Hi all For those who have a subcription to Ancestry or access through a library - The National Probate Calendar 1861-1941 (index of wills and administrations) is available to search. Think it will be officially launched tomorrow but it is already showing on the site. Kathy Wirral

Hi All this is the message from SOG > An incomplete set of spare probate calendars (presumably from a > defunct local probate registry) came on the market a few years ago and > was obtained by East of London FHS. A note on their recent > e-newsletter suggests they sold them onto Ancestry > > Hence this Ancestry wills project doesn't seem to be a formal licence > agreement with the Courts Service but a private initiative. I guess > filling in the gaps depends on what Ancestry can negotiate with anyone > who has books for the missing years. Most of the copies around in ROs > are on film or fiche and these images have, it seems, been scanned > from the books. The images of the Ancestry books will not have any of > the marginal annotations or corrections that appear in the full set of > calendars at the Principal Probate Registry in High Holborn. > > For those of us who have been attending the interminable meetings with > the Courts Service in which we have heard promises of an online index > - don't hold your breath!! > > Perhaps the Courts Service will be stirred into action if they see a > growth in the number of copies of will ordered generated by the easier > availability of the calendars. > > The front page of the Library version of Ancestry.co.uk doesn't yet(as > of > yesterday) have a direct link to the wills database but staff and > volunteers in the Lower Library at SoG can help anyone find it if they > wish to use this online indexes at the SoG > > > Else Churchill > > Genealogist > > Society of Genealogists > > 14 Charterhouse Buildings > > Goswell Road > > London EC1M 7BA > > direct phone 020 7702 5488 > > visit the Society of Genealogists' Website www.sog.org.uk Pam "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a good looking and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, shouting - Wow! What a ride!" -----Original Message----- From: eng-merseyside-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:eng-merseyside-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Kathy Binns Sent: 11 August 2010 5:20 PM To: ENG-LIVERPOOL@rootsweb.com; eng-merseyside@rootsweb.com Subject: [ENG-MERSEYSIDE] Probate Calendar now on Ancestry Hi all For those who have a subcription to Ancestry or access through a library - The National Probate Calendar 1861-1941 (index of wills and administrations) is available to search. Think it will be officially launched tomorrow but it is already showing on the site. Kathy Wirral ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-MERSEYSIDE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message