familysearch and pre 1858 Wills

[kit54]

Hi,
Please can anyone help?
About 6 months ago, I had a reply to a post of mine, (from jonw65 and others), which was relating to a Will for Robert Titterington, Yeoman, of Clapham, Yorkshire, Proved in the Deanery of Lonsdale and the Archdeaconry of Richmond,1806
Due to information kindly supplied in this reply, I can now view a transcribed copy of this Will through familysearch.

I now know, that through familysearch, I can also view Wills for some other Counties/Jurisdictions too eg some Cheshire and some Lancashire ones, but not other Counties eg Lincolnshire. So, please, does anyone know if there is a site which states which Counties/Jurisdictions have Wills that can be viewed through familysearch? In particular, I’m keen to see if I can view Wills which are on the Prerogative & Exchequer Courts of York Probate Index, 1688 – 1858.

Thanks very much,
Kit

[mckha489]

I think you have to get them from the Borthwicks Institute . Hope I am wrong.

https://borthcat.york.ac.uk/index.php/are-you-looking-for-a-will

[Tickettyboo]

Family Search catalogue will give you the info:


search Catalogue
by author
put  Prerogative & Exchequer Courts of York in the author field
Click Search

Expand the results that come up and you'll see a list of the holdings.

I only clicked on a couple and it looks like FS may have what you want but, as the camera icon has a lock symbol in the itemised lists, looks like the agreement with the record holders restricts FS to only allow viewing at a family history centre.

Boo

[kit54]

Hi McKha489 and Tickettyboo,

Thank you very much for your replies.

Yes, I've been trying to view these Wills online, via both the Borthwick and familysearch, without success.
But thanks for your replies,
Kit

[tillypeg]

Have you looked at Dave King's website?  He must have spent half his life transcribing some Yorkshire Wills at the Borthwick Institute.  They are only extracts but he does list the family names and beneficiaries in most cases.

http://www.davekinggenealogy.co.uk/

You might just be lucky.  I have found several which have helped me to get back another generation or two.  As he says, do use wildcards * in the Search box.

[kit54]

Hi tillypeg,

Thanks very much for that - what an amazing site!
Although I cannot find the particular Will(s) I'm looking for at the moment on it, it might be helpful for other lines. It's excellent as it really helps you to see if a particular Will is relevant to your family or not.

Thank you very much,
Kit

[tillypeg]

Mine have mostly been ag labs in Yorkshire but on tracing back another generation and thanks to Dave King, I have found some interesting branches!

There is this page on FindMyPast which may also help:

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/articles/england-and-wales-published-wills-and-probate-indexes-1300-1858-volumes-available/yorkshire

Links to many counties/records.

I'm being patient and hoping that the Borthwick Institute will re-start their Will copying service as they have a couple I would like. 

[kit54]

Thanks again for that tillypeg.

Yes, like you have found, particularly if the name is a common one in an area, often a Will really does help you to identify exactly family relationships. It's a great idea to have these Wills summarised, to show these relationships, as you know exactly which ones to view/order!

Thanks for your reply,
Kit