Beginning Lesson #31 COURTHOUSE RESEARCH You don't need to be a lawyer to benefit from researching the records at the courthouse near the ancestral home of your progenitors. Your ancestor didn't have to be a criminal or even a wealthy merchant for records on his activities to show up in courthouse files. Whether your research takes you to Arkansas, Virginia or England, states and civilized countries often maintain court records which prove useful to genealogists. Remember, they were originally created to document legal actions, not to chronicle family history. The variety of courthouse records will vary according to the mandates of that particular governmental jurisdiction and your ancestor's point in time. This means as researchers we must acquaint ourselves with the name of the local courts and their assigned responsibilities. For instance, a will might be found in the probate court in a state in the US, but the Prerogative Court of Canterbury is a source of wills in England. Notice that although the responsibility to probate estates is the same, the name of the particular court is different. How can you best orient yourself to the local court system? Check basic reference books such as: Cerny, Johni & Elliot, Wendy, The Library: A Guide to the LDS Family History Library. 1988, Ancestry Publishing. Everton, The Handybook for Genealogists, 8th Edition. Everton Publishing LDS Family History Library, Research Outline: United States, also available for individual states and many countries. Szucs, Loretto & Luebking, Sandra, The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, Revised Edition, 1996, Ancestry Publishing. Using the LDS Family History Library Catalog From a practical point of view, perhaps the easiest way to quickly orient yourself to what's available, use the LDS Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) available on CD-ROM and fiche at local LDS Family History Centers. See also the "Using LDS FHCenters Lessons" on AOL at keyword: DearMYRTLE and on the web at Ancestry: <A HREF="http://www.ancestry.com/home/MYRTLE/fhccheklist.htm">http://www.ances try.com/home/MYRTLE/fhccheklist.htm</A> When you look in the locality section of the FHLC and then look at the topics available at the township, county or country level, you'll run across the topic COURT RECORDS. The available microfilm will be listed, with descriptions and listings for the time period covered on each roll. Viewing court records on microfilm can save you time and money you would have to spend traveling to all the little courthouses throughout the country tracing your ancestry. These more commonly used court records include: wills & probate records guardianships land records oaths of allegiance naturalization claims and equity cases Less commonly used court records include: criminal proceedings name changes adoption records military court martial Admiralty court records court minutes, dockets Indexes May Be Available Often in the FHLC you'll find a printed indexto the court records, usually available in book format. Though the main FHLibrary does not circulate books to local FHCenters, you can perhaps find the book in a nearby public library or through inter-library loan. There may be an online searchable indexfor court records in the locality where your ancestor once lived. This area of the internet is expanding rapidly. The following resources might provide clues: Ancestry's HomeTown Library <A HREF="http://www.ancestry.com/search.htm">http://www.ancestry.com/search.ht m</A> Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites<A HREF="http://www.oz.net/~cyndihow/sites.htm" > http://www.oz.net/~cyndihow/sites.htm</A> US GenWeb Project <A HREF="http://www.usgenweb.com">http://www.usgenweb.com</A> Many early courthouse record collections were "indexed in progress." This is my little name for the loosely alphabetical cross-reference index pages created at the time the case was processed. Here's how it works: 1. The local clerk receives a new empty book to record all wills. 2. The clerk creates index pages by labeling each of the first 24 pages of the book with a letter of the alphabet. 3. As the clerk enters the first will on page 25 of the book, perhaps for John Smith, he also enters the name of the testator on the "S" page of the index, indicating page 25 as the location of the actual will. 4. In this manner a chronological listing of all wills filed by people whose last names begin with the letter "S" will develop on this index page, etc. 5. Note that since the letter "S" is popular, any overflow might be carried to a less popular index page, such as the one designated "Q." Genealogists are wise to search the entire set of "index in progress" pages to ensure they will find listings for their ancestors. Why use courthouse records? In researching my step-mother's line, I found the will of her grandfather. At least I hoped it was her grandfather! We were most fortunate, because the gentleman did as was customary by listing his heirs by name. In the case of his son, who eventually became the father of my step-mother, the will mentioned "my son Edward Bethel Jackson, who moved to Seattle..." Indeed, we knew Edward had broken the mold and moved from the eastern seaboard to the Seattle area where my step-mother was born. The will of her grandfather only confirmed the father-son relationship. Proof of relationships is what we hope to gain by reviewing courthouse records. BEGINNING LESSON #32 Wills and Probate Records Last week's lesson provided an overview to courthouse records for genealogical research. My example was of a step-great-grandfather's will mentioning heirs by name. This is perhaps the main reason we hope to unearth the wills of our elusive ancestors - the confirmation of famillial relationship signed and sealed by the testator. Many write to say their ancestor was a lowly farmer, obviously of humble means, and that there would have been no need for a will. In that case, you can bet he owed someone some money when he died! His estate most certainly went through probate. I think of probate as a general reckoning of what money is owed, how much is available after the funeral expenses, and who gets what in the final analysis. It might help to understand this further if you realize that seemingly insignificant items like belt buckles, a linen shirt and a wooden bucket are items of value mentioned in colonial wills and probate records. A man probably owned one pair of pants and two linen shirts. It took months to grow the flax to weave the linen and to sew the shirt. Remember that even with the arrival of the industrial age, the majority of people had only a few pieces of clothing. The grandiose wealth of post-WWII United States is not the norm from a historical perspective. Of course, if your 17th-19th century ancestor was highly-placed socially, more than likely much has already been done on his family history. Alas, the rest of us must scurry for meager clues from whatever obscure records have withstood the ravages of time. Inheritable items might include: feather beds, wagon box, pick axes, spectacles, shoes, a leather strap, 1 milking cow, two silver spoons, a quilt, an overcoat, and a book of poems. Indeed land, cattle, horses, even slaves changed hands on the death of the father or uncle. Its interesting to note that the idea of an estate passing to wives is a relatively new legal concept. Late 20th century customs often dictate that the wife obtains at least half of the estate. Women did not have the right to own property in many societies of the past. Indeed, if she were to inherit property, it often came to the possession of her husband on their marriage. He could dispense with the inheritance as he willed without consulting her. Amazingly archaic?? Is my prejudice is showing! Reviewing wills and probate proceedings from local courthouse records provide obvious clues to family relationships. There might possibly be clues to towns of origin in the old country. If money is sent back to a distant cousin who lives in a tiny section of London, you'd best begin to search for other family members in that local! Neglecting to look at wills and probate records means you'd miss out on this little peek into history! You'll learn more about your ancestor's daily life in his will, oddly enough, by seeing what he considered valuable inheritable implements and property.