Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Probate Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

NOTE: This was previously posted to wiki but in February 2017 Jessica Pears said the Travelers would be cancelled. I have saved the article in word format in the event it published at a later date. 3/1/17 ASP Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Probate Records United States Pennsylvania  Philadelphia County

What is in the Collection?
This collection includes probate records from Philadelphia for the years 1837 to 1865. Probate records were court documents and may have included both loose papers and bound volumes. These records were generally known as a case file or a probate packet. These files normally included wills, settlement papers, inventories, receipts, and other records pertaining to the estates. Some probate records were recorded in books that may have been labeled with such titles as accounts, administrations, appraisals, minutes, petitions, guardianships, inventories, settlements, and so forth. The wills in this collection are loose documents arranged by box number then file number.

Sample Images
Probates have been recorded on a county basis since the origin of the Commonwealth in 1682. Some major cities such as Philadelphia also kept probate records. Complete records are available in most counties. Probate actions taken in a locality before the present county was formed are found in records of the parent county. Probate records were used to legally dispose of a person’s estate after his or her death. If the deceased had made a will, the probate process transferred the following from the deceased to an executor or executrix: legal responsibility for payment of taxes, care and custody of dependent family members, liquidation of debts, and transfer of property title to heirs. If there was no will, the transfer went to an administrator or administratrix. A guardian or conservator was appointed if the deceased had heirs younger than 21 or if the heirs were incompetent due to disability or disease. The death date, residence, and other facts that were current at the time of the probate proceedings are reliable, but realize that there is still a chance of misinformation. The records may omit the names of deceased family members or those who had previously received an inheritance. In some cases, the spouse mentioned in the will was not the parent of the children mentioned. Also, some wills do not name family members.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Probate records include petitions, inventories, accounts, decrees and other court documents. They may include the following genealogical information:
 * Name of the testator or deceased
 * Names of the heirs, such as spouse, children, other relatives, and friends
 * Name of the executor, administrator, or guardian
 * Names of witnesses
 * Residence of the testator
 * Dates the documents were written and recorded (used to approximate event dates since a will was usually written near the time of death).

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know: Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in your ancestor’s name in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Year" ⇒Select the appropriate "Box Number and File Number" which takes you to the images. Look at each 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. With either search keep in mind: For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate date of death
 * The date of probate
 * The residence of your ancestor
 * The names of other family members and their relationships
 * 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.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use probate records to identify heirs and relatives.
 * You may be able to use the probate record to learn about adoptions or guardianship of any minor children and dependents.
 * Use the document (such as the will) or the recording dates to approximate a death date.
 * Use the information in the probate record to substitute for civil birth and death records since the probates exist for an earlier time period.
 * You may be able to use the probate record to learn about land transactions.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the residence or place of birth of the deceased to locate census, church, and land records.
 * Use the occupations listed to find employment records or other types of records such as military records.
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the deceased, this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have died in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Wills are more likely to be found in rural communities than in larger cities and industrial areas.
 * The information in the records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the deceased or the testator.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1900.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

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: Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Image citation: