I am hoping that this will reach someone on the list who has some special knowledge about the probate of wills and the associated inventories of estates as was practiced in Richland County (perhaps in all of Ohio? or even all of the U.S.?) in the latter part of the 19th century and the early 20th century. I have wills for 6 ancestors who died in Richland County in 1842, 1865, 1874, 1898, 1900, and 1908. All of those persons were landowners. The man who died in 1900 was also recorded for many years as one of the wealthiest persons in Richland County (I should have been an heir!) and was a bank director, so I imagine that he, at least, among these persons had a bank account. Some of the wills I have give specific pieces of property to specific heirs. Some simply say everything is to go to one heir, or is to be divided among certain (or all heirs), etc. What is puzzling me is this: For most of these wills, I also have the "Inventory of Estate" that was preapred by the executor(s) and valued by the appraisor(s), but NONE of those inventories list ANY properties, bank accounts, cash, bouillon, stocks, bonds, or other real property or financial instruments. Can anyone tell me why this would be? Why such property would not be included in the estate inventories and valuations? Would such assets be listed/recorded elsewhere that I have overlooked? In at least one case, the decedent's estate was to be equally divided among his heirs. I have this meagre inventory, that does not include properties I know him to have owned at the time, and I have a copy of the Probate Court's approval of the dispersal of monies by his executors. However, I cannot figure out exactly what happened to those properties. Especially since the receipts signed by his heirs are for such small amounts. Not a really big deal 100 years later, but it really does puzzle me. It also makes me wonder if something was happening here that could explain the migration of heirs who appear to have had none of the financial resources that would be expected to ahve accrued to them from a propertied estate. Can anyone offer any insight into this? Thanks, Jim Boyce