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

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.

Reading These Records
These records are written in German. For help reading them see:
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 * German Genealogical Word List
 * Germany Handwriting
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * German Paleography Seminar

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The following information may be found in these records:
 * Names
 * Residence
 * Age
 * Relationship

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 * Add any new information to your records
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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 the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Consult the Germany Record Finder to find other records*Switch to a different record collection. Depending on the time period, either German Civil Registration records or German Church records may be more useful
 * While searching, it is helpful to know such information as the ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as an ancestor and that the ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times
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 * Search the indexes and records of local genealogical societies

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Germany.
 * Germany Research Tips and Strategies
 * Germany Record Finder

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.

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