[see our followup post here]
Ancestry.com has added a tremendous amount of probate materials to the site for a variety of United States states to their site. A few general comments about these records:
- They are not every name indexed–in many cases it is the individual whose estate is being settled.
- The indexes are not perfect.
- In some cases the Ancestry.com index only indexes the “index page” of the a
ctual court book.
- In some cases the courthouse may have additional records besides the ones Ancestry.com has
- These records can be browsed.
Use the index as a tool–not as gospel. We will have updates on these records as time moves forward. They are a wonderful set of records.
See our first followup to this post. And remember that these online records are incomplete for many counties.
| Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 |
| Alaska, Wills and Probate Records, 1883-1978 |
| Arizona, Wills and Probate Records, 1803-1995 |
| Arkansas, Wills and Probate Records, 1783-1998 |
| California, Wills and Probate Records, 1782-1999 |
| Colorado, Wills and Probate Records, 1875-1974 |
| Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 |
| Delaware, Wills and Probate Records, 1676-1971 |
| Florida, Wills and Probate Records, 1810-1974 |
| Georgia, Wills and Probate Records, 1742-1992 |
| Hawaii, Wills and Probate Records, 1822-1962 |
| Idaho, Wills and Probate Records, 1857-1989 |
| Illinois, Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999 |
| Indiana, Wills and Probate Records, 1798-1999 |
| Iowa, Wills and Probate Records, 1758-1997 |
| Kansas, Wills and Probate Records, 1803-1987 |
| Kentucky, Wills and Probate Records, 1774-1989 |
| Louisiana, Wills and Probate Records, 1756-1984 |
| Maine, Wills and Probate Records, 1584-1999 |
| Maryland, Wills and Probate Records, 1604-1878 |
| Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991 |
| Michigan, Wills and Probate Records, 1784-1980 |
| Minnesota, Wills and Probate Records, 1801-1999 |
| Mississippi, Wills and Probate Records, 1780-1982 |
| Missouri, Wills and Probate Records, 1766-1988 |
| Montana, Wills and Probate Records, 1831-1952 |
| Nebraska, Wills and Probate Records, 1806-1989 |
| Nevada, Wills and Probate Records, 1906-1925 |
| New Hampshire, Wills and Probate Records, 1643-1982 |
| New Jersey, Wills and Probate Records, 1656-1999 |
| New Mexico, Wills and Probate Records, 1801-1993 |
| New York, Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999 |
| North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 |
| North Dakota and South Dakota, Wills and Probate Records, 1800-1985 |
| Ohio, Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998 |
| Oklahoma, Wills and Probate Records, 1801-2008 |
| Oregon, Wills and Probate Records, 1833-1963 |
| Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993 |
| Rhode Island, Wills and Probate Records, 1582-1932 |
| South Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1670-1980 |
| Tennessee, Wills and Probate Records, 1727-2008 |
| Texas, Wills and Probate Records, 1800-2000 |
| Utah, Wills and Probate Records, 1800-1985 |
| Vermont, Wills and Probate Records, 1749-1999 |
| There are several Virginia databases—slightly different from the “Wills and Probates” for other states:
· Virginia Will Records
· Virginia Wills Before 1799
· Virginia Land, Marriage, and Probate Records 1639-1850 |
| Washington, D.C., Wills and Probate Records, 1737-1952 |
| Washington, Wills and Probate Records, 1807-1997 |
| West Virginia, Wills and Probate Records, 1724-1978 |
| Wisconsin, Wills and Probate Records, 1800-1987 |
| Wyoming, Wills and Probate Records, 1864-1915 |
Ancestry.com has added a tremendous amount of probate materials to the site for a variety of United States states to their site. A few general comments about these records:
6 Responses
Virginia is not on the list. It’s the only one that is missing.
Please, please tell me that is just an over site.
There are some Virginia materials on Ancestry.com from court and probate records, but Virginia does not appear to be a part of the large collection of images of probate records that was released earlier this week.
I’m having a wonderful time looking for information. So far I’ve found four wills for ancestors that I didn’t have before. I’ve also found from another will that our Matilda is not the Matilda we thought she was, so I’m back to the drawing board for her. But I am so grateful to have found records that showed we were wrong about her. The wills I’ve found are priceless to me.
Thanks for your tip and your list. It will be very helpful!
You are most welcome. Glad to hear that you are finding things!
I have found that in some cases the administrator’s name or the guardian’s name is the one indexed, rather than the deceased person. Better than nothing! Thanks for the bookmark 🙂
I’ve found that, too! My James Rampley had an “estate” in Ohio in the 1820s according to the index—decades before he died. That’s a good reminder–I may have to make that a tip of the day! 😉