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
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