Posts in November 26, 2025

Before full-text search at FamilySearch, a search of probate records generally focused finding one for the ancestor of interest and their known close relatives and associates. A person would be mentioned in their own probate file and potentially in those of associates and near relatives. A manual search of all probate records where a relative might have been mentioned, even in passing, was usually time prohibitive. That’s not necessarily true any more. Benjamin Butler was born about 1820 in New York State. Before his death in the 1880s in Vernon County, Missouri (were his own probate is filed), he lived in Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan (two counties), and Ontario. It’s possible he is referenced in a probate record in any of these locations as an heir or beneficiary, debtor, […]