Regarding what you can get from wills, you might consider looking for a probate record even if there is nothing to leave. I made the assumption there would be no will for my ggrandfather who essentially died in poverty after the Civil War. There was in fact no will but there was a CT probate record that gave family information anyway. The burial and estate fees used up the small amount of cash he left but it showed who his heirs were and who paid for the funeral, among other things. It also showed my ggrandmother missing in action for about a year after his death. What that was all about I don't know. I may not ever know but it is one more piece to the puzzle of a very fractured family. Loreen Wells > > Perhaps the best answer I can give you is to report (and I'm sure > others can do so as well) just > what sort of information a will would contain. > > Depending on the circumstances of the one making the will - ie how > much living family and/or > estate to disburse most likely would determine the length of the will. >