Many times when we find an ancestor's will, there will be a codicil or more than one. The ancestor could have re-written the entire will, but normally, they just made changes to the will's provisions by adding one or more codicils. What could cause the need for a revision to the original will? The spouse had died A child had died A married son or daughter had divorced. A child had disappeared into parts unknown There was a wayward child. He/she was written out of the will. A child had married and had children who needed to be added to the will A child had become disabled and needed a guardian appointed The ancestor had bought more land which needed to be cited in the will. The ancestor had sold land which had been given to a child or spouse. The ancestor's health had become impaired and he/she needed one or more of the children to live on the land and take care of them. Slaves had been bought, sold, died or had more children An heir had moved out of the area and didn't want what was given him. A business possibly co-owned with another had gone out of business. A guardian appointed in the will had died or refused to quality. An executor named had died or refused to quality. I'm sure you can think of many more reasons. When you read your ancestor's will and there is a codicil, try to determine what had happened in this individual's life that caused the need to revise the will. Sandi Sandi's Puzzlers: http://www.gensoup.org/gorinpuzzles/index.php Sandi's site: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/