Colorado, Denver County Probate Case Files - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes probate case file records acquired from the Colorado State Archives in Denver, for the years 1900 to 1925. The collection begins with case number 6407. Files regarding insanity records and adoption material were restricted by the state when the records were acquired and are missing from this collection.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
 * The name of testator or deceased
 * Date of decedent's death
 * Names of heirs such as spouse, children, and other relatives or friends
 * Name of executor, administrator, or guardian
 * Names of witnesses
 * Residence of testator
 * Pertinent documents and recording dates (Used to approximate event dates i.e. a will was usually written near time of death.)

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the deceased
 * The place of residence
 * The approximate death or probate date

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use a probate record to identify guardians, heirs and relatives
 * Use a will to approximate a death date, then find a death certificate
 * Use the information in the probate record to substitute for civil birth and death records for earlier years
 * Use the information to locate census, christenings, marriage and land records
 * Use the occupations to find employment or military records

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Colorado.
 * Beginning Research in United States Probate Records
 * Colorado Guided Research
 * Colorado Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Colorado Research, 1880-Present

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Probate records, Denver County, 1900-1946
 * Inheritance tax records, 1910-1942
 * Index to lodged wills of the Denver County, Colorado Probate Court, 1873-1986
 * Robert L. Perkin, comp. Subject and name index to History of Denver with outlines of the earlier history of the Rocky Mountain country : with many illustrations by Jerome C. Smiley Evansville, Indiana : Unigraphic, 1971

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * ed. for the Denver Times by Jerome C. Smiley, History of Denver, with outlines of the earlier history of the Rocky Mountain country 2 volumes. Denver : The Denver Times, Times-Sun Pub. Co., 1901

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

Colorado, Denver, archivos de sucesiones testamentarias del condado (Registros históricos de FamilySearch)