Middlesex Probate Records: Difference between revisions

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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 Middlesex. 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

Before 1858

Online Records

1504-1829 Westminster, London, England, Wills and Probates, 1504-1829 at Ancestry — index & images ($)

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

Step 1. Search Indexes

Online indexes to probate records that include individuals who lived in Middlesex:

Indexes to the Ancient Testamentary Records of Westminster (1913) by Arthur Meredyth Burke. The extant testamentary records of Westminster indexed in this book consist of the testamentary records of the Peculiar Court, 1504-1700, the Westminster wills and administrations preserved amongst the records of the Consistory Court of London, 1540-1556, and the miscellaneous testamentary records preserved in the Muniment Chamber of Westminster Abbey, 1228-1700.

The FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City has the following index on CD-Rom:

The London probate index: surnames A-E: grants of probate and administration for all courts and peculiars (except the PCC) in London and Middlesex 1750-1858.

Also search indexed abstracts:

London & Middlesex Will Abstracts 1700-1704 at Findmypast.co.uk (£). Includes 2042 abstracts of original wills proved in the Archdeaconry Court of Middlesex, Archdeaconry Court of London, Commissary Court of London, Consistory Court of London and Peculiar Court of the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral.

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 Middlesex 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.

This list does not include London city parishes. For those, go to London Probate Records.

A-B

C-F

G-H

I-L

M-R

S

T-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:

Middlesex 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.

Probate Courts of Middlesex County

Some Explanatory Notes on the Middlesex Probate Courts

Probate records of Middlesex, incorporating Greater London and the whole of the ancient county of Middlesex commence from as early as 1258 up to 1857. There are several Middlesex County probate court jurisdictions, some of which hold extensive probate record coverage for the greater metropolis and there are a few smaller court jurisdictions which only pertain to a small handful of parishes.

The complexity of probate research in this most populous region of England resides in the fact that Greater London's layout is likewise complex, incorporating the whole of Middlesex and London counties, as well as portions of northwest Kent, northeast Surrey, parts of Essex and Hertfordshire. Several courts held concurrent jurisdiction with one another thus requiring searching multiple probate courts.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-For a explanation of England probate records, click [[England Probate Records|here]].
+{{Middlesex-sidebar}}{{breadcrumb
+| link1=[[England Genealogy|England]]
+| link2=[[Middlesex, England Genealogy|Middlesex]]
+| link3=
+| link4=
+| link5=[[Middlesex_Probate Records|Probate Records]]
+}}
-Return to the main [[Middlesex|Middlesex]] page.
+== Getting Started  ==
-== Middlesex Probate Courts  ==
+''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 Middlesex. See [[England Probate Records]] for a general description of probate records in England.
-Return to the [[Middlesex_Probate_Records|Middlesex Probate Records]] page.
+=== 1858 to the Present  ===
-<br>
+Beginning in 1858, the [[Principal Probate Registry|Principal Probate Registry]] had the authority for probating estates. Click on the link to learn more.
-*[[Consistory Court of London|Court of Husting]]
+==== Online Records ====
-*[[Archdeaconry Court of London]]
-*[[Court of the Bishop of London (Episcopal Consistory)]]
-*[[Archdeaconry Court of Middlesex (Middlesex Division)]]
-*[[Deanery of the Arches (Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury)]]
-*[[Court of the Commissary of the Bishop of London (London Division)]]
-*[[Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster (Abbey)]]
-*[[Deanery of the Arches of London, Croydon, Shoreham (Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury)]]
-*[[Court of the Commissary of the Bishop of London (Essex & Hertfordshire Division)]]
-*[[Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral]]
-*[[Royal Peculiar Court of St Katherine's by the Tower]]
-*[[Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury]]
-=== Appeals Courts  ===
+*'''1858-1957''' {{RecordSearch|2451051|England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957}} at FamilySearch - [[England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index
-Any probate that was disputed and could not be settled by the county courts could be sent to these higher appeals courts:
+=== Before 1858  ===
+==== Online Records ====
+*'''1504-1829''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61885/ Westminster, London, England, Wills and Probates, 1504-1829] at Ancestry — index & images ($)
+<br>
+Before 1858, Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process. To search for a pre-1858 probate record in Middlesex, follow these steps:
-*[[Court of Arches]]
+==== Step 1. Search Indexes  ====
-*[[High Court of Delegates]]
-== Historical Background  ==
+Online indexes to probate records that include individuals who lived in Middlesex:
-Probate records of Middlesex, incorporating Greater London&nbsp;and the whole of the ancient county of Middlesex commence from as early as 1258 up to&nbsp;1857.&nbsp;There are several Middlesex County probate court jurisdictions, some of which hold extensive&nbsp;probate record coverage for the greater metropolis and there are a few smaller court jurisdictions which only pertain to a small handful of parishes.
+*[https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/265847-indexes-to-the-ancient-testamentary-records-of-westminster-1228-1700?offset=1 ''Indexes to the Ancient Testamentary Records of Westminster''] (1913) by Arthur Meredyth Burke. The extant testamentary records of Westminster indexed in this book consist of the testamentary records of the Peculiar Court, 1504-1700, the Westminster wills and administrations preserved amongst the records of the Consistory Court of London, 1540-1556, and the miscellaneous testamentary records preserved in the Muniment Chamber of Westminster Abbey, 1228-1700.
-If you&nbsp;know&nbsp;in which parish your ancestor may have died or lived,&nbsp;go to the "Middlesex Parishes and Their Probate Jurisdictions" section&nbsp;(below) and search by parish name&nbsp;in order to determine&nbsp;the&nbsp;correct or most likely&nbsp;probate court&nbsp;to search, first.
+The FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City has the following index on CD-Rom:
-Next, see the above links to each Middlesex probate court jurisdictions in order to obtain further information for researching in the prime probate court&nbsp;for a will.
+*{{FSC|1568892|title-id|disp=The London probate index: surnames A-E}}: grants of probate and administration for all courts and peculiars (except the PCC) in London and Middlesex 1750-1858.
-If a search in the most likely&nbsp;probate court jurisidiction proves unsuccessful, then search the next court as&nbsp;listed in ranked order, i.e. "no. 2", and etc.
+''Also search indexed abstracts:''
-== Starting Your Search in Indexes  ==
+*[http://www.origins.net/help/aboutNWI-LONMDX.aspx London &amp; Middlesex Will Abstracts 1700-1704] at Findmypast.co.uk (£). Includes 2042 abstracts of original wills proved in the Archdeaconry Court of Middlesex, Archdeaconry Court of London, Commissary Court of London, Consistory Court of London and Peculiar Court of the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral.
-. First search each index (see below) to help you more quickly find the will, writing down each detail cited in the indexed entry.
+Did you find a reference to a probate record?
-. Proceed to the "Probate Records of This Court" (below) to determine what original probate records exist for this court.
+*If ''yes'', go to '''Step 4''' below.
+*If ''no'', go to '''Step 2''' below.
-. Contact or visit the Westminster City Archives, or hire a professional record searcher to view these records on your behalf. Officials may send upon request a list of record searchers.
+==== Step 2. Identify when and where your ancestor died  ====
-. Visit The Family History Library, or, one of its 4,500 satellite family history centers worldwide and search indexes to probate records then with the information obtained from the index[es] you can search more quickly the original wills and admons also on microfilm via any family history [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp centers]&nbsp;near you.
+Determine ''when'' your ancestor died. If you aren't sure, use an approximate date.
-&nbsp;
+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:
-== Probate Indexes  ==
+*[https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/descriptions/index.jsp Vision of Britain]
-Several of London and Middlesex probate jurisdictions are&nbsp;well-covered with&nbsp;indexes; look in this section in each court jurisdiction to find valuable indexes to London's probate records.
+The gazetteer will either tell you:
-==== Online indexes  ====
+*A place is a parish, or
+*What parish it is a part of, or
+*What place it is near.
-*A comprehensive&nbsp;will and admon index for most all of London and Middlesex's probate jurisdictions is found in Dr. David Wright's will index for 1750-1857 on CDs&nbsp;for [http://www.davideastkent.canterhill.co.uk/lp-index.htm sale]&nbsp;for surnames A-F; enquire with him for lookups for surnames beginning with G-Z at a set fee.
+If the latter, look that place up in the gazetteer and see if it is a parish.
-==== Printed Indexes  ====
+Once you have identified the parish, go to '''Step 3'''.
-Several printed indexes exist for the various courts of Greater London, but not all. Look in this ("Printed Indexes") section under each Probate court for indexes&nbsp;and the locations for accessing same.
+==== Step 3. Identify court jurisdictions by parish  ====
-==== Original Handwritten Indexes  ====
+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 Middlesex 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.
-Indexes and claendars to the Probate Acts of Wills and Administrations (Admons) exist from 1258-1857. Calendars are a kind of index (of the first letter of each surname) to the probate records and admons (administrations).&nbsp;
+This list does not include London city parishes. For those, go to ''[[London Probate Records|London Probate Records]]''.
-In addition to the calendars, a majority of the original (unregistered) wills and the registered wills are alphabetically arranged for but a few courts; most are only arranged chronologically, making will searches without indexes, fairly complex and challenging at best&nbsp;and are likewise organized on the microfilmed probates for these courts at the Family History Library.&nbsp;
+{| width="284" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="1" style="width: 284px; height: 27px"
+|-
+|  [[Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions Parishes A-B|A-B]]
+|  [[Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions Parishes C-F|C-F]]
+|  [[Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions Parishes G-H|G-H]]
+|  [[Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions Parishes I-L|I-L]]
+|  [[Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions Parishes M-R|M-R]]
+|  [[Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions S Parishes|S]]
+|  [[Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions Parishes T-Z|T-Z]]
+|}
-==== Microfilmed Indexes at the Family History Library&lt;br&gt;  ====
+<br>
-The Family History Library has many will and admon (Administration) indexes and calendars which&nbsp;are available on microfilm at the Family History Library covering the years as above mentioned 1258-1858 and may be circulated to each of its satellite Family History Centers (see Court of the Archdeaconry of Essex), or go to this Family History Library Catalog page
+==== Step 4. Obtain a copy of the probate record  ====
-== Some Explanatory Notes on the Middlesex Courts  ==
+Once you have found an index reference to a probate, obtain a copy of the record. Do so by one of these methods:
-. No single probate court jurisdiction holds coverage for the whole of London and Middlesex counties 2. The complexity of probate research in this most populous region of England resides in the fact that Greater London's layout is likewise complex, incorporating the whole of Middlesex and London counties, as well--portions of northwest Kent, northeast Surrey, parts of Essex and Hertfordshire. 3. Several courts held concurrent jurisdiction with one another thus requiring searching multiple probate courts. 4. Search or utilize the "Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions of Parishes" section in order to determine in which probate court jurisdiction a parish lay.
+*{{FSC|England, Middlesex - Probate records|subject|subject-id=889941666|disp=Middlesex 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.
-== Middlesex Parishes and Their Probate&nbsp;Jurisdictions  ==
+== Probate Courts of Middlesex County  ==
-Before 1858, every parish was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts.&nbsp; For an alphabetical list of Middlesex parishes and the courts that had jurisdiction over them, click on the link for the letter that a parish name begins with.
+*[[Court_of_the_Archdeaconry_of_Middlesex_(Middlesex_Division)|Court of the Archdeaconry of Middlesex, Middlesex Division]]
+*[[Court of Husting]] <br>
-{| cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="200" border="1"
+*[[Court of the Archdeaconry of London]] <br>
-|-
+*[[The Court of Arches of the Archbishop of Canterbury]] <br>
-| &nbsp;[[Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions Parishes A-C|A-C]]
+*[[Court of the Bishop of London (Episcopal Consistory)]] <br>
-| &nbsp;[[Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions Parishes C-F|C-F]]
+*[[Court of the Commissary of the Bishop of London (London Division)]] <br>
-| &nbsp;[[Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions Parishes G-H|G-H]]
+*[[Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster (Abbey)]] <br>
-| &nbsp;[[Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions Parishes I-L|I-L]]
+*[[Court of the Deanery of the Arches of London, Croydon, Shoreham (Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury)]]<br>
-| &nbsp;[[Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions Parishes M-R|M-R]]
+*[[Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral]] <br>
-| &nbsp;[[Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions S Parishes|S]]
+*[[Royal Peculiar Court of St Katherine's by the Tower]]
-| &nbsp;[[Middlesex Probate Jurisdictions Parishes T-Z|T-Z]]
+*[[Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury]]
-|}
-<br><br>
+=== Some Explanatory Notes on the Middlesex Probate Courts<br>  ===
-== Post-1857 Probate Records  ==
+Probate records of Middlesex, incorporating [[Greater London|Greater London]] and the whole of the ancient county of Middlesex commence from as early as 1258 up to 1857. There are several Middlesex County probate court jurisdictions, some of which hold extensive probate record coverage for the greater metropolis and there are a few smaller court jurisdictions which only pertain to a small handful of parishes.
-Beginning in 1858, the government took over the settlement of estates and all wills are now probated through the Principal Probate Registry system. The system consists of 11 district registry offices and 18 sub-district registries, located throughout England and Wales, and the Principal Registry Office located in London. The records are available through the office of Her Majesty's Courts Service. To learn more, go to the [http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/civil/probate/index.htm HMCS website].
+The complexity of probate research in this most populous region of England resides in the fact that [[Greater London|Greater London's]] layout is likewise complex, incorporating the whole of Middlesex and London counties, as well as portions of northwest [[Kent, England Genealogy|Kent]], northeast [[Surrey, England Genealogy|Surrey]], parts of [[Essex, England Genealogy|Essex]] and [[Hertfordshire, England Genealogy|Hertfordshire]].  Several courts held concurrent jurisdiction with one another thus requiring searching multiple probate courts.
-A country-wide surname index to the records is available, so it is much easier to look for post-1857 wills. The [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=208102&disp=Calendar+of+the+grants+of+probate+and+le%20%20&columns=*,0,0 indexes] for 1858-1957 and the records for the [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=517092&disp=Record+copy+wills%2C+1858%2D1925%20%20&columns=*,0,0 Principal Registry] and the [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=517092&disp=Record+copy+wills%2C+1858%2D1925%20%20&columns=*,0,0 District Registries] for 1858-1925 are available on microfilm at the Family History Library. <br>
+{{Middlesex}}
-[[Category:England|England]]
+[[Category:Middlesex Probate Records]]