I have found a distant relative listed on the East Kent Wills web site and would be interested in obtaining a copy of the Will and Probate. I have checked the NA and Canterbury Archive web sites but neither seems to list the individual concerned. Russell Whitbread Lavender died in April 1844 at Canterbury. Grateful for a pointer as to where would be the best place to obtain a copy of the documents? Regards Andy Claxton

Hello Andy, The original wills from the series in which this particular Will appears (registered Wills of the Archdeaconry Court of Canterbury) is kept at the Kent County archives, the Centre for Kentish Studies, at Maidstone. It is to that office you would have to go or write for a copy. However, you can also obtain a microfilm of the Will via your local LDS Family History Centre on film number 0189012, in vol. 111, on folio 137. To find a centre near you go to www.familysearch.org and on the opening page towards the middle bottom is a search box for finding centres. Alternatively, you could order a copy by mail from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Cost is US$2.00 per page with a minimum order of US$4.00. You will have to estimate the number of pages to order - a basic Will without a large family to consider as beneficiaries might run 4 pages, taking into account the beginning and ending of a Will may be on partial pages. A large number of beneficiaries or a lot of land to distribute could run the Will over 8 to 10 pages. There are also services that can obtain copies of the Will for you. Some are very reasonable but others are not. Sincerely, Susan D. Young, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada County Administrator, Kent OPC www.kent-opc.org Chief Executive, Ancestry Solutions www.ancestrysolutions.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andy Claxton" <familysearch@f2s.com> To: <KENT-ENG@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 10:00 AM Subject: [KENT-ENG] Obtaining copy of a pre 1858 Will and Probate >I have found a distant relative listed on the East Kent Wills web site and > would be interested in obtaining a copy of the Will and Probate. I have > checked the NA and Canterbury Archive web sites but neither seems to list > the individual concerned. Russell Whitbread Lavender died in April 1844 > at > Canterbury. > > Grateful for a pointer as to where would be the best place to obtain a > copy > of the documents? > > Regards > > Andy Claxton > > >

Andy Claxton wrote: > I have found a distant relative listed on the East Kent Wills web site and > would be interested in obtaining a copy of the Will and Probate. I have > checked the NA and Canterbury Archive web sites but neither seems to list > the individual concerned. Russell Whitbread Lavender died in April 1844 at > Canterbury. > > Grateful for a pointer as to where would be the best place to obtain a copy > of the documents? Hi Andy Can't really add anything to Susan's really good advice for finding the will but wanted to say that as your man had a middle name of Whitbread I just wondered if he had any connection to the famous brewers WHITBREDS. If so you may well find out more about him from their archives. Just thought this might be of interest to you best wishes Liz __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5148 (20100526) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com