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.

Instructions
1. Click on and check to see if your county is listed. If it is not, you are done with the task.

2. If your county is listed, 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 probate records for some Pennsylvania counties are available free online as digital images at FamilySearch . The dates vary significantly for each county and not all counties are listed. Some counties may only have probate indexes. This Pennsylvania collection of images may be browsed through the links listed below:


 * Complete Collection:


 * :*1683-1994 – at FamilySearch

3. Copy and paste the following directly below what you pasted in #2:


 * Berks County Only:


 * :*1752–1915 – Berks County Probate Records

4. In the wikitext entry you pasted in #3, replace the word "Berks" in both places with your county name.

5. Next click here and click then click on your county.

6. On this webpage, copy the link for this county and replace the url in the wititext entry you pasted in #3.

7. From the same webpage determine the dates the probate records cover in this county and replace the 1752-1915 with these new dates. We suggest you put only the dates of the records and not indexes. Make sure the dates are in bold.

Example
Online Probate Records

Original probate records for some Pennsylvania counties are available free online as digital images at FamilySearch. The dates vary significantly for each county and not all counties are listed. Some counties may only have probate indexes. This Pennsylvania collection of images may be browsed through the links listed below:

Complete Collection:


 * 1683-1994 – at FamilySearch

Berks County Only:


 * 1752–1915 – Berks County Probate Records

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 probate records for some Pennsylvania counties are available free online as digital images at FamilySearch. The dates vary significantly for each county and not all counties are listed. Some counties may only have probate indexes. This Pennsylvania collection of images may be browsed through the links listed below:

Complete Collection:


 * 1683-1994 – at FamilySearch

Berks County Only:


 * 1752–1915 – Berks County Probate Records

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).