Free Probate Records for Texas

Recently The Ancestor Hunt tweeted that "An often neglected source of terrific genealogical information are Wills and Probate Records. They often provide more information than obituaries. For Texas, there are a total of 114 Free Probate Records and Wills Collections to research."

This was intriguing so I went to the blog to have a look. He has done a lot of work compiling the list and links for Texas! If you have Texas ancestors, follow the links to the free Probate records online on The Ancestor Hunt Blog

Crowdsourcing - Can Anyone Read this 1645 Will?

Olive Tree Genealogy needs help. Recently I obtained a will written in Staffordshire England in 1645. It is the will of Margery [sic] Wood from Uttoxeter. I can read some but not all of it! If any of my wonderful readers feel like helping me with the interpretation of this 17th Century handwriting I would be grateful.

This is the first page of the will. There are several pages in all but my main interest is in the first two pages which are the actual will with bequests to such people as her children (I can see Thomas Wood, John Wood, Elizabeth Wood, Marian or Mary Wood but there may be others named), her brother Will (William) Heaton and others.

The last half-dozen pages are an inventory which would be fascinating if I could read them in full! Please do contact me at olivetreegenealogyATgmailDOTcom if you are willing to attempt page 2 or if you want a larger copy of page 1

Fingers crossed that I can crowdsource the reading of this document!

FREE 170 Million Wills & Probate Records on Ancestry!

Wow! Ancestry.com just published over 100 million wills written in the United States in the last 300 years for genealogists to search. More than 170 million pages from the largest collection of wills and probate records in the United States is now available online exclusively on Ancestry. 

With searchable records included from all 50 states spread over 337 years (1668-2005), this unprecedented collection launches a new category of records for family history research never before available online at this scale the United States.   

Until now, these records have only been available offline. Ancestry spent more than two years bringing this collection online, working with hundreds of different archives from individual state and local courts across the country and making a $10M investment to license and digitize the records. The documents cover well over 100 million people, including the deceased as well as their family, friends and others involved in the probate process. Ancestry expects to continue to grow the collection, with additional records available over the next several years.

To celebrate the launch of the new U.S. Wills and Probates collection on Ancestry,, the collection along with all U.S. birth, marriage and death records, will be available to explore for FREE, September 2 (12pm MT) through September 7 (10pm MT). 


Here are the records available as of today:

• Tennessee, Wills and Probate Records, 1727-2008
• North Dakota and South Dakota, Wills and Probate Records, 1800-1985
• Rhode Island, Wills and Probate Records, 1582-1932
• New Mexico, Wills and Probate Records, 1801-1993
• Nevada, Wills and Probate Records, 1906-1925
• Nebraska, Wills and Probate Records, 1806-1989
• Maryland, Wills and Probate Records, 1604-1878
• Kentucky, Wills and Probate Records, 1774-1989
• New York County, New York, Wills and Probate Records, 1658-1880 (NYSA) 
• New York, Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999
• Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999
• Alaska, Wills and Probate Records, 1883-1978
• Arizona, Wills and Probate Records, 1803-1995
• Arkansas, Wills and Probate Records, 1783-1998
• California, Wills and Probate Records, 1782-1999
• Colorado, Wills and Probate Records, 1875-1974
• Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 
• Delaware, Wills and Probate Records, 1676-1971  
• Florida, Wills and Probate Records, 1810-1974
• Georgia, Wills and Probate Records, 1742-1992  
• Hawaii, Wills and Probate Records, 1822-1962  
• Idaho, Wills and Probate Records, 1857-1989
• Illinois, Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999
• Indiana, Wills and Probate Records, 1798-1999
• Iowa, Wills and Probate Records, 1758-1997
• Kansas, Wills and Probate Records, 1803-1987
• Kentucky, Wills and Probate Records, 1774-1989
• Louisiana, Wills and Probate Records, 1756-1984
• Maine, Wills and Probate Records, 1584-1999
• Maryland, Wills and Probate Records, 1604-1878
• Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991
• Michigan, Wills and Probate Records, 1784-1980
• Minnesota, Wills and Probate Records, 1801-1999
• Mississippi, Wills and Probate Records, 1780-1982
• Missouri, Wills and Probate Records, 1766-1988
• Montana, Wills and Probate Records, 1831-1952
• Nebraska, Wills and Probate Records, 1806-1989
• Nevada, Wills and Probate Records, 1906-1925
• New Hampshire, Wills and Probate Records, 1643-1982
• New Jersey, Wills and Probate Records, 1656-1999
• New Mexico, Wills and Probate Records, 1801-1993
• North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998
• North Dakota and South Dakota, Wills and Probate Records, 1800-1985
• Oklahoma, Wills and Probate Records, 1801-2008
• Oregon, Wills and Probate Records, 1833-1963
• Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993
• Rhode Island, Wills and Probate Records, 1582-1932
• South Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1670-1980
• Tennessee, Wills and Probate Records, 1727-2008
• Texas, Wills and Probate Records, 1800-2000
• Utah, Wills and Probate Records, 1800-1985
• Vermont, Wills and Probate Records, 1749-1999
• Washington, D.C., Wills and Probate Records, 1737-1952
• Washington, Wills and Probate Records, 1807-1997
• West Virginia, Wills and Probate Records, 1724-1978
• Wisconsin, Wills and Probate Records, 1800-1987