Connecticut Probate Records

United States   Connecticut   Probate Records UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Record Synopsis

Probate is the “court procedure by which a will is proved to be valid or invalid” and encompasses “all matters and proceedings pertaining to the administration of estates, guardianships, etc.”

Various types of records are created throughout the probate process. These may include, wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. These documents are extremely valuable to genealogists and should not be neglected. In many instances, they are the only known source of relevant information such as the decedent’s date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their places of residence. They may also include information about adoption or guardianship of minor children and dependents.

For further information about the probate process, types of probate records, analyzing probate records, and to access a glossary of probate terms, see United States Probate Records.

History

Probate records in Connecticut are kept by probate district courts. In many cases a probate district consisted of a larger community and several nearby smaller towns. Sometimes a probate district crossed county boundaries.

Repositories

Local

• The Connecticut State Library has numerous files of wills, bonds, letters, and other probate documents. For more information, go to http://www.cslib.org/probintr.htm

• You can obtain copies of probate records from the local probate district offices.

Regional

• The New England Historic Genealogical Society located in the heart of downtown Boston, Massachusetts has early Connecticut probate records available on microfilm. To search their online library catalog click Here.

National

• The Family History Library located in Salt Lake City, Utah has most of the pre-1880  probate packets arranged by district and then by surname on 1,622 microfilms. These packets can include wills, codicils, bonds, applications and petitions, inventories, court orders, court returns, distributions, accounts of administration, receipts, and miscellaneous probate records. For collection details see the Family History Library Catalog. Use the "Place Search" option to search for a specific Connecticut county or town. Then look for the topic labeled "Probate Records."

Statewide Record Collections

• Manwaring, Charles Williams, compiler. A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records. 3 volumes. Hartford [Connecticut]: R.S. Peck & Company, 1904-1906. (FHL book 974.6 P2m; CD-ROM no. 2872). Contains probate record abstracts of early Connecticut Colony and Hartford Probate District. The series, which is made up of the first fifteen original volumes, covers the years 1635-1750 and includes wills, inventories, distributions of estates and court records. Volume 1 identifies the changes made in the different Probate Districts of Connecticut from the beginning, and includes information concerning the district boundaries. A digital version of the three volume set is available online at Internet Archive:
  Volume 1 (1635-1700), Volume 2 (1700-1729), Volume 3 (1729-1750).

• Probate Estate Files, 1881-1915. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1990-1994. (On 577 FHL films beginning with 1685090). Microfilm of original records in the Connecticut State Library.

• Probate Files Collection, Early to 1880. Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1977-1979. (On 1,

• Trumbull, J. Hammond. The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, Prior to the Union with New Haven Colony, May, 1665; Transcribed and Published (In Accordance with a Resolution of the General Assembly,) Under the Supervision of the Secretary of State, with Occasional Notes and an Appendix. Hartford [Connecticut]: Brown and Parsons, 1850. (FHL book 974.6 N2c v. 1). Early colonial "Wills and Inventories" can be found on pages 442-508. A digital version of this book is available at Internet Archive.

• The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut (see Connecticut Public Records).
  
  The Connecticut State Library's index to these records for 1641 to 1948 is available on microfilm at the Family History Library (FHL films 166000-66).

Learn More

Published Materials

• The Connecticut State Library has created a helpful online research guide for determining Connecticut probate districts and available records. To access the online Research Guide to Connecticut Probate Districts click Here.

• Kemp, Thomas J. Connecticut Researcher's Handbook. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1981. (FHL 974.6 D23k.); The book describes each of Connecticut's probate districts and contains a detailed list of available sources.

• Melnyk, Marcia D. Genealogist's Handbook for New England Research, 4th ed. Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1999. (FHL 974 D27g.)