Genealogy Chat

Hello all, There used to be a link for wills search on the A2A site, but now I cannot find it!! Does anyone know where it is!! Gillian

Dont you mean the National Archives website? I download wills for £3.50 from there.

Hi Heather, Yes thanks for that!! I've found it now!!! If you do a search and nothing comes up, does that mean that no will exists or should I now be asking the local records office? Gillian

If you hate typing, like me, go to Useful Links Family History Links choose Census Records or Family History and you'll get to the NA website. Go to Search the Archives and choose Documents Online. Alternatively, cut and paste this link: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/ I think that a major revamp is coming up, with A2A being part of the National Archives website, which is why some of the links may be changing. By the way, did you note that A2A was updated a couple of days ago?!!

Gillian Brilliant though the site is, it doesn't include all the estates that were administered through the PCC, but where there was no will (masses), nor those in local record offices (hordes and hordes and hordes). So yes, try the local record office - but only if the person died before 1858. If after, look on this site's home page for details of how to search. Brenda

Hi Abbess, Thanks, I'll ring the Kendal record office as the will would be from 1836. Ta, Gillian

Abbess Brenda..... (Ooh, is that too informal??) Though I already knew that only about one third of wills were proved through the PCC, it had never occurred to me that not all PCCwills are available to download from TNA.............. Where are the rest of the PCC wills???? (I note TNA's website is very careful not to state they have them all, though it also doesn't state, as far as I could see, that any are not available!) Merry

It's not the wills they haven't put online, but the admons. These will just say something like: administration of the estate of John Smith of Enfield given to his widow Mary, so they are not so exciting, but they can give a clue to date of death and the name of the administrator can be useful. I think that there are various indexes available pre 1800, in books and probably on Ancestry, but post 1800 it is an absolute bummer as there is one book per year to wade through and they aren't in strict alpha order. PS I'll answer to anything, but Brenda is fine!!

I am sure the Hanson boys (3 James in a row) must have left a will between them. One was a lighterman who then became a stationer and tobacconist, another was a cabinet carver and the third a joiner with his own business. But I cant find a thing for any of them.

Thanks you Abbess.......I'm with you now..... I have a very clear mental picture of what you look like in your habit! Sister Merry

Actually, I can imagine Brenda in a habit!