Jennifer Sherwood Braswell jensgen@iol10.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Family Tree Finders <soda-send@gt.sodamail.com> To: <jensgen@mail.integrityonline10.COM> Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2000 4:22 AM Subject: Family Tree Finders Tuesday June 20, 2000 : : : FAMILY TREE FINDERS : Tuesday - 20 June 2000 : : Understanding how to locate wills. : : : : : FAMILY TREE FINDERS : Tuesday - 20 June 2000 : : Locating Wills : : Last week we discussed the different types of wills and : some of the terms that can be misleading in them. : However, it may be that you have not had an instance to use : wills yet and therefore do not know where to locate them. : : Wills are generally found in the county courthouse where : the individual lived. This may or may not be where they : died. However, this is usually more the case with more : contemporary individuals than it is with many of our : ancestors prior to the 1900s. So the best thing to do is to : first determine where the ancestor was living and then : begin the search at that country courthouse. : : Some books that can be of use in determining if the : courthouse is the place to begin your research are: : : -- Everton's "The Handybook for Genealogists" : -- Ancestry's "Red Book, American State, County & Town : Sources" : -- Elizabeth Petty Bentley's "County Courthouse Book" : : The most obvious exception to this rule of the records being : found in the county courthouse is for the states of New : England. Many of them have these files on either a town or : district level. This information will be detailed in the : above-mentioned books. : : Once you have determine the jurisdiction of the records : wanted, the next step would be to check the Family History : Library Catalog. This is a catalog of the holdings of the : Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Through your : local Family History Center, often listed in your telephone : book in the yellow pages under Church of Jesus Christ of : Latter-day Saints, you may have access to these films. By : researching the records yourself, you can say with a higher : sense of assurance that the record does not exist there if you : do not find it. Often getting copies of such a record from : the microfilm is often less expensive as well. : : You will find that many of the probate records have some : sort of index to them. Some will index by decedant, which : may be in a general index. Other times you will find that : the individual volumes are indexed. This means you must : have an idea of when your ancestor died in order to request : the correct volume. : : There will still be times when it becomes necessary to write : and request copies of the actual probate papers. Sometimes : this will be simply the will. Other times it may be the entire : probate packet complete with will, receipts, inventory, and : other papers generated during the probating of the estate. : : : : : : Rhonda R. McClure : rhondam@sodamail.com : : : If you know someone who is interested in genealogy, : please forward this entire message to them! : _________________________________________________ : : IMPORTANT ADDRESSES: : Sodamail Web site: http://www.sodamail.com : : TO UNSUBSCRIBE VIA WEB : Click on the following link to be unsubscribed immediately: : http://gt.sodamail.com/exec/gt/unsubscribe_FT.html?user=#user : [gtKey|encoded]# : : NOTE: You can subscribe to other Sodamail newsletters at the same : time! : : TO UNSUBSCRIBE VIA E-MAIL : Send blank email message to: : leave-family-tree-finders@gt.sodamail.com : : TO SUBSCRIBE VIA E-MAIL : Send blank email message to: : join-family-tree-finders@gt.sodamail.com : : Need help? -- write to: help@sodamail.com : Have questions--write to our editor: editor@sodamail.com : __________________________________________________ : COPYRIGHT 1999-2000 SodaMail LLC. All rights reserved : http://www.Sodamail.com : : : : : :