Continued from the previous issue: Part 1
Of all the various records available to the family historian, wills and probate records are among the richest sources of information. Not only do they contain such details as the addresses and occupations of the deceased, but also the names and relationships of children, spouses and other relatives. They may be the only records that confirm these relationships in a single document.
Wills and administrations in England and Wales from 1858 are at the Principal Probate Registry, Somerset House in the Strand, London, where the Indexes may be consulted free of charge. They are also now available in many of the local record offices. There is one set of volumes for each year. Copies of wills and administrations may be obtained at a very modest cost, and some such copies are held by the Lin(d)field One name Group. Information from the Indexes and from the documents themselves has been used in compiling the database, and in most cases the database number is shown following the name on each entry listed below.
Prior to the Married Women’s Property Act of 1882, all the possessions of a married woman were legally the property of her husband and hence wills for married women are rarely found in that period. Widows and spinsters, on the other hand, may have left wills.
Continued in the next issue: Part 2
“Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.”
When Longfellow wrote these famous lines, I doubt that he was thinking of family history; however, there is no doubt that we all leave some “footprints on the sands of time”, whether or not our lives are sublime! Some of these footprints only come to light after we have departed this life, and amongst the more useful are the contents of wills and administrations. For this reason, one of our first tasks on setting up the Group, was to transcribe the probate records held at Somerset House, which cover the period from 1858 to the present. We have now published the contents of the Calendar of Wills for the Linfield and Lindfield surnames from 1858-1920, which number 62 entries, or an average of exactly one for each year. (Ref 1) Continue reading
I have mentioned in previous articles how certain records, such as probate documents, can provide a unique insight into the everyday lives of our ancestors. We are therefore very fortunate as family researchers when we come across this type of record; in effect, they can bring people to life who may have died centuries before. Another very useful source of information which can bring people intimately alive are the records of the ecclesiastical courts. These are the courts of bishops and archdeacons administering church law, and their records survive from the 15th century. Typically they deal with such matters as heresy, non-attendance at church, behaviour at church and in the churchyard, betrothals, wills, allegations of slander, immorality, tithes, the maintenance of church property and so on. Penalties could include excommunication but more usually they involved a remorseful declaration of guilt before the church congregation. Since a large proportion of the cases concern fornication and adultery, not surprisingly the term “Bawdy Court” was commonly used to describe these courts. Needless to say, the records provide an interesting – and often very amusing- insight into everyday parish life which is quite unique. Although the proceedings are recorded in Latin, the Attestations (Depositions)- of most interest to the family historian – are in English; and the witnesses are identified by name, condition, occupation, age, and length of abode in the parish concerned. Continue reading
In the last issue of Longshot, I promised to produce a list of all the Lin(d)field probate records which are kept at the West and East Sussex Record Offices. Well, here it is! I have endeavoured to compile an index of all the known wills, administrations and inventories relating to the county of Sussex, so I have also included the PCC records kept at the Public Record Office in Chancery Lane. Eventually, we will have copies of all these documents in the society archives; those we hold at present are marked with an asterisk, and I am slowly (perhaps I should say very slowly!) making transcripts of each and every one of them. There is a good chance that I may have missed out something completely, although my intention is to provide a comprehensive collection of everything available. Please get in touch if you know of any omissions. I should also mention that I am only dealing here with records up to 1858, before the Court of Probate Act established a Principal Probate Registry in London when all probate matters were removed from the jurisdiction of the Church. Continue reading
Wills, administrations and inventories are valuable documents to family historians: they provide us with a glimpse of our ancestors not available in other records, of a nature which helps to bring them to life as people in their society and time. Wills not only help to clarify family relationships, but they usually give us information about occupation and property ownership. Of course, not everybody made a will, so they are a special bonus when found. Continue reading
Over the years, many documents have been destroyed or lost because their owners have died without leaving a will or without including directions for the disposal of their family papers. Many of the notes and Linfield family trees drawn up by Stanford Smith were destroyed following the death of one of the Linfield family to whom they had been sent, with the result that much of his work cannot readily be checked without repeating years of hard work. Even if you have not researched the family history, you probably have papers which have been handed down which would be helpful to others in drawing up the history of the family. Letters, wills, birth, marriage and death certificates and old newspaper cuttings all help to piece together the history of our Linfield and Lindfield ancestors.
If you have such papers, we would urge you to leave specific instructions in your will that they should be sent to the Lin(d)field One Name Group or to the Society of Genealogists in London. There are standard forms of words for including in a will for this purpose and we can supply copies of these on request. Even better would be to send them, or copies of them, to us now so that they can be used in our research. We are happy to refund the cost of copying and postage. Alternatively, send them to us and we will make copies and return the originals.