Colorado, Denver County Probate Case Files - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Colorado Denver County

What is in the Collection?
This collection includes probate case files records from 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.

To Browse this Collection
For a list of records by case files and index currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Probate records include petitions, inventories, accounts, decrees, and other court documents. Information found in entries may include:


 * 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 the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know at least some of the following:
 * The name of the deceased.
 * The place of residence.
 * The approximate death or probate date.
 * The names of relatives or associates who may have been named in the estate file.

Compare the information on the image to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several images before you find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Pagethen: ⇒Select the "Document Type" ⇒Select the "Case File Number and Year Range"

Check the indexes at the beginning or end first. If your ancestor is in the index download a copy or write down the page numbers listed for your ancestor. You can then quickly turn to those pages.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use a Probate record to identify adoptions, 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.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * 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, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. 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 in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. 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. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Colorado, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Colorado Archives and Libraries.

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