Ireland Probate Records: Difference between revisions

*'''Wills''', a dated, signed and witnessed document setting out the deceased's bequests. These were the most informative of the probate documents since they were likely to name heirs, give relationships, occupations, places of residence, ownership of property and various details relating to the disposition of a personal estate. There were several types of wills, holograph, nuncupative etc., a good description of these is found in Wills and Their Whereabouts by Anthony J. Camp, 1974 (FHL British Ref. 942 S2wa 1974). The Prerogative wills were transcribed into bound Will Books after they were deposited in the Public Record Office.  

*'''Letters of administration (or admons)''', which indicate that a person died without leaving a will so the court appointed an administrator to oversee estate distribution. These often mention only the names of persons administering the estate and some reference to the approximate date of death may be derived. While these persons are often related, the relationship may not always be easy to recognize.  

*'''Inventories''', were the records of detailed listings of the property of the estate of the deceased. The inventories would list a record of all of the belongings and personal items. Sometimes records of sale or auction are included. The inventories were extant for the years 1688 1858 and a separate list of the inventories existed for the time period 1590 1619.  

*'''Grant or act book'''s, which provide a day by day account of all grants issued in a probate court including the records of grants of probate and included administrations, marriage licenses, faculty of notary public, letters of tutelage and acquittance, commissions and some decrees. The grant books for Ireland dated from 1593 1858, but were mostly destroyed by the fire in the Public Record Office in 1922. The surviving Grant Books are for the years 1684 88, 1748 51 and 1839.

==== Prerogative Court of Armagh ====

Commissioners were appointed in Ireland by Act of 28 Hen. VIII (1536), with power to issue probates, faculties, and dispensations. These had previously been under the direction of the Church of Rome, but after cessation with the Church of Rome, these could be granted by the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. Since the Prerogative Court of Armagh was subordinate to the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, testators with property elsewhere in the British Isles and in Ireland would likely have their will proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury or have a registered copy there.  

"In 1579 (25 May, 21 Eliz.), a commission was granted to Adam, Archbishop of Dublin, and Robert Garvey, M.A., empowering them 'to prove, approve and insinuate the testaments, codicils and last wills and to grant letters of administration, etc., of all and singular persons of the realm of Ireland . . . which have goods and chattels . . . in divers provinces, jurisdictions or dioceses . . . according to the course and order of the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the realm of England.' The Prerogative Court for Ireland was apparently created by Letters Patent of 1 Mar., 23 Eliz." and exercised authority from that date (1581) until the Probate Act of 1857 established the Principal and District probate registries. However, wills and administrations for the Prerogative Court of Armagh date from the appointment of the commissioners in 1536 to 1857.  

The minimum criteria to have a will proved or an estate administered in the Prerogative Court of Armagh was to possess property valued at more than £5 in more than one of the approximately twenty five ecclesiastical dioceses. Wills of the wealthy are often to be found in this court since they were likely to have property in more than one diocese.  

   

==== Prerogative Court of Canterbury ====

The Prerogative Court of Armagh was subordinate to the Prerogative Court of Canterbury in London, England. Since many of the wills proved in the Prerogative Court of Armagh were for the upper class, these individuals often had property in other parts of the United Kingdom. When this was the case, either a copy of the will was deposited in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, or the will was proved in the Canterbury Court and a copy was deposited in Ireland. Therefore, many wills have complete copies existing in the extant wills of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. This collection is also available on microfilm through the Family History Library. For microfilm numbers, see the Family History Library Locality Catalog under the heading "ENGLAND PROBATE RECORDS".  

An index to the Irish Wills in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury for the time period 1832 1901 was made by the staff of W.P.W. Phillimore and were later edited and typed by Cecil Humphery Smith, Duncan Harrington and the staff of the Institute of Heraldic & Genealogical Studies. The indexes were made from abstracts made by Culleton's Heraldic Office. The collection contains abstracts of 559 wills. A surname index to the collection is printed in the Federation of Family History Societies publication The Journal of the Institute of Heraldic & Genealogical Studies Vol. 11 Nos. 73/74, new series 49/50 (Jan 1980).  

==== Registry of Deeds ====

Many wills are registered in the Registry of Deeds, Henrietta Street, Dublin. Often, these were copies of wills proved in other courts. Since the wealthier classes were the ones most likely to dispose of property, a number of the wills are copies of wills proved in the Prerogative Court. In some instances, only the portion of the will relating to the disposition of property was filed in the Registry of Deeds.  

These were abstracted and indexed by P. Beryl Eustace (vol. 1, 2 and 3) and Eilish Ellis (vol. 3). They were published by the Irish Manuscripts <br>Commission, Dublin volume 1: 1956, volume 2: 1954, and volume 3: 1984. Index volumes 1 and 2 of the Registry of Deeds Abstracts of Wills are also on FHL microfilm 896,887 items 1 and 2.  

The entire collection of wills (and deeds) is available on microfilm at the Family History Library. For the microfilm numbers, look in the Family History Library Locality Catalog under the heading "IRELAND LAND AND PROPERTY."  

==== H. A. Richey ====

This collection comprises research into a number of Irish families and contains abstracts of Prerogative Wills made by H. A. Richey circa 1900. The collection is deposited in the National Library of Ireland (Ref. Mss. 8315 16). This collection is not available on microfilm through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  

==== Thomas U. Sadlier (1882-1957) ====

Abstracts of wills compiled by Thomas Ulick Sadlier, Registrar and Deputy Ulster King of Arms contains a number of Prerogative Wills. Sadlier was assisted by Major V.C.T. Hodson. This collection is deposited at the Genealogical Office (Mss. 424 427) and was microfilmed by the Family History Library on FHL microfilm 100,177. Most of the volumes contain indexes at the end of each volume. There are also a few miscellaneous prerogative wills in G.O. Mss. 700 on FHL microfilm 100,178.  

==== David Stewart ====

The Stewart collection consists of copies of extracts of Prerogative wills for the time period 1655 1812 and principally for families in the Diocese of Down and/or families who were living in the counties of Antrim (Belfast), Down, and Dublin. The Prerogative wills are not always noted as taken from that court. A copy of the collection is deposited at the Public Record Office, Northern Ireland, Belfast (Ref. T403). A typescript copy obtained by the Family History Library was microfilmed and is available on FHL microfilm 1,183,517 item 2.  

This typescript copy was presented to the Rev. David Stewart and was acquired by the Family History Library in August, 1956. The forward written in Stewart's own hand reads: <br>"These extracts were made by me in the period between the years 1897 and 1916. In March of the former year I became minister of the congregation in Tralee, and, on visits to the North, it was customary for me to spend a little time in Dublin. On such accessions (sic) I usually spent some time in the Public Record Office and made notes of matters which were of interest to me.  

I lent my manuscript book of extracts of wills to the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records, Belfast, to copy and received this duplicate copy of the same in recognition of my assistance."  

==== Henry B. Swanzy (1873-1932) ====

Dean Rev. H. B. Swanzy compiled an extensive collection of will abstracts, many of which are deposited at the Public Record Office Northern Ireland (Ref. T282 and T1746). The dates of the Prerogative material in this collection span the time period 1681 1846. This material supplements Betham's abstracts due to the extended time period beyond 1800. Much of the material also pertains to the diocesan courts of Clogher and Kilmore and it is probable the Prerogative material relates to individuals in these dioceses as well.  

The Swanzy Collection of wills deposited in the Genealogical Office, Dublin (G.O. Mss. 420) was microfilmed by the Family History Library FHL 100,176 item 2. These typewritten Prerogative will abstracts are mixed in with abstracts from the diocesan courts and are roughly in alphabetical order. They are noted with the term "P. Will" or "Prerog. will" following the name of the testator. These wills are indexed in Analecta Hibernica Vol. 17.  

==== Gertrude Thrift (1872-1951) ====

==== <br>William H. Whelply (1866-1960) ====

William Henry Welply lived to be over ninety years of age and compiled an extensive collection of will abstracts. Copies of his work appear in various record offices. The Representative Church Body Library, Dublin has a collection of many of these will abstracts which cover much of Ireland. The Whelply will abstracts are indexed in Analecta Hibernica Vol. 17.  

The abstracts from this collection relating only to families living in the Cork area were printed and published in the Albert E. Casey Collection. Volume fourteen of this fifteen volume set contains the will abstracts for counties Cork and Kerry and covers the entire time period the Prerogative Court was in existence (1536 1857). The wills are indexed by every name mentioned in the abstract at the end of volume fourteen. However, the index is defective and some entries are missing. The extracts in this collection are typewritten and the printing reduced standard 8 1/2 x 11 pages to accommodate printing four to a single page. Thus, the printing in these volumes is very small and may require the use of a reading glass. This collection (Casey's) was microfilmed by the Family History Library and volume 14 is on FHL microfilm 823,809 item 2. Again, this material was printed only for the Cork area families, the remaining extracts were not published in this work.  

A number of volumes of the Welply collection are also to be found in the Society of Genealogists, London. These cover the time period 1569 1806, thus duplicating much of the Betham collection.  

==== Lorton Wilson ====