Finding Wills And Indexes Online

Katherine recommends these six websites for wills and indexes

Ancestry

ancestry.co.uk

Ancestry’s extensive collection of indexes and wills includes wills proved at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, London wills, those for a number of counties and for Wales. Images of Gloucestershire and

Dorset inventories are also here. Indexes include the

National Probate Calendar for England and Wales

(1858–1995), and that for

Scotland (1876–1936).

FamilySearch

familysearch.org

Some wills and other probate records are on FamilySearch. These include wills for Kent, Norfolk, the Diocese of Durham, and the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, and peculiars in Nottinghamshire. Digital versions of some published indexes can also be viewed online. Full details of what is available can be found via the online catalogue.

National Library Of Wales

library.wales

The library holds wills, inventories and bonds for Wales’ seven probate jurisdictions, from the mid-16th century until 1858. These can be searched at tinyurl.com/nlw-wills and images can be viewed for free. Wills for some Herefordshire parishes are among those for the Diocese of Brecon, and some for Shropshire are among those for St Asaph.

Essex Archives Online

essexarchivesonline.co.uk

Images of all of the original wills held at Essex Record Office in Chelmsford are available online by subscription. Dating from 1400–1858, the collection covers Essex and parts of eastern Hertfordshire, as well as a handful of wills from adjoining counties.

Wills can be found by searching for ‘will’ plus the name of a person, occupation or place.

Findmypast

findmypast.co.uk

Findmypast’s indexes to wills and probate records include the Prerogative Court of York and British India Office. The Inheritance Disputes Index (1574– 1714) features almost 78,000 individuals, while ‘Bank Of England Wills Extracts 1717–1845’ relates to people with monies in public funds. There are also images of wills for several counties.

The National Archives

nationalarchives.gov.uk

Wills proved at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (1384–1858) are held by TNA in Kew. Wills of Royal Navy warrant officers and ratings, and Royal Marines other ranks, who joined the Navy between 1786 and 1882, are also here, as are death-duty registers (except Prerogative Court of Canterbury) for 1796–1811. All can be downloaded for free.