|
Discovering Your Roots in Elgin:
Chapter 9 Wills and Estate Records There are several different sources to consult to find wills and estate records for Elgin County, depending on the time period involved. The London District Surrogate Registry, Middlesex County Surrogate Court, Elgin County Surrogate Court, Surrogate Clerk of Ontario, the Abstract Index and General Register at the Land Registry Office will be discussed in this chapter. An index to Wills & Probates found in Land Registry Office records and three volumes of an Index to the General Register have been published by Elgin OGS The Elgin County Archives has a large collection of microfilm containing most of these records. For a more complete description of the contents of each reel, refer to the numerical listing prepared by the Elgin County Library, at the Elgin County Archives. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has also microfilmed many wills and estate records. A listing of their holdings will be listed at the end of this chapter. There are two main groups of records dealing with estates: Surrogate Court records and Estate Files. Surrogate Court records are simply the wills on file for the district or county. Estate files will records of the Surrogate Court, plus petitions for administrations of estates for people without wills. London District Surrogate Registry : Estate Files 1800-1839 ECL MF 1 154 to MF 1156 Since Elgin County was once part of the London District, this is the earliest source for wills of people who lived here. An index is found at the beginning of each reel, but is organized by file number rather than name or date, so it is necessary to consult each microfilm reel until you find the correct file. The estate files provide specific details of a person’s estate such as the will or letters of administration and an inventory of the estate listing the deceased’s possessions and their value at the time of probate. The wills and estate files for the London District for 1839 to 1846 were destroyed in a fire in 1846. Middlesex County Surrogate Court Records: 1846-1853/4 Elgin County wills are available as part of the Middlesex County Surrogate Court records, which are available in hard copy at the Regional Collection, D.B. Weldon Library, University of Western Ontario, London. These records are also available through the LDS Family History Centre, under the title of London District Wills, 1846-1853. Register A: 1846-1852 LDS Film #982353 Register B: 1852-1853 LDS Film #928120 Some of these wills have been reprinted in the Annual Reports of the Elgin County Library for 1982 and 1983 published by the Elgin County Library. Surrogate Clerk of Ontario Application Books and Indexes 1858-1965 ECL MF 1076 to MF 1153 These records contain a listing of all applications for probate in the province of Ontario. There are two series of records, 1858-1923 and 1923-1965. Each series is comprised of a set of indexes and the actual application books. Index 1858-1923 ECL MF 1076 to MF 1080 Application Books 1858-1923 ECL MF 1081 to MF 1094 Index 1923-1965 ECL MF 1095 to MF 1106 Application Books 1923-1965 ECL MF 1107 to MF 1153 Registers 1968 to 1971 ECL MF 1344 to MF 1347 Each index volume contains an alphabetical arrangement of names within each year and an application filing number. To use these records, find the name of the deceased in the index book and record the application filing number. Take this number to the correct application book. These books are arranged numerically by application filing number and contains the name, residence and occupation of both the deceased and the application for probate, date of application, date of filed estate and the county or district of filing. With this information, it is then possible to go to the county or district Surrogate Court records to obtain the actual estate file. These estate files are available through the Archives of Ontario. The estate files for 1854 to 1900 for Elgin County are available on microfilm at the Elgin County Archives, and at the Archives of Ontario. The Archives has printed versions of the estate files from 1901 to 1943. Those after 1943 are available at the Elgin County Surrogate Court office in the Justice Building on St. Catherine Street, St. Thomas. There is a fee for copies of these papers. To consult Elgin County estate files at the Archives of Ontario, you must either write to the Archives or travel to Toronto. The printed versions are in storage and require 48 hours to retrieve. Estate File Index The Elgin County Library has compiled an Estate File Index (1800-1900) database. This index is available on the Elgin County Library’s web page on the Internet. The microfilm used to create this database is housed at the Elgin County Archives, and copies of an estate file can be obtained by contacting the Elgin County Archives. This estate file index has been created from three sources: London District Surrogate Registry (1800-1839); Middlesex County Surrogate Court Register (1846-1853/4); and the Elgin County Surrogate Court Register (1859-1900) Be aware that Estate files and Surrogate Court records are different. Estate files include Surrogate Court records, plus petitions for administration for people without wills. Surrogate Court records are simply the wills on file for the particular county. Many of the Surrogate Court Indexes for the period 1859 to 1900 have been published as a county series. Elgin County is Volume 12, and is available at most libraries. This published index will give you the estate file number you need to access the records at the Archives of Ontario. The Archives will accept requests by mail for photocopies of estate files. Write to them for details. Elgin County Surrogate Court: 1859 to 1948 Index and Grant Books: 1859 to 1948 ECL MF 1157A and MF 1157B These grant books are similar to the Surrogate Clerk of Ontario Application Books and Indexes. They supply the name of the deceased, residence, occupation, time of death, date of grant, names and occupation of executors, and nature of the grant (i.e. whether it is a grant of probate or letters of administration). There are two index books: Volume 1: 1859-1920 Volume 2: 1920-1947 The names in the index books are organized alphabetically by year. It is necessary to find the name in the index, obtain the number of the file, and then use the file number to find the proper listing in the Grant Book. There are Grant Books from 1859 to 1893, and from 1929 to 1948. The books for 1894 to 1928 have disappeared, although the index in available. Also useful is the Process Book for Contentious Matters (1859-1911) (ECL MF 1157A). If the settlement of an estate was in dispute, it will be listed in this book. There is no index. There appears to be no separate source for Elgin County wills for 1854 to 1859, however, these can be found as part of the estate files at the Archives of Ontario. The following is a listing of the microfilm held by the Elgin County Archives for the Elgin County Surrogate Court records: Indexes 1859-1947 see above Grant Books 1859-1893 MF 1157A Grant Books 1929-1948 MF 1158B Will Registers 1854-1959 MF 1158 to MF 1205 Estate Files 1854-1900 MF 1375 to MF 1404 Wills 1859-1901 MF 1406 to MF 1410 Name Index (Wills) 1859-1966 MF 1405 A more detailed description of the contents of the above reels of microfilm can be found in the Elgin County Library’s Numerical Listing at the Elgin County Archives, or at any branch of the Elgin County Library. Wills at the Land Registry Office Wills may be shown in the Abstract Index as registered land documents. This is an important source for wills that were not probated when they only were used to transfer or convey property. The instrument number of a will refers to the Land Registry Office numbering system and not to the Surrogate Court Records. Normally, to access wills filed in this way, you must know the township, concession and lot of the deceased’s property to find reference to it in the Abstract Index. However, Elgin OGS has published an index to Wills & Probates found in the Abstract Indexes for Elgin County.
General Registers: After 1865, wills which do not specify a property description are recorded in the General Register series of each Land Registry Office. This Register is a copybook series for each county which includes land related documents such as wills, bankruptcies, and powers of attorney. They are indexed by name. The General Registers for Elgin County have been microfilmed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and are available on loan through any LDS Family History Centre. For a more detailed listing of the contents of each reel, consult the Family History Centre Library Catalogue under “Ontario, Elgin County, Probate Records”. Elgin OGS has purchased this series of microfilm and is available at the Elgin County Archives. An extraction of information and index has been published for some of these records (see Elgin OGS publication list). LDS Microfilm Numbers Index 1855-c1900 0160544 General Registers 1866-1904 0160545 to 0160546 1753651 to 1753653 1731852 to 1731853 1730543 to 1730544 Estate Records on Microfilm at the LDS Family History Centre for Elgin County Surrogate Court Estate Files (1901-1930) Includes wills, testaments, inventories of property, letters of administration, letters of probate. LDS Microfilm numbers 1479867 to 1479872 1432479 to 1432491 1464295 to 1464317 1464347 to 1464349 1464394 to 1464418 Probate Records (1854-1901) Consists of probate record books and the original probate papers.: LDS Microfilm numbers Index 1876-1966 484318 (in permanent collection at London LDS Family History Centre) Probate papers 1859-1900 484319 to 484320 484846 to 484879 (some at London ‘s Centre) Also, the General Registers and London District Wills , which were mentioned earlier. For a more detailed listing of the contents of each of the above reels of microfilm, consult the Family History Library Catalogue under “Ontario, Elgin County, Probate Records”. Elgin County Surrogate Court; Estate Files 1871 - 1874 Elgin County Surrogate Court; Estate Files 1871 - 1874 File # 378 Elgin County Surrogate Court; Estate Files 1871 - 1874 File # 378 Elgin County Surrogate Court; Estate Files 1871 - 1874 File # 378 Elgin County Surrogate Court; Estate Files 1871 - 1874 File # 378 Elgin County Surrogate Court; Estate Files 1871 - 1874 File # 378
© Ontario Genealogical Society, Elgin County Branch September 1999 Published by Ontario Genealogical Society Elgin County Branch Box 20060 St. Thomas, Ontario N5P 4H4 |