Over the years, I have read and analysed many hundreds of sets of probate records. The earliest I’ve used date from the later Middle Ages, the most recent from only a couple of decades ago. There have been wills aplenty of course, and also many grants of administration and probate inventories, as well as the less usual types of documentation – tuition bonds, renunciations of executorship, probate accounts and much else.
I have always found them of outstanding interest and importance, often very moving and never dull. With wills, especially before the 19th century, we may find unique insights into the hopes and fears, spiritual beliefs and social context of our ancestors. These are probably the only really personal record of the people concerned – the only time in their…
