Kent Probate Records

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Kent

Probate Records

Getting Started

Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. Probate records include wills and administrations. This article is about probate records in Kent. See England Probate Records for a general description of probate records in England.

1858 to the Present

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

Online Records

• 1858-1957 England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1858-1995 England and Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 at Ancestry ($) index
• 1858-2018 England and Wales Government Probate Death Index, 1858-2018 at Findmypast ($) index

Before 1858

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

Step 1. Search Indexes

Here are some online indexes to probate records that include individuals who lived in Kent. Search these indexes first:

• Canterbury Probate Records, 1396-1858 at the Kent County Council

Here is a list of indexes on findmypast.co.uk available online for the county of Kent. None of the indexes are comprehensive, but they will be added to over time.

FamilySearch also provides an online collection for Kent County: England, Kent, Wills and Probate - FamilySearch Historical Records

Printed indexes to probate records may be available in many locations including English county archives and other record repositories, libraries, and the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City.

• To access an English county archive, go to GENUKI and search for the archives for Kent or another county of interest.
• For printed indexes that are available through the FamilySearch Library, click on the name of a court above.
  

Did you find a reference to a probate record?

• If yes, go to Step 4 below.
• If no, go to Step 2 below.

Step 2. Identify when and where your ancestor died

Determine when your ancestor died. If you aren't sure, use an approximate date.

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 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:

• Vision of Britain

The gazetteer will either tell you:

• A place is a parish, or
• What parish it is a part of, or
• What place it is near.

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.

Step 3. Identify court jurisdictions by parish

Once you have identified the parish where your ancestor lived or died, learn which courts had jurisdiction over it then search indexes for those courts. Every town and parish in Kent fell under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. Click on a link below for the letter the parish begins with.

A

B

C

D

E

F-G

H

I-K

L

M-N

O-R

S

T-V

W-Z

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:

• Kent England Probate Records(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - some images may only be available at a FamilySearch Center or FamilySearch Affiliate Library.
  
• Visit or contact the record office that has the original records in its collection.

Kent Probate Courts

The following ecclesiastical courts had some probate jurisdiction over the county of Kent prior to 1858. Click on a court name to learn more about its records and indexes and how to find the probate of your ancestor in the court's records.

• Court of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) of Canterbury
• Court of the Archdeaconry of Canterbury
• Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Rochester
• Court of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) of Chichester for the Archdeaconry of Lewes
• Court of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) of Chichester for the Archdeaconry of Chichester
• Court of the Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Deaneries of Arches, Croydon and Shoreham
• Court of the Peculiar of the Rector of Cliffe
• Court of the Exempt Jurisdiction of Wingham
• Court of the Prior and Chapter of Christ Church, Canterbury
• Court of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) of London
• Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury

Some Explanatory Notes on the Courts in Kent

The Court of the Archdeacon of Canterbury, the Court of the Episcopal consistory of Canterbury, and the Court of the Bishop and the Archdeacon of Rochester technically did not have jurisdiction over the Peculiar of Wingham, the Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Episcopal Consistory and Archdeaconry of Rochester, but as the larger courts of original jurisdiction in the county, they will often contain probate records of persons who resided in the other jurisdictions.

The Commissary-General of the Archbishop of Canterbury was the judge of the Court of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) of Canterbury. He exercised probate jurisdiction within the diocese of Canterbury, and he also exercised the Archbishop’s prerogative throughout the diocese. Therefore, records of probate that would have normally gone through the Archbishop's court, will be found in the records of the Court of the Bishop of Canterbury, particularly before 1759.

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

England, Kent, Wills and Probate (FmilySearch Historical Records)

Courtesy of the Kent Archeological Society:

• Index of Wills Proved in the Rochester Consistory Court 1440-1561 by Leland L. Duncan
• Medieval & Tutor Kent PCC & CCC Wills collected by Leland Lews Duncan...
• Many probate indexes are available at the Kent Archaeological Society website

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