Dee Gibson writes an excellent column on using estate records for genealogy. The column was printed in the March 2, 2009 edition of Ashville’s Citizen Times. The following teaser is meant to encourage my readers to go read the entire article.
Estate and probate records are some of the most valuable documents to a genealogist. These records often
contain information that can be found nowhere else.
If a person died intestate (without leaving a will) and had property (real or personal), an administrator was appointed by the court to handle the affairs of settling the estate. And even if a will was left, there is usually a record of settlement that lists the distribution of the assets to the heirs after all debts were settled. Sometimes the widow would act as the administrator, but more often it was a close relative or friend. Sometimes the deceased would name someone in his will to act as the administrator or executor.
When the decedent died intestate, the wife was entitled to one third of the estate. In addition she could petition the court for one year’s support while the estate was settled. This document is often found as a request from the widow, which the court approved and then appointed several “good men with no interest in the estate” to “lay off a year’s support” for the widow. These men would then report back to the court with their findings, a copy of which is usually in the estate record.