Last week we looked at the uses of wills for family history research, and what you might hope to find in your ancestor’s will. This week, we’ll take a look at why they are often not used, and tackle the problem of finding wills.
Why Are Wills So Under-Utilised?
To be honest, I think people are a little scared of them! The reasons that I have heard often boil down to misconceptions, or things that can be easily overcome. It’s worth the effort! Here are some of them:
‘They’re too hard to read’
True, the writing can be daunting when you first look at it. However, practice does make it easier over time. Here’s a nice little tutorial from the UK’s National Archives on how to read the old script in wills.
As we discussed last week, wills generally have a fairly set pattern in terms of content. My suggestion is to look at that first paragraph where you know the words are fairly standard and use it as a kind of ‘codebreaker’ for the rest of the document. That way, you can also cover patterns in individual writing styles too.
‘My ancestors weren’t rich, so there’s no point in looking for a will’
- Anyone who was an adult, not insane or a criminal, and was male or an unmarried female may have left a will.
- Men with any amount of property who had children would be likely keen to make a will. If they didn’t and his wife remarried, all his property would legally pass to the new husband and any children that man might have with his wife, leaving his own children unprovided for.
- People often made wills if they were going into the military or a sea-faring occupation, or had any reason to believe they would be at risk of dying before their time.
- Of course, this doesn’t mean that the majority of people made wills. It’s human nature to think you’re immortal, even today! Based on comparison with burial records, it seems that between 1 in 3 and 1 in 4 men left wills. That’s pretty good odds that you will find at least one in each family line even if not your direct ancestor. Remember the FAN Club!
‘There wouldn’t be much useful information in them’
It depends on what you mean by ‘useful information’. No, there are no vital records type dates in them. But remember, your ancestors are more than just dates and names. As we discussed last week, wills provide information about your ancestor’s relations and relationships, as well as an idea of his circumstances. And all written in his own voice.
‘I reckon they’d be expensive, they’ve been near a lawyer!’
You’d be surprised. Depending on where you are getting them from, they range from absolutely free through to about the same cost as a single birth, marriage or death certificate in most cases.
‘I wouldn’t know where to find wills’
Okay, there is some level of complexity in finding wills, as they are not usually all in one place for a single country. I am not even going to try to list all the sources for all the countries, or this blog will become a book! I would suggest taking a look here (and here for the UK only, and here for Australia only).
In a nutshell, the location of wills is dependent on the time period, the country, and the location within that country (e.g. county/state). Often they are found in national, state or local archives and record offices near the testator’s last known residence. Increasingly they are to be found digitised and online at some record office and subscription websites but there is still a long way to go.
Finding Wills In England
Probably the most complicated country for finding wills (and the one where most of my readers have ancestors) is England. Therefore, I’ll spend some time explaining how the location of English wills can be determined. If you can locate a will in England, you’ll find the rest of the world a doddle!
Finding Wills After 1858
After 1858, it’s simple. Go here. They’re all there and at about the same price as a certificate. All you need to know is the person’s full name and approximate year of death to find them.
Finding Wills Before 1858
Before 1858, wills were dealt with by the ecclesiastic courts (i.e. the Church). The country is split into dioceses for administration purposes. Each diocese has a bishop and a cathedral. The first step is to work out in which diocese the testator was living at the time of their death. A quick and easy way to do this is to use the FamilySearch Wiki. Enter the name of the parish in the search box and the ecclesiastical jurisdictions are listed in the box on the right of the parish page. That box also tells you the legal jurisdiction and the local archives which in most cases will house the wills proved within that diocese.
You should be able to order the wills online through the record office website in most cases, and if not you can do so by post. Wills for some dioceses are now online and more continue to appear all the time. Check the catalogues of your subscription sites regularly and remember Google is your friend!
Finding Wills When Your Ancestor Had Extensive Or Multiple Properties
If an ancestor had a property that extended across the border into other dioceses (or several properties around the country) his will went to a higher authority to be proven. Each diocese belongs to either the Province of Canterbury or ‘PCC’ (in the South) or the Province of York or ‘PCY’ (in the North). The provinces are headed by an Archbishop. If all his property was within one Province, that Province administered the will. If his property extended beyond one Province, the Province of Canterbury administered it. Also, all wills between 1653-1660 were administered by the PCC.
PCC wills are easy to get. If you have a subscription to TheGenealogist.co.uk or Ancestry.com (or can access either of them through your local library), images are accessible within that subscription. If not, go to the National Archives website and search your ancestor’s name. You can download the will for £3.50.
PCY wills are available from a less commonly known source, the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York, but the search and ordering is done through this link at FindMyPast. PCY wills cost £7.50 and are delivered electronically within a few days.
Finding Wills Means Finding Your Ancestors’ Lives
So as you can see, the hardest part is working out where the will is. Once you know that, it’s generally easy to get a copy. Then the hardest part is reading it, but with practice, you will find that gets easier too. If you need assistance, you can always call on a professional genealogist for help.
Invest some time and effort into finding your ancestors’ (or their FAN Club’s) wills, and I really believe it will pay off for you! Your tree will be better verified, and you will know a lot more about your ancestors’ lives.