Germany, Württemberg, Schwäbisch Hall, Probate Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Germany Württemberg

What is in this Collection?
This collection will include records from 1803 to 1929.

This collection includes inventories (Inventuren) and partitions (Teilungen) in probate records of estates located in Schwäbisch Hall, Württemberg, Germany. The use of each of these documents was precipitated by different events: the inventories by marriage and the partitions by death. These records are all arranged in a single chronological sequence.

Württemberg inventory regulations distinguished three different types of inventory: the marriage inventory (‘Beibringungsinventar’), contingent inheritance inventory (‘Eventualteilung’), and actual inheritance inventory (‘Realteilung’). A marriage inventory was supposed to be written up within a quarter year after a marriage took place. The contingent inheritance inventory was written up at the death of the first spouse in a marriage, but at this point the inheritance shares were not yet actually delivered to the heirs. The actual inheritance inventory was written up when a widowed spouse died, and included an inheritance division in which inheritance shares were calculated and distributed among the heirs.

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Look at each image or record 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 or records and compare the information about the individuals listed to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind there may be more than one person in the records with the same name and you will want to look carefully at dates, places and relations to identify your ancestor from another person. You also may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name if they were known by a nickname or changed their name from the original birth record name. Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life and may be listed in records with any of those variations. To search the collection fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination.

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 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, Now What?

 * Switch to a different record collection. Depending on the time period, either German Civil Registration records or German Church records may be more useful.
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 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of local genealogical societies.

Citations for This Collection
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