Petitions to administrate estates can tell us many things. Those things usually focus on the fact that someone died, who their heirs were, and that they had an estate worth probating. Then there are times when petitions tell us items that are unexpected.

The petition of Herman U. Behrens to administrate the estate of Ricka Behrens was slightly different. It indicated that she died on or about 9 August 1889 twenty-one hours after her husband, was survived by four children (Herman Behrens, Harm Behrens, Trientje Sartorius, and Volke Sartorius), and that her only estate was the interest she had in her deceased husband’s estate because he had predeceased her.

Interesting that the court simply didn’t just administrate her husband’s estate. That might make one wonder if they had the same heirs or if the court just decided it was best to “follow protocol.”

Of course probating Ricka’s estate separately from that of her husband meant there were additional court and legal fees.

Adams County, Illinois, Probate Court Files, Box 276, Estate of Ricka Behrens, Petition of Herman U. Benrens to be Appointed Administrator, 16 August 1889; Ancestry.com, “Illinois, Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999” (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 January 2016), citing FHL microfilm publication 933949.