OHIO STATEWIDE FILES - ARTICLE: Visiting Courthouses [Part III] *************************************************************************** OHGENWEB NOTICE: All distribution rights to this electronic data are reserved by the submitter. Reproduction or re-presentation of copyrighted material will require the permission of the copyright owner. *************************************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Donna Wolf wolfgen@hotmail.com January 1, 1999 *************************************************************************** PROBATE COURT RECORDS (refers primarily to 19th century) The probate court records are probably used the most by family researchers. The will of an ancestor can provide proof of lineage and identify parents, siblings and other relatives. In making notes on the will abstract the name of the person writing the will, the date signed, the date recorded at the courthouse which may be several years later The names of the heirs and their relationship to the deceased, any transfer of property mentioned in the will or other items of interest, and the names of the executor and the witnesses. For purposes of documentation be sure to list the Will Book no. or letter and the pages where the will was found. The executor may be one of the children or an in-law. The witnesses may be neighbors, but also may be related in some way. The elusive "maiden name" of the female ancestor may be found through one of these persons. What if your ancestor did not leave a will, which happened in many cases? The official term is that the person died "intestate". There may still be an estate file. Ploughing through an estate file takes time, and the genealogical information may or may not be there. It would be valuable to copy the estate file, and take it home to read at your leisure. The estate file might contain the names of appraisers who evaluated your ancestor's property in preparation for a sale. The appraisal itself gives you an idea of the nature of your ancestor's worldly possessions. Frequently the file includes a list of individuals who purchased items at the property sale. These again may be neighbors, but there are frequently relatives listed. Sometimes the file includes a list of your ancestors' creditors, and how much money each received when the estate was settled. Sometimes the creditors lived out of state, in a location which may have been your ancestor's previous residence, an important find. If you continue to read carefully, toward the end there may be a page showing a distribution of the proceeds, to the widow if there is one, and frequently to the heirs. Also, if your ancestors died and left minor children, there may be a reference to provisions for guardianship. Look for additional information on guardianship provisions in the Common Pleas or other court records. The estate papers may reference property. Look at the deeds index for a sale of property which may have been handled or sold to a relative. Check land partition records to see if the family disputed the division of the property. These records are a gold mine of information for genealogists. The estate file has to be read very carefully, and all possible clues noted. The older the record the more important this becomes. To be continued ==== OHROOTS Mailing List ====