Wales, Probate Abstracts - FamilySearch Historical Records

Wales

What is in the Collection?
This is a collection of abstracts of wills and administrations originally recorded in the six consistory courts, including the dioceses of:


 * Bangor
 * Brecon
 * Hawarden
 * Llandaff
 * St. Asaph
 * St. David's

This collection covers records for the years 1544 to 1858. The abstracts were created from microfilming done at the National Library of Wales. Information in the abstracts was extracted, independently checked and proof-read. They are an excellent working guide to the names, relationships and place names contained in the original documents. Images of original wills and administrations are available on the National Library of Wales website. This collection is being published as images become available.

Collection Contents
Probate extracts generally include the following:


 * Name of the deceased
 * Residence
 * Type of document
 * Death date
 * Probate date
 * Burial place
 * Names of heirs such as spouse, children, guardians, and other relatives or friends along with their relationship to the deceased and their residence.

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of ancestor
 * Residence
 * Approximate death or probate date

Searching the Collection
To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the appropriate "Diocese" ⇒ Select the appropriate "Record type and date range" which will take you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s abstract, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example:


 * Use probate records to identify heirs and relatives.
 * Use the information in the probate record to substitute for civil birth and death records since the probates exist for an earlier time period.
 * You may be able to use the probate record to learn about land transactions.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the residence or place of birth of the deceased to locate census, church, and land records.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * The records are quite reliable because of their legal nature.
 * You may be able to use the probate record to learn about adoptions or guardianship of any minor children and dependents.
 * Probate records may not give an exact death date, but a death most often occurred within a few months of the date of probate. Use the document (such as the will) or the recording dates to approximate a death date.
 * Compile the entries for every person who lived in the same parish as the deceased; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have died in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * The contents of probate records vary greatly depending on the prevailing law, local customs and the personality of the record keeper.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record.
 * Although extracts are often easier to locate and to read than the actual probate documents, it is always a good idea to also read the original probate documents as small details are often omitted from extracts.
 * Probate records may omit the name of the eldest son who received his inheritance according to law, others who previously received their inheritance, or deceased family members.
 * Probate records may mention children who are from a spouse’s previous marriage or mention a spouse who is not the parent of the children named.
 * Transcription errors may have occurred.

What if I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For?

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Remember that the patronymic naming system was used in Wales. The adoption of fixed surnames did not happen at one time for all families or the country as a whole.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.
 * Search the indexes of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.

General Information About Probate Records
Although any person, regardless of class or wealth, may have left a will or might be mentioned in one, wills were made primarily by the middle and upper classes, mostly by males with property. Before 1882, a wife who died before her husband could not make a will except with her husband’s consent or under a marriage settlement created before her marriage. A widow, however, could make a will.

Before 1750, heirs often did not prove wills to avoid court costs. The will was often kept in case someone later objected to the distribution of the property. As a result, sometimes wills were probated decades after the testator’s death. Some archives have collections of unproved wills. Others may be among family papers.

Until 1833 real property could be entailed. This specified how property would be inherited in the future. An entail prevented subsequent inheritors from bequeathing the property to anyone except the heirs specified in the entail.

The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth holds the original wills proved in Welsh ecclesiastical courts and has published images online.

Probate records are used to legally dispose of a person’s estate after his or her death. The probate process transfers the legal responsibility for payment of taxes, care and custody of dependent family members, liquidation of debts, and transfer of property title. The transfer is to an executor or executrix if the deceased had made a will, to an administrator or administratrix if the deceased had not made a will, or to a guardian or conservator if the deceased had heirs under the age of twenty-one or if heirs were incompetent due to disease or disability.

Abstracts are created to summarize the details of the will or probate documents.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection citation:

Image citation: