10,814
edits
added Getting started info
mNo edit summary |
(added Getting started info) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
England & | [[England]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Gloucestershire]] | ||
For an explanation of probate records in England, click [[England Probate Records|here]]. | For an explanation of probate records in England, 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/her heirs. | |||
In order to find a probate record for your ancestor, you must answer two questions: | |||
#When did your ancestor die? | |||
#Where did your ancestor live or own property? | |||
A key date is 1858, when probate authority was taken from the ecclesiatical courts of the Church of England and given to the civil government. | |||
*If your ancestor died before 1858, his/her probate would have been proven by an ecclesiatical court and it is important to know where he/she lived, as that will determine which courts had jurisdiction. | |||
*If you know where your ancestor lived before 1858, you should go to the '''Court Jurisdictions''' section below to determine what courts had jurisdiction over your ancestor's place of residence. | |||
*Beginning in 1858, probate authority was vested in the '''Principal Probate Registry''' system. For more information, scroll to the '''Post-1857 Probate Records''' section at the bottom of the page. | |||
Once you have answered the two questions and determined the courts, look for indexes. Indexes will be found on the individual court pages (when you click on a court name) or in the '''Probate Indexes''' section below.<br><br> | |||
== Gloucestershire Probate Courts == | |||
The following courts had some probate jurisdiction over Gloucestershire before 1858. | |||
*[[Court of the Bishop of Hereford]], pre-1541 | *[[Court of the Bishop of Hereford]], pre-1541 | ||
| Line 29: | Line 48: | ||
Before 1858, every town and parish in Gloucestershire was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and one or more secondary courts. To see a list of Gloucestershire parishes and the pre-1858 courts that had probate jurisdiction over them, click on a letter link: | Before 1858, every town and parish in Gloucestershire was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and one or more secondary courts. To see a list of Gloucestershire parishes and the pre-1858 courts that had probate jurisdiction over them, click on a letter link: | ||
{| | {| cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="1" width="267" style="width: 267px; height: 24px;" | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Gloucestershire Probate Jurisdictions. Parishes beginning with A|A]] | | [[Gloucestershire Probate Jurisdictions. Parishes beginning with A|A]] | ||