Hi Terence There are 811 William CARTERs deaths registered between 1851 & 1861 84 in 1856 Unfortunately age at death was not recorded in the index then There were four William CARTERs deaths registered in Camberwell , 1 in 1852 & 3 in 1854, although he may have been away from home when he died, deaths should be registered where they occurred I admire your optimism re him leaving a will, when you compare the amount of deaths, very few left a will You say he was a bootmaker? do you know if he traded on his own account, far more worked for another person and even if he did have his own place he is likely to have passed his stock to a son or relative rather than declare anything, if he left no will and did not own property, his wife and family may well have sorted his affairs with no further paperwork Death duties only kicked in at a certain level so he may have left a sum below the threshold Have you tried the PCC wills on the National Archives , it seems unlikely but worth checking If he left a will 1858 onwards it should be recorded in the Calendars of wills, the 1858 to 1861 are not as yet on Ancestry Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) > > I have an ancestor who died between the 1851 and 1861 censuses. An undocumented family "tree" > lists his death as 1856. In the 1851 census he and his family were living in St. Giles, > Camberwell. I have not found a death registration or death duty will for him which is strange > because he was a bootmaker and must have had some stock in trade. > > Where and how do I look for a will for him: William Carter (1811-c. 1856)? > > Of course, maybe he didn't die. He just abandoned his wife and family. There's a scary thought. > > Thanks, > > Terence > Golden, Colorado in the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains