I read that the Gallia County Historical and Genealogical Society keeps copies of wills from 1803 until 1946. I have a copy of the Wills and Estates 1803-1900 book and a few of my family who died in the 1800's are not listed. What was the procedure in Gallia County when a will was not left? Is it possible that a will was recorded at the courthouse and a copy did not make it into the book? Thank you very much. Karen

Karen, Unfortunately, many people just didn't leave a will and many still don't today. That is a problem when trying to prove ancestors during that time frame. Early census records list the head of the house and the number of people in the household but no names. I know from the census records I have family members in Gallia County but they didn't seem to feel they need a will. Then you need to find other sources, family records, bible records, church records, even old letters can help, tombstones.Sometimes we just hit a dead end that an answer may never be found but that is what makes genealogy so interesting. You have to be a detective and search out all the clues and hope you find something and sometimes it is in a place you never expect. Hardesty's may also show the family was in the area but this is just a family history and may lineage societies will not accept this as proof. This is why so many lineage societies are hard to join. I know it is frustrating because I have been trying to prove one family for years with very little luck. I know they were here, they just didn't leave enough proof. Marjorie L. Wood ----- Original Message ----- From: <Ash689@aol.com> To: <OHGALLIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 8:17 PM Subject: [OHGALLIA-L] Without a Will > I read that the Gallia County Historical and Genealogical Society keeps > copies of wills from 1803 until 1946. I have a copy of the Wills and Estates > 1803-1900 book and a few of my family who died in the 1800's are not listed. > What was the procedure in Gallia County when a will was not left? Is it > possible that a will was recorded at the courthouse and a copy did not make it into > the book? > Thank you very much. > Karen > > > ==== OHGALLIA Mailing List ==== > For those of you on Digest mode, please don't quote the entire digest when replying. Also, check your subject line; making it meaningful will increase your chances of being read. > > > > > _____________________________________________________ > This message scanned for viruses by CoreComm >