SEAX - Further digital copies of Original Wills Uploaded

[Diblet]

You can get a CARN ticket at any Record Office that is a member of the scheme. You can then use them in any participating RO in the country. All you need is 2 Proof of ID things and they'll knock one up for you on the spot! 

[nannyj]

Thanks! 😊

[helvissa]

Findem: me too! Both people in my avatar were non-conformist (the mother was Methodist, the daughter Congregational). Even though they will be 1837-onwards, it'll still yield up info! (and will mean fewer orders for marriage certificates!).

Smudwhisk and nannyj:
Yes, their default-setting is a scan, which they email to you. It's actually quite good because it's full-colour. It's £1.50 per page, so most wills will work out at about 2 to 4 pages. So not too expensive. It depends how desperate you are for the will though - if you've got an Essex Ancestors' subscription, you may as well hold on for a couple of months (several months? I actually don't know!) until they upload the rest of their wills 1720-1858. The turn-around is usually about a week, sometimes two at the most.

Print off the order form and complete it with your details, then you can either post it or join in with some scanning too and scan it, then email it!

I can't see their digital images order form on their website, but info is here: http://www.essex.gov.uk/libraries-archives/record-office/using-searchroom/making-copies-documents/Pages/Default.aspx

Email them ero.enquiry@essex.gov.uk saying you want a copy of that will, and ask for the form to be sent to you. You could even at that point ask how many pages it will be, so you can predict the price.

I've ordered wills using this service, but also marriage licence allegations and Poor Law, they've also done certain surnames from their marriage licence allegation index too (handy!) and most recently some pages from the Bishop's Transcripts for baptisms from a missing page in a register. I think it's a really good way for an archive to make their collections more accessible.

[helvissa]

Oh, and something else to point about wills at ERO - the ones on Seax are the originals that have survived. Some haven't, but they've got the official copy (is it called a probate copy? they look like the PCC ones in that near-impenetrable handwriting) on microfilm. So if you think someone did leave a will and you can't see it on their catalogue, email them to ask if it's in their little red books that they've got at the info desk - they're the index for the microfilm. It might even be helpful to order a digital copy of the page covering the surname and period you're researching.

[Deirdre784]

As in, get the CARN ticket.

Can't you just register with SEAX and order the will? I ordered one from them last year and haven't got a CARN ticket.

[nannyj]

Hi Deirdre
Was it expensive to do it that way?

[helvissa]

It's £1.50 a page. You don't need to have an Essex Ancestors sub or a CARN ticket. Just email them for an order form.

[Deirdre784]

Just checked... Yes £1.50 a page,  mine was 4 pages, fascinating.

[helvissa]

I've been putting my surnames of interest into Seax, with the word 'will', and 'images' selected - it's been brilliant! I might never see any of my friends and family again once they upload the rest of the wills!!!