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The following text has information about probate records in the county of Cumberland. To read general information English probate records click [[England Probate Records|here]]. | The following text has information about probate records in the county of Cumberland. To read general information English probate records click [[England Probate Records|here]]. | ||
== Getting Started in Probate Records == | |||
''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 prior to 1858. To look for a probate record for your ancestor, start by discovering where he or she died. If you don’t know, look in the place where they lived or had property. Once you have a place, scroll down in this article and click a letter or span of letters covering the place name. A table appears showing places in the left column and the courts having jurisdiction to the right. Click on the name of the court to learn more. | |||
Beginning in 1858, authority over probate matters was taken from ecclesiastical courts and put under the civil authority of the Principal Probate Registry. The Post-1857 Probate Records section below contains links to additional information about the records of this court. <br><br> | |||
== Cumberland County Probate Courts == | == Cumberland County Probate Courts == | ||
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*[[High Court of Delegates]] | *[[High Court of Delegates]] | ||
The [[Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury]] also served as an appeals court. | The [[Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury]] also served as an appeals court. | ||
== Court Jurisdictions == | == Court Jurisdictions == | ||
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If you don't know where your ancestor lived, search every court. If no will is found, your ancestor may not have left one. | If you don't know where your ancestor lived, search every court. If no will is found, your ancestor may not have left one. | ||
== Probate Indexes Online == | == Probate Indexes Online == | ||
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The [http://www.uclan.ac.uk/ahss/education_social_sciences/history/probate_index.php University of Central Lancashire] has "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 indexes are based on 36,676 wills. Indexes for surnames and for places are free of charge. | The [http://www.uclan.ac.uk/ahss/education_social_sciences/history/probate_index.php University of Central Lancashire] has "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 indexes are based on 36,676 wills. Indexes for surnames and for places are free of charge. | ||
[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CUL/ProbateRecords/index.html ''Wills of Cumberland: Abstracts of Cumberland Probate Records pre-1858''] is being compiled.<br> | [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CUL/ProbateRecords/index.html ''Wills of Cumberland: Abstracts of Cumberland Probate Records pre-1858''] is being compiled.<br> | ||
== Post-1857 Probate Records == | == Post-1857 Probate Records == | ||