01 February 2018

Ancestry adds Wiltshire, England, Wills and Probate, 1530-1858

Until 1858 probate was handled by the Established Church of England, with the responsible ecclesiastical court depending on how broadly assets of the deceased were scattered. For those of modest means the matter would usually be handled by a local deanery or archdeanery.
If that doesn't seem too complicated the devil is in the detail.
Wiltshire, England, Wills and Probate, 1530-1858 now online, sourced from the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, with 102,570 entries combines the holdings of no less than 30 such local courts.
A search will return name, probate year (which could be well after the death), probate place, record type and a link leading to an image of the original document.

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