A few days ago, I saw a list of wills of inhabitants of Todmorden, on the Public Record Office website. (See below for the details of these wills.) The PRO website is www.pro.gov.uk , and you can find the wills by clicking on the link to 'pro-online', and then selecting 'probate wills' and typing the word Todmorden into the first 'keyword' box, and then clicking on 'search'. Of course, you can type in any keyword, such as the surname you are researching, and you will then find the wills for anyone with that surname, anywhere in the country. You can even download a copy of the will itself for £3 per will. (I haven't tried this.) Once you arrive at the page which gives the name of the will writer, and the date of probate of the will, you can click on the 'view details' box to the right of the person's name, and you can see how many pages the will is written on, so it gives you an idea of how much you would get for your money. If there is only one page, it might just say 'I leave everything to my wife', and give the signatures of a couple of witnesses, which can be a bit disappointing. However, some wills give the names of all the surviving children and sometimes other relatives, and list properties that were owned by the person who wrote the will. Even if you don't pay to see the will itself, the list of wills gives you the date the will was 'proved' or accepted, so you will know that the person is likely to have died sometime during the previous few months, so it can be a good way of finding someone's death. However, I only found five wills for Todmorden inhabitants on the website, although I gather that wills for other years are going to be added from time to time. There may be other wills on the PRO website of people connected with Todmorden, as some people born in Todmorden will have moved elsewhere later, and they would therefore not be found by searching for 'Todmorden'. If you find the will of anyone else who you know is connected with Todmorden, please let us all know, by sending an e-mail to this mailing list: there may be others who are interested in the same people. Wills found on the PRO website: PROB 11/2117. 7 August 1850. John Fielden of Centre Vale near Todmorden, Lancs. PROB 11/2234. 6 June 1856. James Fidden, picker maker of Clough near Todmorden, Lancs. PROB 11/2076. 17 June 1848. William Eastwood, solicitor of Todmorden, Yorks. PROB 11/2030. 18 February 1846. Reverend Joseph Cowell, Clerk, Incumbent of Todmorden, Lancs. PROB 11/2087. 10 February 1849. Joshua Fielden of Waterside near Todmorden, Lancs. Hope this helps someone! Anne