Spain, Province of Cádiz, Notarial Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
España, Testamentos Notariales de Cádiz

Record Description
This collection of notary public wills is from the years 1531-1920.

The records are testaments (wills) that were written in the presence of a notary public of the province of Cádiz. This collection was kept at the Archivo Histórico Provincial de Cádiz, Spain. Documents are written in Spanish.

This is a collection of wills created before a notary public, who kept the original document until the death of the person that created the will; another copy was kept at the General Registry of Wills (Registro General de Actos de Última Voluntad). Through the life of the testator, the General Registry kept the will as a secret document, unauthorized to be viewed by anyone until the death of the testator. At the death of the person, the family would inquire at the General Registry of Wills to find out which will was the latest created by the testator and where it was created, especially if the family did not know which notary public was holding the original copy.

A wealthy person usually created a will in order to leave properties and goods as an inheritance to his or her children and others. In order to do this, the person would hire a notary public. The notary had the knowledge to write this kind of document, which needed to fulfill legal formalities.

The vital information contained in these wills may be reliable since the testator had to provide his or her legal identification and proof of property and goods ownership, as well as the names and personal identification of the inheritors.

For a list of records by localities and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browselink from the collection landing page.

Record Content
Wills may contain the following information:


 * Name of testator(s)
 * Place of birth
 * Current residence
 * Spouse's name
 * Parents’ names
 * Marriage date and place of testators
 * Names of children/heirs and their vital information
 * Testamentary executor’s name
 * Witnesses’ names
 * Burial request

How to Use the Record
To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "Province" ⇒Select the "City" ⇒Select the "Notary and Years of Service" ⇒Select the "Volume and Years", which will take you to the images.

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

The open wills in this collection are alphabetically organized. In order to find your ancestor, it is necessary to know the name of the deceased person that left the will. It will also help to know the approximate year of his or her death.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:

Spanish Genealogical Word List

Related Websites

 * Tu Abogado Defensor : La Partición de la Herencia.
 * Informes Portal Mayores : El testamento. Clases de testamentos y disposiciones testamentarias.

Related Wiki Articles

 * Spain
 * Spain Notarial Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the “Show Citation” box. Spain, Cádiz, Testaments, 1531-1920

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