Leicestershire Probate Records: Difference between revisions

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Probate Records

Getting Started[edit | edit source]

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 Leicestershire. See England Probate Records for a general description of probate records in England.

1858 to the Present[edit | edit source]

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

Online Records[edit | edit source]

1858-1957 England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
1858-1995 England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 at Ancestry
1858-2019 England & Wales Government Probate Death Index 1858-2019 at Findmypast

Before 1858[edit | edit source]

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

Step 1. Search Indexes[edit | edit source]

Online Index and Images

Leicestershire Wills and Probate Records, 1500-1939 at findmypast.

Calendars of wills and administrations relating to the county of Leicester, proved in the Archdeaconry Court of Leicester, 1495-1649 : and in the Peculiars of St. Margaret Leicester, Rothley, Groby, Evington, and the unproved wills, etc., previous to 1801.

Record Office Card index to probated wills, Leicestershire, 1750-1929 Microreproduction of cards housed at the Leicestershire Record Office,[1] Leicester and throu
gh the FamilySearch Library and branches. FS Library Collection

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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 Leicestershire 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-F

G-M

N-R

S-Z

If you do not know a parish, search the Court of the Archdeaconry of Leicester.

Step 4. Obtain a copy of the probate record[edit | edit source]

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

Leicestershire 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.

Leicestershire Probate Courts[edit | edit source]

Most of Leicestershire was under the pre-1858 probate jurisdiction of the Court of the Archdeaconry of Leicester. The majority of probate searches will be in the records of this court and its superior courts. However, the following smaller courts also had some pre-1858 jurisdiction within the county. Click on a court name to learn about records and indexes.

Some Explanatory Notes About the Leicestershire Probate Courts[edit | edit source]

The Archdeaconry of Leicester is not technically a superior jurisdiction of the other courts, but as the largest court of original jurisdiction in the county it will often contain probate records of persons who resided in the other jurisdictions.

Since there are no known records for the Court of the Peculiar of Old Dalby, it should be treated as though it belonged to the Court of the Archdeacon of Leicester.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[England]]&nbsp;[[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Leicestershire]]
+{{Leicestershire-sidebar}}{{breadcrumb
+| link1=[[England Genealogy|England]]
+| link2=[[Leicestershire, England Genealogy|Leicestershire]]
+| link3=
+| link4=
+| link5=[[Leicestershire_Probate_Records|Probate Records]]
+}}
-The following article is about probate records in the county of Leicestershire. For general information about English probate records, click [[England Probate Records|here]].
+== 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 [[W genealogical glossary terms|wills]] and [[A genealogical glossary terms|administrations]]. This article is about probate records in Leicestershire. See [[England Probate Records]] for a general description of probate records in England.
+=== 1858 to the Present  ===
+Beginning in 1858, the [[Principal Probate Registry|Principal Probate Registry]] had the authority for probating estates. Click on the link to learn more.
+==== Online Records ====
+*'''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
+*'''1858-1995''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1904/ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995] at Ancestry
+*'''1858-2019''' [https://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-records/england-and-wales-government-probate-death-index-1858-2019 England & Wales Government Probate Death Index 1858-2019] at Findmypast
+=== Before 1858  ===
+Before 1858, Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process. To search for a pre-1858 probate record in Leicestershire, follow these steps:
+==== Step 1. Search Indexes  ====
+'''Online Index and Images'''
-== Description  ==
+[http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-Records/leicestershire-wills-and-probate-records-1500-1939 Leicestershire Wills and Probate Records, 1500-1939] at findmypast.
-''Probate'' is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. The term ''probate'' refers to a collection of documents, including [[W genealogical glossary terms|wills]], [[A genealogical glossary terms|administrations]] (also called admons), [[I genealogical glossary terms|inventories]], and [[A genealogical glossary terms|act books]]. The Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process until to 1858. This article explains about probates and how to get started to search for a will.
+[http://books.google.com/books?id=Jj8EAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_similarbooks_r&cad=2 Calendars of wills and administrations relating to the county of Leicester], proved in the Archdeaconry Court of Leicester, 1495-1649 : and in the Peculiars of St. Margaret Leicester, Rothley, Groby, Evington, and the unproved wills, etc., previous to 1801.
-Beginning in 1858, authority over probate matters was taken from ecclesiastical courts and put under the civil authority of the Principal Probate Registry. The '''Probates After 1857'''&nbsp;section below has a link to an article about probates after 1857.
+'''Record Office'''
+Card index to probated wills, Leicestershire, 1750-1929 Microreproduction of cards housed at the Leicestershire Record Office,[http://www.leics.gov.uk/record_office.htm] Leicester and throu<br>gh the FamilySearch Library and branches. {{FSC|548482|title-id|disp=FS Library Collection}}
-== Getting Started  ==
+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 [[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  ====
-''Probate'' is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. The Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process until to 1858. Beginning in 1858, authority over probate matters was taken from ecclesiastical courts and put under the civil authority of the Principal Probate Registry. The Probates Ater 1857 section below contains links to additional information about the records of this court.
+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 Leicestershire 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.
-To look for a probate record before 1858:<br>
+{| width="472" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1"
+|-
+|  [[Leicestershire Probate Jurisdictions, Parishes A|A]]
+|  [[Leicestershire Probate Jurisdictions Parishes B through F|B-F]]
+|  [[Leicestershire Probate Jurisdictions Parishes G through M|G-M]]
+|  [[Leicestershire Probate Jurisdictions Parishes N through Z|N-R]]
+|  [[Leicestershire Probate Jurisdictions Parishes S through Z|S-Z]]
+|}
-#Discover when and where your ancestor died. If you don’t know, use the approximate date and place where they lived. <br>
+<br>
-#Go to [https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Cumberland_Probate_Records#Court_Jurisdictions Court Jurisdictions] section below.<br>
-#Click a letter or span of letters for your place. This opens a jurisdictions table.<br>
-#Follow the instructions on the jurisdictions table page.<br>
-== Court Jurisdictions by Parish  ==
+If you do not know a parish, search the [[Court of the Archdeacon of Leicester|Court of the Archdeaconry of Leicester]].
-Before 1858, every town and parish in Leicestershire came under the jurisdiction of a primary probate court and one or more secondary courts. When looking for the pre-1858 will of an ancestor in Leicestershire, you need to determine what courts had jurisdiction over the place where your ancestor died or had property. Click on a link below for the letter your parish of interest begins with and follow the instructions given on the next page.<br>
+==== Step 4. Obtain a copy of the probate record  ====
-[[Leicestershire Probate Jurisdictions, Parishes A|A]]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; [[Leicestershire Probate Jurisdictions Parishes B through F|B-F]]&nbsp;&nbsp; [[Leicestershire Probate Jurisdictions Parishes G through M|G-M]]&nbsp;&nbsp; [[Leicestershire Probate Jurisdictions Parishes N through Z|N-Z]]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+Once you have found an index reference to a probate, obtain a copy of the record. Do so by one of these methods:
-If you do not know a parish, search the [[Court of the Archdeacon of Leicester|Court of the Archdeaconry of Leicester]].
+*{{FSC|453780|subject_id|disp=Leicestershire 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.
-== Leicestershire Probate Courts<br> ==
+== Leicestershire Probate Courts  ==
 Most of Leicestershire was under the pre-1858 probate jurisdiction of the [[Court of the Archdeacon of Leicester|Court of the Archdeaconry of Leicester]]. The majority of probate searches will be in the records of this court and its superior courts. However, the following smaller courts also had some pre-1858 jurisdiction within the county. Click on a court name to learn about records and indexes.
@@ Line 40: / Line 95: @@
 *[[Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln]]
 *[[Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory)|Court of the Bishop of Lincoln]]
 *[[Court of the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry (Episcopal Consistory)]]
+*[[Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury]]
-== Probate Indexes  ==
+<br>
-*Calendars of wills and administrations relating to the county of Leicester, proved in the Archdeaconry Court of Leicester, 1495-1649&nbsp;: and in the Peculiars of St. Margaret Leicester, Rothley, Groby, Evington, and the unproved wills, etc., previous to 1801.[http://books.google.com/books?id=Jj8EAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_similarbooks_r&cad=2]
+=== Some Explanatory Notes About the Leicestershire Probate Courts  ===
-*Card index to probated wills, Leicestershire, 1750-1929 Microreproduction of cards housed at the Leicestershire Record Office,[http://www.leics.gov.uk/record_office.htm] Leicester and through the Family History Library and branches. [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlefilmnotes&columns=*%2C0%2C0&titleno=548482&disp=Card+index+to+probated+wills%2C+Leiceste++]
-== Some Explanatory Notes About the Leicestershire Probate Courts  ==
 The Archdeaconry of Leicester is not technically a superior jurisdiction of the other courts, but as the largest court of original jurisdiction in the county it will often contain probate records of persons who resided in the other jurisdictions.
@@ Line 55: / Line 108: @@
 <br>
-== Estate Duty Records  ==
+[[Category:Leicestershire Probate Records]]
-Starting in 1796, a tax or death duty was payable on estates over a certain value. Estate duty abstracts may add considerable information not found elsewhere.&nbsp;Estate duty indexes may help locate a will. For more information, go to [[Estate Duty Records]].
-== Probates After 1857  ==
-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. For more information, go to [[Principal Probate Registry]].<br>
-[[Category:Leicestershire]]