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Find My Past Probate Records

DavidP

DavidP

LostCousins Member
Just a heads up on the latest news from FMP concerning their release of 'browsable probate calendars of England and Wales for 1858 - 1959'.

I've noticed that the records are not always in order for any particular year. For instance 1861 for surnames beginning with 'C' start with Wills for "Coq - Cz", then move on to Administration for "Ca - Cz", then jump back to Wills for "Ca - Cop". There are 489 pages that have been scanned and it looks like it is the way the volumes have been scanned.

I've just spent the afternoon checking on another surname and didn't spot this, so have to go back and redo my work (sob!):(

It's a pity they are not searchable by name, but still a useful resource.
 
I agree with David that's it's a pity the records aren't searchable by name, still useful if you don't have a sub to Ancestry (where the same records ARE searchable by name).
 
The records at Findmypast ARE searchable by name, and better than that you can search by name or address, or on the name of an executor or administrator. So valuable even if you do have an Ancestry subscription.

Just make sure you put quotes around your search terms, eg "Buckingham Palace" or "Randolph Churchill"
 
You are correct, as always, Peter! I had missed that, but then I was 'trawling' the records to see what else I could find.

However, I have just done a name search on the Probate Calendars with the following parameters: Letter = P, Year 1922 +-2 years, Name = "Frederick Pick". It brings back one result for Frederick, but for 1921 - and Frederick does not show on the referenced page, but on the previous page and this is not the one I wanted. The record I was looking for, Frederick Pick, is actually in 1922 - he died at the Carpenters Arms and I can't seem to be able to find it using the name search. This may be a one off problem as I have done a couple of successful name searches for other people. However, I have tried John Pick for 1933 and this works, but the search cannot find Gertrude Pick which is the entry immediately above John?? Very odd.

It's been a long day. Time for a rest methinks.
 
DavidP said:
This may be a one off problem
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There are always going to be problems with text that has been OCRed, I'm afraid. Perhaps at some point they'll offer users the opportunity to correct the transcriptions.

The best thing is that with the calendars available at two different sites, with different search options and different transcriptions, we'll be able to find more records than ever before.
 
peter said:
The records at Findmypast ARE searchable by name, and better than that you can search by name or address, or on the name of an executor or administrator. So valuable even if you do have an Ancestry subscription.
Click to expand...
Thank you, Peter. As so many times before, I was too hasty.
 
peter said:
The records at Findmypast ARE searchable by name, and better than that you can search by name or address, or on the name of an executor or administrator. So valuable even if you do have an Ancestry subscription. Just make sure you put quotes around your search terms, eg "Buckingham Palace" or "Randolph Churchill"
Click to expand...

Peter I think this might be a case of "when all else fails, read the instructions" thanks ;)
 
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