''. New York, NY: National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1911; Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. FS Library book {{FSC|216769|item|disp=975.11 S2n}}.
=== Repositories  ===
*DeValinger, Leon. ''A Calendar of Kent County, Delaware Probate Records, 1680-1800''. Dover, Delaware: Public Archives Commission, 1944. FamilySearch Library {{FSC|310017|item|disp=film 1035860 item 4; fiche 6051248}}. Facsimile reproduction of the original FamilySearch Library {{FSC|781065|item|disp=book 975.14 P28d}}.
*DeValinger, Leon. ''A Calendar of Sussex County, Delaware Probate Records, 1680-1800''. Dover, Delaware: Public Archives Commission, 1964.


==Learn More==
'''Family History Library Catalog'''


{{Template:Pros-DE}}
Additional important probate records and indexes can be found in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:  


====Published Materials====
DELAWARE - PROBATE RECORDS


*''The First Laws of the State of Delaware ''4 vols. (1797) Reprint Wilmington Delaware: Scholarly Resources
DELAWARE, [COUNTY] - PROBATE RECORDS
*Anne Roach, ''[https://fch.ldschurch.org/WWSupport/Courses/FamilyHistoryLibraryExport/Goldmine__Beyond_the_Court_Order_Book/Player.html Courthouse Records Overview]'' (35 minute online video) [https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/learning-center FamilySearch Research Classes Online], 2010.<br>
*Rose, Christine.''Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures.'' San Jose, California: CR Publications, 2004. Of particular interest are the chapters, "Estates Galore," "Estate Documents," "Milking Every Clue from Estates," and "Strategies that Work." <ref>{{FSC|929.1072 R72c}}</ref>
*Szucs, Loretto Dennis and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, editors. ''The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy.'' Third edition. Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry, Inc., 2006. Of particular interest is the section, "Probate," pages 268 - 277. {{FSC|973 D27}}
*Virdin, Donald O. Colonial ''Delaware Wills and Estates to 1880''; An Index. Bowie, Maryland:Heritage Books, 1994.


====Websites====
=== Finding Aids  ===


==References==
=== '''Websites'''  ===


*Eichholz, Alice, Editor. ''Redbook: American State, County, and Town Sources.'' Third Edition. Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004, 185. {{FSC|973 D27rb}}
*[http://archives.delaware.gov/collections/probate.shtml Probates Records Database&nbsp;]&nbsp;These indexes are the primary finding aid to themanuscript probate records for all three Delaware counties from c. 1680 to c. 1925. They index the names of the deceased for whom the files were created. Contained in each index are the individual's name, and a date or dates. The dates correspond to the date of the documents within that individual's file and may refer to a date of the will or to a date for probate to begin. New Castle and Kent County Probates are on self service microfilm available in the Research Room of the Delaware State Archives, and Sussex is in the process of being filmed. Copies of this microfilm are also available for sale.  
*Greenwood, Val D. Third edition. ''The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy. ''Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 2000, 346. {{FSC|973 D27g}}
*Extracts of Delaware wills are at [http://www.ancestry.com www.ancestry.com] which is a subscription website.
 
==References==
 
<references /> 


[[Category:Delaware, United States]]
=== References  ===
[[Category:United States Probate Records]]

Revision as of 10:45, 29 September 2010

Portal:United States Probate >Delaware

Record Overview[edit | edit source]

Probate records are court records created after an individual’s death that relate to a court’s decisions regarding the distribution of the estate to the heirs or creditors and the care of any dependents. You may find the names of married daughters or other relatives and their residences; or information about the adoption or guardianship of minor children and dependents. Probate records do not always give an exact date of death, but the death usually occurred within four months of probate. These documents are important to family history researchers, because they usually exist for time periods before civil birth and death records were kept.

Probate records may include: petitions, wills, bonds, inventories, publications, accounts, divisions,claims, letters of administration, probate journals, probate packets,

Other documents may include: adoption, deed, guardianship, legitimation of children, manumissions, apprenticeships, dower rights and releases, deeds, tax leins, land sold for back taxes, widow allowances, order of distribution, decree of heirship

History
[edit | edit source]

Colonial


State Statues[edit | edit source]


Jurisdictions[edit | edit source]

Probate records in Delaware have been kept by the register of wills in each county from 1682 to the present. The Family History Library has probate indexes and records for all three counties, including wills, administrations, and guardian accounts to about 1850. Most of the original records are at the Delaware Public Archives.

Published county court records for the 1600s refer to many probate matters. These can be found in the Library Catalog Place Search under DELAWARE, [COUNTY] - COURT RECORDS

Wills, administrations, and guardian accounts to about 1850 are frequently listed in Orphans' Court records. A statewide index has been prepared to the year 1800:

Availability[edit | edit source]

Indexes[edit | edit source]

Virdin, Donald O. Colonial Delaware Wills and Estates to 1800: An Index. Bowie, Maryland, Heritage Books, 1994. (Family History Library book 975.1 P22v.) This contains an alphabetical index of recorded wills of the entire state, listing name, date, county, book and page.

Abstracts of wills up to 1800 have been published in the following volumes. Each volume includes an index that contains every name mentioned in the wills.

Repositories[edit | edit source]

Family History Library Catalog

Additional important probate records and indexes can be found in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

DELAWARE - PROBATE RECORDS

DELAWARE, [COUNTY] - PROBATE RECORDS

Finding Aids[edit | edit source]

Websites[edit | edit source]

  • Probates Records Database  These indexes are the primary finding aid to themanuscript probate records for all three Delaware counties from c. 1680 to c. 1925. They index the names of the deceased for whom the files were created. Contained in each index are the individual's name, and a date or dates. The dates correspond to the date of the documents within that individual's file and may refer to a date of the will or to a date for probate to begin. New Castle and Kent County Probates are on self service microfilm available in the Research Room of the Delaware State Archives, and Sussex is in the process of being filmed. Copies of this microfilm are also available for sale.
  • Extracts of Delaware wills are at www.ancestry.com which is a subscription website.

References[edit | edit source]

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