29,525
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
[http://www.fibis.org/membership.htm FIBIS members] can also take advantage of the FIBIS research service Keep in mind that men who retired in India, and their families, could remain in India, or return to obtain a photocopy of a microfilmed will from the [[British Library]] UK (andEngland, indeedScotland Wales, details from other records and Ireland) where a reference has been found on the website. A search can also be made for wills, probates or relocate to, and inventories which may not yet be listed on eventually die, anywhere in the siteworld, including Australia, New Zealand etc. Members should contact Areas close to the research co-ordinator - UK which were popular with retirees include [[mailto:research@fibis.org research@fibis.orgFrench|France]] - for details of this serviceand the Channel Islands including Jersey.
Note that if you are searching for ==External links==*[http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2114&id=201071 findmypast] Pay website.*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&query=%2Bkeywords%3AProbate%20%2Bkeywords%3AIndia&page=1&availability=Online Digitised FamilySearch microfilms - a list obtained by a person who lived outside keyword search (probate India)] of Calcutta and the other capitals, up-country, filmed India Office records in the Mofussil, they will probably be found [[LDS]] (Mormon) FamilySearch catalogue. Also see [[FamilySearch Centres]].**Note in the records particular [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/159352 Calendars of the District Courtsprobate, not the Supreme Courts1865-1936] India. The District Court records start from 1865, as explained in this Courts*[https://web.archive.org/web/20210120164645/http://www.nationalarchivessog.govorg.uk/a2alearn/records.aspx?cat=059help-getting-started-iorlag_4&cid=1with-65#1genealogy/guide-65 summary five/ Society of LGenealogists: Guide Four: Probate Records] Edited and updated by Else Churchill and Geoff Swinfield, latest update 2020, now archived:[https:/AG/34 contentsweb.archive.org/web/20200715051014/http://www.sog.org.uk/uploads/Gillian_Stevens_and_Chad_Hanna_-Wills_and_Where_to_Find_Them.pdf Wills and Where to find them in England and Wales]by Gillian Stevens and Chad Hanna sog.org.uk. This Rootsweb India List now archived, [https://web.archive.org/web/20210225135221/http://archiverwww.rootswebsog.ancestryorg.uk/learn/who-do-you-think-you-are-2013-speakers-handouts/ from upload] 2013, now archived.com'''Note''': some information may have changed, see 2020 link, but some information is still valid.*[http:/th/readwww.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/INDIAcontent/2009-10help/1256029313 threadindex.aspx?r=554&407 Wills & Testaments] advises that the only information available in relation ScotlandsPeople scotlandspeople.gov.uk. Free to search, pay to view. Scottish wills proved in District Courts are the summaries .*[http://www.willcalendars.nationalarchives.ie/search/cwa/home.jsp Calendars of grants made which are contained in the District Court Calendars Wills and Administrations 1858 – 1920] National Archives of ProbateIreland. Unlike Irish wills proved in the Supreme Courts at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, copies of the actual . Free records.*[http://catalogue.jerseyheritage.org Jersey Heritage: Archives & Collections Online] Includes wills were not sent for persons with connections to the India Office in London. At this point (December 2009) it appears most likely that the Indian Courts, rather than Regional State Archives in as Jersey was popular with retirees from India would be most likely to hold the probated wills, if copies still exist. Details Download of both these sources may be found in [[Indian Libraries and Archives]]an image requires either an annual subscription, or pay per view.
Some wills proved in England relate to persons with links to India or, indeed, those who have actually died in India. Maybe property was held at home and abroad and, therefore, the will was proved in both places. Where this happened before 1858 a will held in the British Library may also be mirrored in the Documents Online section of the National Archives website – from where it can be downloaded at nominal cost. [http:==References==<references//www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/willsdeathduties.asp National Archives]. >
[http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1904 England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1861-1941] is now available through Ancestry.co.uk. Note there are a few gaps inrecords. If you wish to order a copy of a will or grant mentioned in this collection, you can do so for a fee from the Principal Probate Registry or any district probate registry, or you can make a request by mail. Read how to do this in the [http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1176.htm Guide to obtaining probate records from 1858 in England and Wales] by Her Majesty’s Courts Service (HMCS) part of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
Wills may be a means of tracing family links through the beneficaries named. This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2009-12/1261146747 post] says “I have a will from Bengal dated 1813 in which an ancestor of mine named his brother-in-law as a beneficiary. That is the only clue I have to his wife's identity”.
==External Links==
*[http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlehitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&keyword=+Probate+India&prekeyword=+Probate+India Microfilms in the Family History Library] - a list obtained by a keyword search ('probate, India') of filmed India Office records in the [[LDS]] (Mormon) Family History Library Catalogue.
→External Links
==FIBIS resources==
*[http://fibis.ourarchives.online/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=153&s_id=139 Bengal Wills in the India Office Records] 1780 to 1866 Complete, 1867-1909 surnames beginning ‘A’ only.
*[http://fibis.ourarchives.online/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=158&s_id=139 Officers Wills in the India Office Records] an index and extract from the IOR series L/AG/34/30/30. The wills of only 37 officers are included. They cover all three presidencies over the years 1831 to 1875
*[http://fibis.ourarchives.online/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=13&s_id=30 Administration Act Books] Administrations relating to India 1764 to 1857
*[http://fibis.ourarchives.online/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=14&s_id=30 Limited Administration Act Books] relating to India 1830 to 1839
*Sylvia Murphy, "Some Sources of Probate and Estate Records for India," ''FIBIS Journal'', No 8 (Autumn 2002). For details of how to access this article online, see [[FIBIS Journals]].
===Obtaining a copy of a will===
To obtain a copy of a will indexed in the above FIBIS resources you have the following options:
* Copies of British India Office Wills & Probate 1774-1948 are available from [http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2114&id=201071 Findmypast] (pay website)
* Contact the [[British Library]]. A charge applies for a copy of a record, unless you visit personally.
* View a digitised FamilySearch microfilm (refer below). Free source if viewed at [[Family History Centres]]. Currently (2020/11) also available at Family Search Affiliate Libraries, '''some''' of which may charge visitor fees for non members. However, for many people Findmypast may be geographically more convenient.
* [http://www.fibis.org/membership.htm FIBIS members] can also take advantage of the FIBIS research service to obtain a photocopy of a microfilmed will from the [[British Library]] (and, indeed, details from other records ) where a reference has been found on the website. A search can also be made for wills, probates and inventories which may not yet be listed online. Members should contact the research co-ordinator - [mailto:research@fibis.org research@fibis.org] - for details of this service.
==Records==
The [[British Library]] webpage [https://web.archive.org/web/20180825042415/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/india/indiaofficerecordsfamilyhistory/willsandadministrations/willsadmin.html Wills and Administration] (now archived) lists sources in the [[India Office Records]].
The following information is available on the FIBIS Search database.*[http:records include Wills, probates, administrations and inventories of estates of persons who died in India and Burma '''IOR/L/www.search.fibis.orgAG/frontis/bin34/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=153&s_id=139 Bengal Wills in the India Office Records] 1780 to 1866 Complete, 29''' 1867-1909 surnames beginning ‘A’ only. which include*[http:Bengal wills '''IOR/L/www.search.fibis.orgAG/frontis34/bin29/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=158&s_id=139 Officers Wills in the India Office Records] an index 4-184''' Calcutta Supreme/High Court* Madras wills and extract from the administrations '''IOR series /L/AG/34/3029/185-340''' Madras Supreme/30. The wills of only 37 officers are included. They cover all three presidencies over the years 1831 to 1875High Court*[http:Bombay wills and administrations '''IOR/L/www.search.fibis.orgAG/frontis34/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=13&s_id=30 Administration Act Books] Administrations relating to India 1764 to 1857*[http:29/341-380''' Bombay Supreme/www.search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=14&s_id=30 Limited Administration Act Books] relating to India 1830 to 1839High Court
These records, with images, are available for download on the [http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2114&id==Obtaining 201071 findmypast] website. Note that if you are searching for a copy person who lived outside of Calcutta and the other capitals, up-country, in the Mofussil, they will probably be found in the records of the District Courts, not the Supreme Courts. The record series is '''IOR/L/AG/34/31'''. The District Court records start from 1865. The only information available in relation to wills proved in District Courts are the summaries of grants made which are contained in the District Court Calendars of Probate. Unlike wills proved in the Supreme Courts at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, copies of the actual wills were not sent to the India Office in London. These records do NOT appear to have been digitised by FindMy Past, but are available on [[FamilySearch]] digitised microfilm, refer below. At this point (December 2009) it appears most likely that the Indian Courts, rather than Regional State Archives in India would be most likely to hold the probated wills, if copies still exist. Details of a both these sources may be found in [[Indian Libraries and Archives]]. Some wills proved in England relate to persons with links to India or, indeed, those who have actually died in India. Maybe property was held at home and abroad and, therefore, the will was proved in both places. Where this happened before 1858, read the National Archives guide [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/wills-or-administrations-before-1858/ Wills or administrations before 1858]. Both Ancestry and [[findmypast]] contain databases relating to wills prior to 1858. In Ancestry the databases are located in the collection Wills, Probates, Land, Tax & Criminal, while in findmypast the databases are located in Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records/Wills & probate. Note that the Ancestry images, which are done in grey-scales are considered much clearer to read than the National Archives images, which are available only in black and white.<ref> Link no longer accessible. AdrianB38. "Need help in deciphering handwriting on will===" ''Who Do You Think You Are? Forum'' February 07, 2017.<nowiki>http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/forum/topic14597.html#p51110</nowiki></ref>
For the period from 1858, [http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1904 England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995] is available through Ancestry.co.uk. Note there are a few gaps in records. [[Findmypast]] also has two related datasets of these Index records called "Probate Calendars Of England & Wales 1858-1959" and "Probate Calendars Of England & Wales 1858-1959 - Browse", located under Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records/ Wills & probate.<br>If you want wish to obtain order a copy of a will that you have found a reference for or grant mentioned in FIBIS’s transcriptionsthis collection, you will need to visit or contact the [[British Library]], or order can do so for a LDS film (refer below) or LDS photocpyfee, details online from [[Family History Centres|here]]. This India List [httphttps://archiverprobatesearch.rootswebservice.ancestrygov.comuk/th/read/INDIA/2010-03/1267970970 post dated 3/2010#calendar Find a will: GOV.UK] is , where you can search for the will or probate of any person in respect of obtaining the UK who died between 1858 and 1996, and then order a copy of online. Currently (March 2016) the website is a will “Beta” (not finalized) version, and the Search appears inadequate. It is recommended that you find details from findmypast or Ancestry, then use the details to locate the record on GOV.UK, from where you can complete the [[British Library]]details for an online request for the will.
==RecordsAlso see==The *[[British Library]] webpage [http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/india/indiaofficerecordsfamilyhistory/willsandadministrations/willsadmin.html Wills and Administration] lists sources in the [[India Office RecordsArmy#Soldiers’ wills|British Army - Soldiers’ wills]].
[[Category:Records]]
[[Category:Research methods]]
