Dianna, Guess you've gathered from the other responses that the filing and recording of the will is just the beginning of the whole probate process. Each county manages to archive their records quite differently. The York County Archives, for instance, stores 'probate packets' where you can easily review all of the records in one place. Lancaster County, however, has their records in multiple locations. The Office of Records and Archives maintains the Administration Bonds, the Orphans Court records, and the indexes to the inventories and accounts (reports that the executors or administrators file). The Lancaster Historical Society has the copies of the actual inventories and accounts. I usually do my research in person, so you probably should contact both repositories to see how they can help you out. I went back through my records and found the following baptisms for Michael's children: These came from someone's typed notes placed in the "Brenner" surname file at the Lancaster Hist Soc, so I don't know the source of their information. The baptisms were at the Maytown Lutheran Church (so much for the Mennonite idea): Elizabeth, bapt. 23 Sep 1811, sponsor: Elizabeth Gorner Maria, bapt. 5 Sep 1815, sponsor: Philip and Maria Brenner. [My note: Philip and Maria Brenner are Michael's parents, and Elizabeth Gorner is his Aunt.] Here, also, are two additional pieces of information I've collected on individuals named Michael Brenner. (1) There was a Michael Brenner who m. Barbara Eichholtz in Feb 1810 in York Co. Barbara was the sister of Jacob Eichholtz, who m. Michael's sister Catherine. They had one known child, Elizabeth, who was born about 1811. Barbara was definitely dec'd by 1824, when her father wrote his will. It is certainly possible that she was the first wife of Michael and the mother of the Elizabeth whose baptism record is given above. (2) There was a Michael Brenner who m. Susanna "Susan" Shnellbecker in Jan 1813 in York Co. I know nothing else about this couple. I hope something here will turn out to be helpful. I usually spend a week in Lancaster in the April-May timeframe. Let me know if you're still 'stuck' and I'll see what I can find for you. Pam http://www.lancasterhistory.org/index.html http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/courts/cwp/view.asp?a=474&Q=262027 ----- Original Message ----- From: <mtmodie@aol.com> To: <PALANCAS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2005 12:47 PM Subject: [PALANCAS] re: Probate Records- Michael Brenner-Mt. Joy Township, Lancaster County > Where would I look to see if there were probate records for my Michael Brenner that died in 1840. I have a copy of his will but would there also be probate records? > > Thank you. > > Dianna > > > ==== PALANCAS Mailing List ==== > List Owner can be reached for help with the list at > PALANCAS-Admin@rootsweb.com > >