FamilySearch Wiki:Wiki Project Pennsylvania/Tasks-Probate Records on FamilySearch.org

WikiProject Pennsylvania Progress Chart  Pennsylvania Wiki Project Task - Probate Records on FamilySearch.org

Task
Wiki Project Pennsylvania Tasks - Probate Records on FamilySearch.org

Description
Add links for Pennsylvania probate records located on Historical Records (located on FamilySearch.org) to the Probate Records heading on the county page. This task has 2 parts.

PART A
1. Copy the following and paste it in wikitext after any database indexes listed under the Probate Records heading (if there are no databases, paste it in after the PA Probate Intro template):


 * Online Probate Records

Original county-by-county Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994 are available free online as digital images at FamilySearch.org. To access these records, click Historical Records below, then click "Browse through 3,197,552 images." Then select the county name, and then the probate records and time of interest. Some indexes are included. Dates vary for each county and not all counties are currently listed.

2. Go to Part B.

PART B
1. In wikitext add the following directly under the text you added in Part A replacing "Essex" with your county name.


 * :* - Essex County:

2. Now go to and click on your county.

3. List each major probate record type(wills, administrations, and estate files - wills and administrations are sometimes labeled "Probate Records") with the corresponding dates in alpha order after the name of the county. Be sure to bold any indexes you list. Format the list to look like the following:


 * - Essex County: Guardianship orders, 1869-1910; Guardianship records, 1847-1902; Letters, 1831-1902; Will and Letter index, 1799-1938; Wills, 1803-1904

Example Part A and Part B
Online Probate Records

Original county-by-county Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994 are available free online as digital images at FamilySearch.org. To access these records, click Historical Records below, then click "Browse through 3,197,552 images." Then select the county name, and then the probate records and time of interest. Some indexes are included. Dates vary for each county.


 * - Essex County: Guardianship orders, 1869-1910; Guardianship records, 1847-1902; Letters, 1831-1902; Will and Letter index, 1799-1938; Wills, 1803-1904

Example of Completed Probate Records Heading
Probate matters in Berks County, Pennsylvania are handled by the Orphans' Court. To obtain original probate records, contact the Orphan's Court in the County Courthouse.

In addition to wills and administrations, the Orphans' Court also handles: audits of accounts of executors, administrators, trustees, and guardians; distribution of estates of decedents, incompetents, and minors; appointment and control of guardians; adoptions; appeals from the Register of Wills involving probate matters; inheritance tax appeals and various petitions and motions.

Online Probate Indexes


 * 1626-1836 - Pennsylvania Wills, 1626-1836 on Ancestry. Taken from Fernow, Berthold, comp. and ed. "Calendar of Wills." New York, NY, USA: 1896. - ($).
 * 1878-1939 - Will Index, Lackawanna County, located on PAGenWeb - also includes deceased's death date

Online Probate Records

Original county-by-county Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994 are available free online as digital images at FamilySearch.org. To access these records, click Historical Records below, then click "Browse through 3,197,552 images." Then select the county name, and then the probate records and time of interest. Some indexes are included. Dates vary for each county and not all counties are currently listed.


 * - Essex County: Guardianship orders, 1869-1910; Guardianship records, 1847-1902; Letters, 1831-1902; Will and Letter index, 1799-1938; Wills, 1803-1904

Original Probate Records on Microfilm


 * 1752–1860 Wills - Index included: 1752-1915
 * 1752-1851 Administration Letters and Bonds - Index included: 1752 - 1915
 * 1752-1915 Estate Files - Arranged alphabetically by surname

Additional Probate Indexes and Abstracts

Additional probate indexes or abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Berks County Pennsylvania probate wills in online catalogs like:


 * Historical Society of Pennsylvania
 * WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
 * (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).