South Africa, Eastern Cape, Estate Files - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Suid-Afrika, Oos-Kaap, Boedel Lêers

Record Description
This collection contains records for the years 1962-2004.

The records include images of copies of primary genealogical records such as death notices, marriage certificates, birth certificates, and wills, from the probate estate files located in the Master of the High Court Offices in Grahamstown. This collection is being published as images become available.

For a list of records by dates and file number currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Record Content
The estate file records in this collection may contain the following information:


 * Name and age of deceased
 * Birthplace and nationality of deceased
 * Names of parents
 * Date and place of death
 * Occupation and marital status of deceased
 * Name of spouse and death date if deceased

How to Use the Record
To begin your search, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of ancestor
 * Approximate year of death

Search the Collection
To search the collection image by image ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page: ⇒Select the appropriate "Year" ⇒Select the appropriate "File Number" which will take you to the images

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your 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 your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Dutch, Afrikaans, and English. For help with reading the records, see the following wiki article:


 * Dutch Genealogical Word List
 * Afrikaans Word List

Using the information
When you have found the ancestor that you are looking for, the following will help you further your research:


 * Use the ages on the marriage or death records to calculate a birth year for the bride and groom. This will make it easier for you to find the names of the parents for your ancestor.
 * The marriage place may be the birth place for the bride or groom. To find this, calculate the ages to get both of their birth years (bride and groom), and search for the bride and groom’s birthplaces with the birth year that you have found.

Related Websites

 * Africa Websites
 * Africa Historic Maps
 * Cape Master Death Notice Index Project
 * South African Genealogy
 * 1962 Eastern Cape Estate Files Index

Related Wiki Articles
South Africa

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information (often called citing your sources). This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection citation:

Image citation: