Oklahoma Probate Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains probate records and estate files, for the years 1887 to 2008, from Oklahoma counties. The content and time period varies by county.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Probate records include petitions, inventories, accounts, decrees and other court documents. Information in entries includes:


 * Name of testator or deceased
 * Names of heirs such as spouse, children, and other relatives or friends
 * Name of executor, administrator, or guardian
 * Names of witnesses
 * Residence of testator
 * Document and recording dates (Used to approximate event dates, i.e. a will is often written near time of death)

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the deceased.
 * The approximate death or probate date.
 * The place of death.

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select the County
 * 2) Select the Volume Title and Year to view the images.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

Remember to:
 * Whenever possible, look at the original record. If often has more information than the indexed record.
 * Print or download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed.
 * In case you need to find this record again later, copy the citation found on each record or image. Familysearch wiki has a Example Research Logthat you can download and use for this purpose.

I Found the Person 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.
 * Oklahoma 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?

 * 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 Oklahoma, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Oklahoma Archives and Libraries.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

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.


 * Collection Citation:

"Oklahoma Probate Records, 1887-2008." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. County courthouses, Oklahoma.

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