How to Search for Wills and Probate in England
An ancestor's will can be very useful for discovering or confirming family relationships where they are missing in other records - but even when they don't give this information, they are an essential resource if you want to know more about how your ancestor lived. However, probate in England can be a complicated affair, and you need to know your way around the range of wills indexes and registers that exist both online and in archives. Whether your ancestors were aristocracy, rich merchants, middle class tradesmen or working class labourers, it is always worth checking to see if a will was left. While it is far more likely that you will find wills within wealthy families, they do crop up within the lower classes more often than you might imagine. They can tell you a great deal about your ancestor's family, his relationship with his family, friends and community, his religion, his possessions, land and property, and, quite often, his attitude to life. If you want a closer ...