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| | [[Portal:United States Probate|Portal:United States Probate ]]> |
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| | link2=[[United States Probate Records|Probate Records]] | |
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| | link5=[[United_States_Probate_Limitations|Limitations]]
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| While probate records are one of the most accurate sources of genealogical evidence, they must be used with some caution.
| | == Limitations of a will == |
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| === Limitations of probate records ===
| | When analyzing a will record, be aware of the following potential problems: |
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| The following limitations should be considered when using probate records: | | *The spouse mentioned in the will may not be the mother of the children mentioned in the will |
| | *The will may omit a deceased child |
| | *The will may omit a child who already received their inheritance |
| | *Maiden names of female spouses are not usually mentioned |
| | *Children are not always listed in birth order |
| | *No every-name index for those listed in the will |
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| *Not everyone left an estate that was probated by a court.
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| *Not all relatives are listed--usually only the wife and children.
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| *Date of death is usually not given.
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| *Indexes usually list testator, not heirs or beneficiaries.
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| *Information on the residence of relatives is rare.
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| *Probate-related records can be filed in more than one cabinet, ledger, or packet and in more than one office.
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| *Transcribed records might be incomplete, misread, or incorrectly transcribed so consult the original when possible.
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| *Some courthouse indexes are complex enough to require guides to use them. (See the [[United States Index Systems|United States Index Systems]] article.)
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| === Limitations of a will ===
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| When analyzing a will record, be aware of the following potential problems:
| | == Limitations of probate records == |
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| *Not everyone left a will. | | *Not everyone left a will |
| *The wife mentioned in the will may not be the mother of the children mentioned in the will. | | *Not all relatives are listed--usually only the wife and children |
| *The will may omit a deceased child.
| | *Date of death is usually not given |
| *The will may omit a child who already received his or her inheritance.
| | *Indexes usually list testator, not heirs or beneficiaries |
| *Maiden names of female spouses are not usually mentioned. | | *Information on the residence of relatives is rare |
| *Children are not always listed in birth order; sons may be listed before the daughters.
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| *Those named are not necessarily related to the testator. | |
| *There are no every-name indexes for those listed in the will.
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| *There may be a problem with lack of punctuation. For example, is Mary Beth one name or two?
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| *It can be difficult to determine the difference between married and middle names.
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| *Relationships may be misleading:
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| *:Uncle/aunt may be spouses
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| *:Cousin may mean nephew/niece
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| *:Son-in-law could mean stepson or nephew could mean grandson
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| *:Brother and sister may mean brother and sister in the Gospel
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| === Overcoming Limitations ===
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| The following strategies can be used to overcome these limitations:
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| *Don't make assumptions.
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| *Look at other records. Analyze the evidence from a variety of records and correlate the results. | |
| *Search for related transactions that might be found in court records, land records, guardianship records, and vital records.
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| *Search other jurisdictions for the related records mentioned above. For instance, land might have been owned in more than one locality, a marriage may have taken place in another county or state, or records might have been transferred to a regional or state repository.
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| Also see the article, [[Analyzing_United_States_Probate_Records|Analyzing Probate Records]].
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| === Sources ===
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| *Greenwood, Val D. Third edition. ''The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy. ''Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 2000. Of particular interest are the chapters, "Understanding Probate Records and Basic Legal Terminology," "What About Wills?" and "The Intestate—Miscellaneous Probate Records—Guardianships." {{FSC|960443|item}}
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| *Rose, Christine. ''Courthouse Indexes Illustrated.'' San Jose, California: CR Publications, 2006. {{{FSC|1362624|item}}
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| *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." {{FSC|1202197|item}}
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| *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|1211475|item}}
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| [[Category:United_States_Probate_Records]]
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