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''[[England]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Somerset]]'' | ''[[England]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Somerset]]'' | ||
The following article is about probate records in the county of Somerset. For general information about English probate records, click [[England Probate Records|here]]. | The following article is about probate records in the county of Somerset. For general information about English probate records, click [[England Probate Records|here]].<br> | ||
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== Description == | == Description == | ||
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''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. | ''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. | ||
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''' section below has a link to an article about probates after 1857. | 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''' section below has a link to an article about probates after 1857.<br><br> | ||
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== Getting Started == | == Getting Started == | ||
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#Follow the instructions on the jurisdictions table page.<br> | #Follow the instructions on the jurisdictions table page.<br> | ||
== Court Jurisdictions by Parish == | |||
Before 1858, every town and parish in Somerset was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary ecclesiastical court and one or more secondary ecclesiastical courts. For a list of Somerset places and the ecclesiastical courts that had pre-1858 juridiction over them, click on a letter link: | |||
{| cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="372" border="1" | |||
|- | |||
| [[Somerset Probate Jurisdictions Parishes A|A]] | |||
| [[Somerset Probate Jurisdictions B|B]] | |||
| [[Somerset Probate Jurisdictions Parishes C|C]] | |||
| [[Somerset Probate Jurisdictions Parishes D|D]] | |||
| [[Somerset Probate Jurisdictions E through J|E-J]] | |||
| [[Somerset Probate Jurisdictions K through M|K-M]] | |||
| [[Somerset Probate Jurisdiction Parishes N through R|N-R]] | |||
| [[Somerset Probate Jurisdiction Parishes S through T|S-T]] | |||
| [[Somerset Probate Jurisdiction Parishes U through Z|U-Z]] | |||
|} | |||
== Somerset Probate Courts == | == Somerset Probate Courts == | ||
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== Probate Indexes == | == Probate Indexes == | ||
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*[http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/Wills.htm http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/Wills.htm] | *[http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/Wills.htm http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/Wills.htm] | ||
*[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/browse-refine.asp?CatID=6&searchType=browserefine&pagenumber=1&query=*&queryType=1 Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (1384-1858)] | *[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/browse-refine.asp?CatID=6&searchType=browserefine&pagenumber=1&query=*&queryType=1 Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (1384-1858)] | ||
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== Some Explanatory Notes about the Somerset Probate Courts == | |||
"All probate records of the Diocese of Bath and Wells which had been deposited in the Probate Registry at Exeter were destroyed there in 1942. The records destroyed were those of the Consistory Court of Bath and Wells, the Archdeaconry Courts of Wells and Taunton, the Consistory Courts of the Dean and Chapter and of the Dean [of Wells], the Peculiar Courts of the Precentor, the Chancellor and Sub-Dean of Wells, the Royal Peculiar Court of Ilminister, and the various Prebendary Courts."<ref>Camp, Anthony J., ''Wills and Their Whereabouts,'' London: by the author, 1974. FHL book 942 S2wa, page 116.</ref> | |||
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