Ancestry adds Prerogative Court and Exchequer Court of York wills

This blog tends to concentrate on genealogy resources relevant to Scotland and Ireland these days, but occasionally there are developments down south of the border worth noting. The English and Welsh 'probate' system - the equivalent of Scotland's confirmation system - had two high-tier ecclesiastical courts running the show until 1858. One of these, the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC Court), has had wills for the southern half of England available for some time, but there was also a Preogative Court for York (PCY Court), for the northern half, although the PCC Court remained superior to the PCY Court. Whilst some records for the PCY Court have been available on FindmyPast for a while, Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has also now added them as a collection. Ancestry's collection also includes wills form the lower Exchequer Court in York:

England, Prerogative and Exchequer Court of York Wills, 1389-1858
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/63000/
Source: Yorkshire Wills and Probate, 1383-1858. York, England: Borthwick Institute for Archives.

This collection contains images of wills filed in Yorkshire, England, between 1389 and 1858. A will is a document that specifies how a person’s property should be distributed after their death.

Records in this collection may include the following information:

• Name
• Place of residence
• Relationship to head of household
• Will date
• Probate date

The indexed information may help you confirm important dates regarding your ancestor’s death and estate processing. You may find additional information by looking at your ancestor’s record image. Your ancestor’s will may include names of family members that you can add to your family tree, and they can help to sort out how your ancestors were related. A will may also include an inventory of an estate’s assets, which may provide some insights into your ancestor’s financial status and lifestyle.

If the will doesn’t have the information you are looking for, you may be able to find related probate records, such as property inventories, petitions to begin the probate process, guardianship and orphans’ court records, and estate bonds.

The majority of the wills in this collection are written in Latin. Ancestry’s Latin genealogy guide may help you read the documents. Some of the records are handwritten in English, but old handwriting can be difficult to read. This article may help you decipher your ancestor’s record. 

For further details, consult the link above. 

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Scottish and Irish Pharos Tutors genealogy courses in October

I will be teaching two courses for Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com) this October:

Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers
5 weeks, starts Monday 7th October

This is an intermediate level course in Scottish family history for those who are going back beyond 1850. You should have some experience with research in the Old Parish Registers (OPRs) of the Church of Scotland and in using major websites for Scottish research.

This course discusses sources that fill the gap when the OPRs are uninformative or missing, such as the kirk session and presbytery courts records generated by the Kirk (Church of Scotland), as well as the records of dissenting and seceding Presbyterian congregations. From the forerunners of Scotlands modern towns and cities are the administrative records of the burghs, and the trades incorporations and merchant guilds, as well as other professions, which can enhance our understanding of our ancestors lives. And in the final two lessons the course turns up a notch and tackles two areas where the Scottish records, as generated through the feudal system, are truly unique, namely the various registers of land records known as sasines, and the separate legal processes in Scotland for the inheritance of both moveable and heritable estate.

Whilst some of the records discussed in the course are available online, many are available only in the archives, or in private hands, and a strong focus of this course will be in how to successfully employ the relevant catalogues and finding aids to locate such treasures. 

For further details visit https://www.pharostutors.com/scotland-1750-1850-beyond-the-old-parish-registers


***NEW COURSE*** 

Researching Irish Land Records
5 weeks, starts Monday 21st October

The issue of land ownership was a potent question in Ireland for centuries. In the 17th century vast swathes of land was settled by Protestant British colonists during the Plantations of Ulster, drawn mostly from Scotland, whilst the subsequent Cromwellian conquest led to mass confiscation of land across Ireland, to be conveyed to English soldiers and 'adventurers'. The Penal Laws had soon dispossessed the native Irish Catholic population of many rights, including landownership and inheritance rights. At the same time, the first national land valuation survey in the world was carried out, and an elaborate system of land administration imposed. In the 19th century, Ireland's incorporation into the United Kingdom was followed by great tragedy with the Famine, but in its aftermath a new opportunity arose following the Land War to radically alter rental provisions and then to redistribute land away from an absentee landlord class.

Following on from the Progressing Your Irish Research Online* course, this brand new course will look at the various types of records that can help with land research in Ireland from the period of the 17th century to the present day. It will examine the various forms of land tenure that existed, the records of ownership and rental, the valuation and conveyance of property, maps, and many other resources. Importantly it will show how to find the most useful land records, and how to use them for your family history research.

* Although not compulsory, it is recommended that students will have first completed the Progressing Your Irish Research Online course.

For further details visit https://www.pharostutors.com/researching-irish-land-records

I hope to maybe see you there!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers Course starts April 8th

The next 5 week long Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers family history course from Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com) commences in just two weeks time on April 8th 2024.

The following short video introduces the course:

 

(Also available at https://youtu.be/1aGSA-mEiQY)

And the following is the course description, and how to sign up if interested!

Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers

This is an intermediate level course in Scottish family history for those who are going back beyond 1850. You should have some experience with research in the Old Parish Registers (OPRs) of the Church of Scotland and in using major websites for Scottish research.

This course discusses sources that fill the gap when the OPRs are uninformative or missing, such as the kirk session and presbytery courts records generated by the Kirk (Church of Scotland), as well as the records of dissenting and seceding Presbyterian congregations. From the forerunners of Scotlands modern towns and cities are the administrative records of the burghs, and the trades incorporations and merchant guilds, as well as other professions, which can enhance our understanding of our ancestors lives. And in the final two lessons the course turns up a notch and tackles two areas where the Scottish records, as generated through the feudal system, are truly unique, namely the various registers of land records known as sasines, and the separate legal processes in Scotland for the inheritance of both moveable and heritable estate.

Whilst some of the records discussed in the course are available online, many are available only in the archives, or in private hands, and a strong focus of this course will be in how to successfully employ the relevant catalogues and finding aids to locate such treasures.

Whilst not compulsory, it is strongly recommended that you complete the Pharos course Scottish Research Online before studying Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers, as it will be assumed that you are already familiar with the more basic resources available online for Scottish ancestral research.

Lesson Headings:

    * Kirk Sessions records and parish poor
    * Burgh records and town poor
    * Occupations, taxation and early lists
    * Land transfer and the value of sasines
    * Land, inheritance and estates
 

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. (See How the Courses Work at https://www.pharostutors.com/howcourseswork.php.)

Relevant Countries: Scotland
Course Length: 5 Weeks
Start Date: 8 April 2024
Cost: £58

Student feedback:

"The exercises helped you to explore new lesson concepts right away. Especially by directing students to apply new research aids to their own work."

"Very clear explanations of terminology and legal processes Really helpful exercises and comprenesive list of useful catalogues and other references Chat sessions very helpful and engaging."

"This being the second genealogy course I have taken, and the second with Pharos, I found these were detailed foundation courses which will permit me to search better and with less effort in my future research work."

"Great subject-matter and excellent tutor/written materials. It could not have been better."

For further details, and to sign up, please visit https://www.pharostutors.com/scotland-1750-1850-beyond-the-old-parish-registers.

I'll hopefully see you online there!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Ancestry adds Irish Wills and Admons, and UK Royal Mail Pensions and Gratuities datasets

Two new collections from Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) that may be of interest for Scottish and Irish research:

Ireland, Wills and Admons, 1515-1858
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62773/
Source: Pre-1858 Wills and Admons. Belfast, Northern Ireland: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. https://apps.proni.gov.uk/ProniNames_IE/SearchPage.aspx Accessed: May 2023.

The records in this collection are an index that pertain to wills in Ireland between the years 1515 and 1858. Most records are in English.

The term "probate" technically refers to the proving of a will—in other words, making sure it's valid. If the court finds that a will was valid, the estate is testate. In cases where someone dies without leaving a valid will, the estate is intestate. Depending on whether an estate was testate or intestate, there may be different types of records available. Some of the more common types of documents include wills, letters of administration, inventories, distributions and accounting, bonds, and guardianships.

Using this collection

Records in the collection may include the following information:

• Name
• Probate date
• Will date
• Death date
• Court name
• Event type

Wills and probate records can help you confirm important dates regarding your ancestor's death and their financial status at the time they died. Probate records also include names of other family members that you can add to your family tree. Probate inventories often provide a detailed record of your ancestor's possessions that may not be available in other records.


UK, Royal Mail Pension and Gratuity Records, 1860-1970
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62452/
Source: Pension and Gratuity Records 1860-1970. London, England: The Postal Museum.

General collection information

This collection contains pension records from the Royal Mail service in the United Kingdom between 1860 and 1970. All records are in English. Most records are handwritten onto pre-printed forms, however, older records may be handwritten in ledgers.

Using the collection

Records in the collection may include the following information:

• Name
• Birth date
• Age
• Occupation and position
• Name of business
• Length of Service
• Salary
• Date pension was granted
• Death date

If you can’t find a record, consider the length of your family member’s service. Pensions were available after ten years of service. If your family member left Royal Mail, they may not have been eligible for pension. The UK, Postal Service Appointment Books, 1737–1969 collection is an excellent starting tool for finding your family member’s service dates.

If your family member died while in service, their pension may have gone to their spouse or children. If you can’t find a record listed under your family member’s name, try searching the records for their next of kin. 

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.