Cumberland 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 Cumberland. 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 & images
1858-1995 England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 at Ancestry($); index
1858-2019 England & Wales Government Probate Death Index 1858-2019 at Findmypast($); index

Before 1858

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

Step 1. Search Indexes

Before looking for a will, you should search a probate index. It will save time and give a reference to finding a copy of a will. A few indexes are mentioned here. Others indexes, especially if they only index the wills for one court, are mentioned on each court page.

Index to the Wills Proved in the Consistory Court of Carlisle 1661-1750 at Findmypast - index ($).

Indexes are found in archives and in the FamilySearch Library. Click here to see a list of the library's holdings for indexes and wills. Films can be viewed in the Library or in a FamilySearch Center.

Did you find a reference to a will?

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 Cumberland 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-H

I-N

O-T

U-Z

Step 4. Obtain a copy of the probate record

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

Cumberland 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.

Cumberland Probate Courts

The following ecclesiastical courts had some probate jurisdiction over the county of Cumberland prior to 1858. Click on a court name to learn more about its records, indexes and finding a probate for your ancestor. To determine which court, go to the Court Jurisdictions section above.

Some Explanatory Notes on the Cumberland Probate Courts

The original probate records are housed in one of four record offices in the following cities: Barrow, Kendall, Carlisle, and Whitehaven. Links to these offices are found on the Cumbria Archive Service site.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[England]] &gt; [[Cumberland]]
+{{Cumberland-sidebar}}{{breadcrumb
+| link1=[[England Genealogy|England]]
+| link2=[[Cumberland, England Genealogy|Cumberland]]
+| link3=
+| link4=
+| link5=[[Cumberland_Probate_Records|Probate Records]]
+}}
-For an explanation of probate records in England, click [[England Probate Records|here]].
+== Getting Started  ==
-== Cumberland County 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 Cumberland. See [[England Probate Records]] for a general description of probate records in England.
+=== 1858 to the Present  ===
-In addition, the [[Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury]] had jurisdiction over the whole of England. Wealthier individuals, people who owned property in more than one county or lower court's jurisdiction, and Naval personnel often had their estates proven through the Archbishop's court.
+Beginning in 1858, the [[Principal Probate Registry|Principal Probate Registry]] had the authority for probating estates. Click on the link to learn more.
-=== Appeals Courts  ===
+==== Online Records ====
-Any probate that was disputed and could not be settled by the county courts could be sent to these higher 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 & images
+* '''1858-1995''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1904/ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995] at Ancestry($); index
+* '''1858-2019''' [https://search.findmypast.com/search-world-records/england-and-wales-government-probate-death-index-1858-2019 England & Wales Government Probate Death Index 1858-2019] at Findmypast($); index
-*[[Court of Arches]]
+=== Before 1858  ===
-*[[High Court of Delegates]]
-== Some Explanatory Notes&nbsp;on Cumberland Courts  ==
+Before 1858, Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process. To search for a pre-1858 probate record in Cumberland, follow these steps:
-== Court Jurisdictions  ==
+==== Step 1. Search Indexes  ====
-Before 1858, every town and parish in Cumberland was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts.&nbsp; When searching for the will of an ancestor&nbsp;in Cumberland, you should find in the jurisdictions lists of name of the town or parish where he/she lived or owned property and search the&nbsp;records of the courts in the order&nbsp;given.&nbsp; Search indexes first.&nbsp; To find indexes, click on a court name.
+Before looking for a will, you should search a probate index. It will save time and give a reference to finding a copy of a will. A few indexes are mentioned here. Others indexes, especially if they only index the wills for one court, are mentioned on each court page.<br>
-Here is a list of parishes beginning with A and the pre-1858&nbsp;courts that had probate jurisdiction over them.&nbsp;
+*[https://www.findmypast.com/articles/england-and-wales-published-wills-and-probate-indexes-1300-1858-volumes-available/cumberland/index-to-the-wills-proved-in-the-consistory-court-of-carlisle-1661-1750-introduction-to-original-volume Index to the Wills Proved in the Consistory Court of Carlisle 1661-1750] at Findmypast - index ($).
-For other parishes, click&nbsp;on a link: [[Cumberland Probate Jurisdictions, Parishes A|A]]; [[Cumberland Probate Jurisdictions, Parishes B-C|B-C]],&nbsp;[[Cumberland Probate Records, Parishes D-H|D-H]],&nbsp;[[Cumberland Probate Records, Parishes I-N|I-N]],&nbsp;[[Cumberland Probate Records, Parishes O-Z|O-Z]].
+Indexes are found in archives and in the FamilySearch Library. Click here to see a list of the library's holdings for {{FSC|506247|subject-id|disp=indexes}} and {{FSC|453504|subject-id|disp=wills}}. Films can be viewed in the Library or in a [https://www.familysearch.org/en/centers/about FamilySearch Center]. <br>
-<br>
+Did you find a reference to a will?
+*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 [[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/ 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 Cumberland 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.<br>
-== Probate Indexes Online ==
-Before looking for a will, you should search an index. <br>
+{| class="FCK__ShowTableBorders" style="width: 360px; height: 30px" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="0"
+|-
+|
+|
+|
+| [[Cumberland Probate Jurisdictions, Parishes A|A]]
+| [[Cumberland Probate Jurisdictions, Parishes B-C|B-C]]
+| [[Cumberland Probate Jurisdictions, Parishes D-H|D-H]]
+| [[Cumberland Probate Jurisdictions, Parishes I-N|I-N]]
+| [[Cumberland Probate Jurisdictions, Parishes O-T|O-T]]
+| [[Cumberland Probate Jurisdictions, Parishes U-Z|U-Z]]
+|}
+<br>
-[http://www.uclan.ac.uk/ahss/education_social_sciences/history/probate_index.php http://www.uclan.ac.uk/ahss/education_social_sciences/history/probate_index.php]
+==== Step 4. Obtain a copy of the probate record  ====
-An index of all surviving probate documents for the Western Deaneries of the Archdeaconry of Richmond, 1748-1858 has been prepared. The deaneries included are Amounderness, Copeland, Furness, Kendal and Lonsdale. The full index (36,676 wills) is available on the members' area of the website. An alphabetical list of the townships and other placenames in the index is available, free of charge.&nbsp;&nbsp;An alphabetical list of the surnames in the index is available, free of charge.
+Once you have found an index reference to a will or other probate record, obtain a copy of the record. Do so by one of these methods:
-&nbsp;
+*{{FSC|453504|subject_id|disp=Cumberland 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.
-[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CUL/ProbateRecords/index.html http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CUL/ProbateRecords/index.html]
+== Cumberland Probate Courts  ==
-Abstracts of Cumberland Probate Records pre-1858
+The following ecclesiastical courts had some probate jurisdiction over the county of Cumberland prior to 1858. Click on a court name to learn more about its records, indexes and finding a probate for your ancestor. To determine which court, go to the Court Jurisdictions section above.<br>
+*[[Court of the Bishop of Carlisle (Episcopal Consistory)]]
+*[[Court of the Archdeaconry of Richmond Western Deaneries - Copeland]]
+*[[Court of the Bishop of Durham (Episcopal Consistory)]]
+*[[Exchequer and Prerogative Courts of the Archbishop of York]]
+*[[Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury]]
+<br>
-== Post-1857 Probate Records  ==
+== Some Explanatory Notes on the Cumberland Probate Courts ==
-Beginning in 1858, the government took over the&nbsp;settlement of estates and all&nbsp;wills are now probated through the Principal Probate Registry system.&nbsp; The system consists of 11 district registry offices and&nbsp;18 sub-district registries, located throughout England and Wales, and&nbsp;the principal registry&nbsp;office located in London.&nbsp; The records are available through the office of Her Majesty's Courts Service.&nbsp; To learn more, go to the [http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/civil/probate/index.htm HMCS website].
+The original probate records are housed in one of four record offices in the following cities: Barrow, Kendall, Carlisle, and Whitehaven. Links to these offices are found on the [http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/archives/recordoffices/default.asp Cumbria Archive Service] site.
-A country-wide surname index to the records is available, so it is much easier to look for post-1857 wills.&nbsp; 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>
+{{Place|Cumberland|Probate Records}}
+{{England Probate Records}}
-[[Category:England|England]]
+[[Category:Cumberland Probate Records|Probate Records]]