Probate case files can be full of wonderful old items besides the will and names of heirs or beneficiaries.

If you’re lucky, there may be a copy of the sale bill announcing when the property of the deceased was to be sold. This one from 1920 included items from the estate of Sarah Newman and her son. Some of the items in the handwritten records were difficult to read and the printed sale bill made transcription of some of those items easier.

In this case it’s mentioned that lunch will be served. Sometimes, if a church group is serving lunch, they will be named. That could be a clue.

And these are just neat items to locate.

 

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    • In most areas of the US, these are local court records–usually at the county level, but not always. There are some jurisdictions in the eastern portion of the US that are at the town level. But the county court is the place to start. Some counties have/had a separate court for probate and in some cases the structure of the local courts has changed over time.

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