District of Columbia Probate Records

United States    U.S. Probate Records    District of Columbia    Probate Records 

Record Synopsis

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.” Various types of records are created throughout the probate process. These may include, 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, types of probate records, analyzing probate records, and to access a glossary of probate terms, see United States Probate Records.

Repositories

Regional

Wills after 1888, and administrations after 1878, are also at the:

U.S. District Court

333 Constitution Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20001

Telephone: 202-273-0555

Internet: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/

National

The National Archives has probate administrations (1801-36 and 1854-78) and guardianship papers (1801-78). They also have an index to administration dockets, guardian dockets, and case files.

Statewide Record Collections

Probate records prior to 1800 for the District of Columbia were kept by the appropriate courts of Virginia and Maryland. The National Archives has a series of will transcripts from 1801 to 1888.

A second series of transcripts from 1801 to 1919 and the original wills from 1801 to the present are available at:

Register of Wills and Clerk of the Probate Court

U.S. Courthouse

500 Indiana Avenue, N.W., Room 5000

Washington, DC 20001

Telephone: 202-879-1499

Internet: http://www.dccourts.gov/dccourts/superior/probate/links.jsp

Learn More

Published Materials

Abstracts of many early wills are in

• Mrs. Alexander H. Bell, Abstracts of Wills in the District of Columbia, 1776-1815, Two Volumes. (Washington, D.C.: Bell, 1946) (Book FHL 975.3 S2b; vol. 2 on Film FHL 207695; vols. 1 and 2 on Fiche FHL 6051443).
• Another index is Dorothy S. Provine, Index to District of Columbia Wills (1801-1920). (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1992) (FHL 975.3 P22p).

Websites

District of Columbia
Office of Public Records
1300 Naylor Court NW
Washington, DC 20001-4225
Tel: 202-727-2052 os.dc.gov/os/cwp/view,a,1207,q,585889.asp

References

The Family History Library does not have District of Columbia probate records or microfilms.