Index to Irish Wills 1484-1858: Where to find the wills?

[Gilby]

Wow that’s some list to get through.  Thanks 

I believe the Groves manuscripts are T808 at PRONI.  I’ve looked through a few hundred pages, which is a small fraction of the total.  I’m not sure I understand the index you linked to.  Is it grouped by surnames which Grove was researching, and then the secondary lists of names are incidental surnames which cropped during his research?

RE the IGRS.  I copied out all the names from the first three wills to see how long it would take.  It took 10 mins, so I guess to do all ~1500 would be about 83 hours.  If only I didn’t have to do the day job!

[John Falvey]

I am sure I don't understand the index I linked to. I think your guess is probably accurate, but without first names and places the references aren't that much use.

[Gilby]

Do you know what this type is referring to?


First name(s)   John
Last name   Courtney
Year   1831
County   -
Document type   Will
Document status   Transcript
Volume   4/236/18
Ref.no.   -
Record set   Index Of Irish Wills 1484-1858
Category   Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records
Subcategory   Wills & Probate
Collections from   Ireland

[John Falvey]

I can't help with that one. It's not in T810 at PRONI or Eustace's list of will abstracts at https://www.jstor.org/stable/25511851

Pity the Inland Revenue abstract at https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNR-D973-Y?i=193&cat=234657 has no details.

[Gilby]

I think you did find it actually.  The “4/236/18” was referring to the Irish Wills Register, but for whatever reason it was missing the reference number.  I looked up a name from a couple of pages earlier and the index has this:

First name(s)   Henry
Last name   Donnelly
Year   1831
Where grant proved   Prerogative Court
Document type   Will
Document status   Transcript
Volume   4/236/18
Ref.no.   IWR/1831/F/166

[Gilby]

This guy should be in the Prerogative Grant Book for 1748-1751:

First name(s)   John
Last name   McCausland
Date of grant   1749
Address   Reighlagh
Where grant proved   Prerogative Court
Document type   Probate
Document status   Transcript
Ref.no.   Prerogative Grant Book/F/118a

Which I thought we had here:
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/466810?availability=Family%20History%20Library

But that seems to be just the will books and indexes.  I can find this John McCausland in the prerogative will index, but I can’t find the relevant grant book – do you know if it is online?

Come to think of it, this John McCausland did leave a will (PRONI T1021/5), so why would his name be in the grant book?  I thought that administration grants for those who died intestate.

[John Falvey]

Only the wills and indexes are at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/466810?availability=Family%20History%20Library not the Grant Books

The Grant books can include all of the following:

• Grants of Administration
• Grants of Probate on wills
• Marriage Licence Bonds
• Guardianship

Betham's abstract of his will is at https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9LW-6CXN?i=826&cat=224404

[Gilby]

Thanks.  It is good to know that bit more about the grant books.

Yes I was hoping to find an abstract with additional information to what’s in Betham’s.  But I guess the grant book would be even more minimal anyway.

[Gilby]

I’m looking at an entry in the Irish Will Register (IWR/1832/F/521) for Thomas Wilson of Coggery (aka Cogry):

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNT-3RFS?i=190&cat=234657

I’m trying to make sense of the notes in the “Consanguinity” and “What deemed” columns.  In the latter there’s something that looks like “Abs” ad “Absurp”, also a word which looks like “Army”, but it has a mark above to show it is an abbreviation.

The consanguinity column is obviously critical to working out how these people were related to each other.  The first note looks like “thra NC” and then maybe “thra” again, or is it “Obra”?