{"id":15674,"date":"2018-10-09T20:54:42","date_gmt":"2018-10-09T20:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/?p=15674"},"modified":"2022-04-15T03:52:47","modified_gmt":"2022-04-15T03:52:47","slug":"back-to-the-basics-with-probate-records-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/back-to-the-basics-with-probate-records-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Solved It: Back to the Basics with Probate Records \u2013 Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15676 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Back-toBasics-1-200x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Back-toBasics-1-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Back-toBasics-1.png 683w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/>When someone dies, governments tend to be extremely interested in the dispersal of possessions and real estate the deceased may have had. The resulting legal process is called probate, and it can yield a gold mine of clues buried in the paperwork.&nbsp;In today&#8217;s &#8220;How I Solved It&#8221; guest blog series, professional genealogist Diana Elder AG\u24c7 from <a href=\"http:\/\/familylocket.com\">FamilyLocket.com<\/a> shares some tips for navigating probate records. Here&#8217;s her advice, and the story of Thomas Porch of Chariton County, Missouri:<\/p>\n<p>______________________________________<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Have you explored probate records in the search for your family? Or do they sound too difficult to tackle? With the digitization of microfilm on&nbsp;<em>FamilySearch<\/em>&nbsp;and indexes available on&nbsp;<em>Ancestry,&nbsp;<\/em>&nbsp;probate records are much easier to access than in the past. With an estimated 25% of the United States population leaving a will and an estimated 50% mentioned in a will, why wouldn\u2019t you check out these valuable records?<\/p>\n<p>When should you turn to probate records? At the beginning, middle, or end of your research? Because the possibility of valuable genealogical information is high in this record group, I often list a probate search at the beginning of my research plan.<\/p>\n<h3>What kind of information can you expect to find in a probate record?<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>An individual\u2019s exact death date<\/li>\n<li>Names of the family members<\/li>\n<li>Family relationships<\/li>\n<li>Names of spouses of children<\/li>\n<li>Residences<\/li>\n<li>Adoption or guardianship of minor children or dependents<\/li>\n<li>Worth of the property and land holdings<\/li>\n<li>Evidence of occupation, religion, or military service<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Where can you find probate records?<\/h3>\n<p>Probate records are kept on the county level, so once you\u2019ve determined the county your ancestor might have died, you\u2019ll have a good idea of where to look.&nbsp;<em>Ancestry<\/em>&nbsp;has indexed probate records by state so if you\u2019re not sure about a specific location, a search in the statewide database might pull up your ancestor\u2019s case file. Probate can show up in unexpected locations so don\u2019t discount a record until you have looked at it.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s very important to realize that only the main individual is listed in the index, not the many family members who are listed in a will, administration paper, or final settlement. It is up to you as the researcher to dig into the case file and discover the information that may be key to your research.<\/p>\n<h3>A case study \u2013 the probate of Thomas Porch<\/h3>\n<p>I\u2019ll use the case study of Thomas Porch of Chariton County, Missouri to show what is available and how to access it. I had located Thomas and his family on the 1860 census of Chariton County, but he was missing on the 1870 census. I found three of his children in two different households in 1870 and wondered if he had died between 1860 and 1870. Sure enough, checking the&nbsp;<em>Ancestry&nbsp;<\/em>database, \u201cMissouri Wills and Probate Records, 1766-1988,\u201d I found a Thomas Porch in the Chariton County, Missouri Will Book index. Notice how many pages are referenced in the three different entries for the estate of Thomas Porch in the image below.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15678\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15678\" style=\"width: 856px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-15678\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Thomas-Porch-index.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"856\" height=\"642\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Thomas-Porch-index.png 960w, https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Thomas-Porch-index-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Thomas-Porch-index-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 856px) 100vw, 856px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15678\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u201cMissouri, Wills and Probate Records, 1766-1988,\u201d Chariton County, Missouri Wills and Settlements Vol.1, index.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I began going through the digitized microfilm of the will book, locating each page noted in the index. Then I noticed something strange. The index listed an entry of \u201cPorch Thos \u2013 heirs of B 729, but the digital images of the book&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.familysearch.org\/ark:\/61903\/3:1:3QSQ-G9L9-STBM?i=393&amp;cc=2399107&amp;cat=11701\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">skipped from 727-730.&nbsp;<\/a>&nbsp;Had a page been missed in the microfilming? I viewed the same microfilm on&nbsp;<em>FamilySearch<\/em>&nbsp;and sure enough, the missing page was still missing: the page listing the heirs of Thomas Porch.<\/p>\n<p>Reasoning that the original will book would still be at the county courthouse, I called the Chariton County Courthouse and was directed to the Circuit Clerk over probate. Explaining my dilemma, the clerk took my phone number and went on the hunt. A few minutes later she called me, hoping she\u2019d located the correct book. We compared the names on page 727 and realized this was exactly the right book. She took a photo with her cell phone and texted it to me. Within thirty minutes I had a photograph of the exact image I needed and it listed four of the children of Thomas Porch that were on the 1860 census, positively identifying this as the correct family.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15675\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15675\" style=\"width: 856px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-15675 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/1868-Probate-Thomas-Porch-Chariton-Co-MO-2-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"856\" height=\"482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/1868-Probate-Thomas-Porch-Chariton-Co-MO-2.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/1868-Probate-Thomas-Porch-Chariton-Co-MO-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/1868-Probate-Thomas-Porch-Chariton-Co-MO-2-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 856px) 100vw, 856px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15675\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chariton County, Missouri, Will Book 1 p 729 ; photograph of original page, sent from Circuit Clerk of Chariton County, Missouri.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Steps to locate a probate record<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Start with indexed probate records on&nbsp;<em>Ancestry.&nbsp;<\/em>&nbsp;Remember, only the main individual is indexed so you may want to do some browsing in probate of individuals with your ancestor\u2019s surname. They may be relatives. In the example above, only Thomas Porch was indexed. His heirs named as Jasper, Sarah, Martha, Margaret were not indexed.\n<ul>\n<li>Note the page numbers in the index for your ancestor.<\/li>\n<li>Click through the images until you get to the correct page number.<\/li>\n<li>Create a source citation for the image with the relevant information and include the image number. I also include a link to the image in my research log for easy access later.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>If you don\u2019t find your ancestor initially in the index, remember as with any index, the name may have been misread. You can browse the indexes at the beginning of the county will books, generally alphabetical, for your ancestor. Find these books by using the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.familysearch.org\/catalog\/search\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&nbsp;<em>FamilySearch Catalog.<\/em><\/a>\n<ul>\n<li>Enter the name of the state or county in the \u201cPlace\u201d search box. Don\u2019t type \u201ccounty.\u201d For example type \u201cChariton\u201d not \u201cChariton County.\u201d Select from the options that will pop up your correct county and state. Many states have counties with the same name, so select carefully.<\/li>\n<li>Click on the blue search box and you will be taken to a list of the holdings for that location.<\/li>\n<li>Scroll down to \u201cProbate records\u201d and look for a database with the county probate court as the author. Clicking that database will take you to a screen where you can view the digitized microfilm. Now you have two options.\n<ol>\n<li>Click the red notice that probate records are available online, then click \u201cbrowse through________ images.\u201d You\u2019ll be given several options for counties. Select the county of interest, then you\u2019ll see the list of microfilm to search.<\/li>\n<li>Skip the red notice that probate records are available online, and instead scroll down to the specific microfilm. The screenshot below shows a general index to the county probate records as well as individual volumes that generally also have indexes located at the beginning. You can access the microfilm by clicking on the camera icon shown at the far right.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>Examine each set of records where your ancestor might be listed. Each county organized their record books differently and you\u2019ll want to track down each entry that might apply.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Take good research notes as you\u2019re searching the probate records. In your research log, note exactly what microfilm you viewed, the page numbers, the image numbers, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15677 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Capture-1024x268.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"856\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Capture.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Capture-300x79.png 300w, https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Capture-768x201.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 856px) 100vw, 856px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>What\u2019s next?<\/h3>\n<p>Now that you\u2019ve located a will, estate case file, or other probate documents, what do you do next? Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post where you\u2019ll learn about the various types of probate documents and how you can use them in your research. Once you\u2019ve learned the ins and outs of probate research, you\u2019ll&nbsp; have opened a whole new window of possibilities.<\/p>\n<p>Best of luck in your research efforts!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/familylocket.com\/back-to-the-basics-with-probate-records-part-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Back to the Basics With Probate Records: Part 2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>*******************************************************<\/p>\n<p>You can read Diana&#8217;s original post at <a href=\"http:\/\/familylocket.com\/back-to-the-basics-with-probate-records-part-1\/\">http:\/\/familylocket.com\/back-to-the-basics-with-probate-records-part-1\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ready for part 2 already? You&#8217;ll find it here:&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/familylocket.com\/back-to-the-basics-with-probate-records-part-2\/\">http:\/\/familylocket.com\/back-to-the-basics-with-probate-records-part-2\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you have ideas or stories to share (or know someone who might!) in our \u201cHow I Solved It\u201d series, please let us know!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When someone dies, governments tend to be extremely interested in the dispersal of possessions and real estate the deceased may have had. The resulting legal process is called probate, and it can yield a gold mine of clues buried in the paperwork.&nbsp;In today&#8217;s &#8220;How I Solved It&#8221; guest blog series, professional genealogist Diana Elder AG\u24c7&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":15683,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,12],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/back-to-basics-with-probate-records-part-1-header.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15674"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15674"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16103,"href":"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15674\/revisions\/16103"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rootsfinder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}