Court of the Peculiar of Good Easter

Return to the Essex Probate Records page.

Description
Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. The term probate refers to a collection of documents, including wills, administrations (also called admons), inventories, and act books. The Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process until to 1858.

Step By Step
1. First search each index (see below) to help you more quickly find the will, writing down each detail cited in the indexed entry. 2. Proceed to the "Records Held in This Archive" (below) to determine what original probate records exist for this court. 3. Contact or visit the Essex County Record Office or, hire a professional record searcher to view these records on your behalf. Officials may send upon request a list of record searchers. 4. Or, you can visit The Family History Library, or, one of its 4,500 satellite family history centers worldwide and search indexes to probate records; then with the information obtained from the index[es] you can search more quickly the original wills and admons also on microfilm via any centers near you.

Probate Indexes
The Court of the Peculiar of Good Easter probate records arewell-covered with the following indexes:

Online Indexes
A general will index for Essex County is available online. This single index consolidates Essex county wills of the various probate court jurisdictions, including the various smaller Peculiar Court jurisdictions into one database.

Printed Indexes
If the indexes on the Internet do not produce possible wills for your ancestors, look in the published indexes listed here.

The Essex County Record Office compiled and published a complete surname index covering wills and administrations from eight Essex County probate courts including this court. The index is available in three volumes at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City:


 * Emmison, F. G., ed. [Index to] Wills at Chelmsford.  London: s.n., 1961, by the British Record Society.  *Emmison, F. G., ed.  [Index to] Wills at Chelmsford.  London: s.n., 1961, by the British Record Society.

Original Handwritten Indexes
Other handwritten indexes are listed below in the "Indexes" section. Click on the court name links on the "Essex County Probate Records" home page.

The Peculiar Court of Good Easter probate records are indexed, as well as the Prerogative Court of Canterbury during the Civil War period (1649-1660) for the following years:

1631-1847

Microfilmed Indexes at the Family History Library
Calendar or Registered and Un-registered Wills and Admons of Good Easter 1631-1847

Index of Wills and Admons of Good Easter 1613-1847.

Original (Unregistered) Wills and Registered Wills as well as extant indexes for this court are available on microfilm at the Family History Library and may be circulated to any one of its satellite Family History Centers (see Court of the Peculiar of Good Easter), or go to Family History Library Catalog entry for this court. To view the catalog entry for this court in the Family History Library, please see the Family History Library Catalog.


 * Emmison, F. G., ed. [Index to] Wills at Chelmsford.  London: s.n., 1961, by the British Record Society.  *Emmison, F. G., ed.  [Index to] Wills at Chelmsford.  London: s.n., 1961, by the British Record Society. (see FHL book 942 B4b vols. 78, 79 &amp; 84; also on microfilms 0962739 and 0962740, and on microfiche 6073796, 6073797, and 6073802.)

Visit the Essex County Archives to determine availability in their complete collection of records for this court jurisdiction.

Archive Location
Essex Record Office Archives &amp; Museums Wharf Road Chelmsford CM12 6YT Telephone (01245) 244644 E-mail: [mailto:ero.enquiry@essexcc.gov.uk ero.enquiry@essexcc.gov.uk]

Website: Essex County Record Office

Records Held in this Archive

 * Original Wills &amp; Administrations 1618-1847
 * Inventories 1631-1645, 1676-1719, 1746, 1795

Records Held in the Family History Library

 * Wills &amp; Administrations 1631-1847
 * Calendar 1613-1847

Historical Background
Probate records of this very small Peculiar Court pertain strictly to Good Easter Parish which was granted sanction to probate wills within this jurisdiction. They reside at the County Essex Record Office at Chelmsford today.

These records date from 1631 to 1847.