Bedfordshire Probate Records: Difference between revisions

| link1=[[England Genealogy|England]]

| link2=[[Bedfordshire, England Genealogy|Bedfordshire]]

| link5=[[Bedfordshire_Probate_ Records|Probate Records]]

''Probate'' is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. Probate records include [[W genealogical glossary terms|wills]] and [[A genealogical glossary terms|administrations]]. This article is about probate records in Bedfordshire. See [[England Probate Records]] for a general description of probate records in England.  

Beginning in 1858, the [[Principal Probate Registry|Principal Probate Registry]] had the authority for probating estates. Click on the link to learn more.

*'''1858-1957''' {{RecordSearch|2451051|England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957}} at FamilySearch; index — [[England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]

Before 1858, Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process. To search for a pre-1858 probate record in Bedfordshire, follow these steps:  

Here are some online indexes to probate records that include individuals who lived in Bedfordshire. Before searching the iindexes that cover a particular court, you might want to determine the court a will for your ancestor would be proved in.  Step 3 can help you determine the court. Search these indexes first:  

*[https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/wills-or-administrations-before-1858/ Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (1384 - 1858)]

*Probate records for the Commissary Court of Lincoln for the Archdeaconry of Huntingdon, {{FSC|374857|title-id|disp=1559-1857, 1559-1857}} The Act books contain some Admon Grants from the Peculiar Court of Biggleswade

==== Step 2. Identify when and where your ancestor died  ====

Determine ''where'' your ancestor died. It is easier to find a probate record if you know whether the place where your ancestor lived or died is a [[P genealogical glossary terms|parish]]. To learn whether it is a parish, look it up in a gazetteer. Here is a link to the 1872 ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' online:  

*[https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/descriptions/index.jsp Vision of Britain]

The gazetteer will either tell you:  

*What parish it is a part of, or

If the latter, look that place up in the gazetteer and see if it is a parish.

Once you have identified the parish, go to '''Step 3'''.

==== Majority of the County  ====

Before 1858, every town and parish in Bedfordshire was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts.  The court that had primary jurisdiction over most of Bedfordshire, with just six exceptions (see below), was the [[Court of the Archdeacon of Bedford|Court of the Archdeaconry of Bedford]].  Here's a list of further possible probate court jurisdictions:<br>

*Wills and administrations, Aylesbury Peculiar Court, 1624-1858 See FS Library fims {{FSC|291040|title-id|disp=95109 and 95100}}

*Everton and Swineshead parishes have some references in the following court record Probate records for the Commissary Court of Lincoln for the Archdeaconry of Huntingdon, {{FSC|374857|title-id|disp=1559-1857, 1559-1857 }}<br>

*[https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/wills-or-administrations-before-1858/ Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (1384 - 1858)]

There were six Bedfordshire parishes that were exceptions to this--Biggleswade, Billington, Eggington, Heath and Rich, Leighton Buzzard, and Stanbridge. To see the pre-1858 courts that had probate jurisdiction over these parishes, click [[Bedfordshire Probate Court Jurisdictions|here]]. <br>

==== Step 4. Obtain a copy of the probate record  ====

Once you have found an index reference to a probate, obtain a copy of the record. Do so by one of these methods:

*{{FSC|England, Bedfordshire - Probate records|subject|subject-id=2138059186|disp=Bedfordshire England Probate Records}}(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - some images may only be available at a [https://www.familysearch.org/centers/locations/ FamilySearch Center or FamilySearch Affiliate Library.]<br>

*Visit or contact the record office that has the original records in its collection.

Most of Bedfordshire was under the pre-1858 probate jurisdiction of the [[Court of the Archdeacon of Bedford|Court of the Archdeaconry of Bedford]]. The majority of probate searches will be in the records of this court and its superior courts, which were the [[Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory)]] before 1837, and the [[Court of the Bishop of Ely (Episcopal Consistory)]] starting in 1837.  The courts should be searched in that order.  The [[Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury]] (and the appeals courts if necessary) should be searched last.

However, the following courts also had some pre-1858 jurisdiction over certain parishes within the county. Click on a court name below to learn about the parishes they cover and their records and indexes.

*[[Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln|Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln]]

*[[Court of the Peculiar of Aylesbury|Court of the Peculiar of Aylesbury]]

*[[Court of the Peculiar of Biggleswade|Court of the Peculiar of Biggleswade]]

*[[Court of the Peculiar of Leighton Buzzard|Court of the Peculiar of Leighton Buzzard]]<br>