Genealogy Chat

Any will proved in Consistory Court of the Bishop of Exeter is NOT going to appear on Documents Online. Wonderful tough this site is, it only contains a tiny fraction of wills proved pre 1858.

Thanks for that Suzy but I have looked on A2A. No luck, always the way ah????. Many thanks Irene

You can search for proved (PCC) wills on: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk I found one of mine on there. It's free to search and around £3.50 to download one. Good luck. Suzy

Thank you very much for your replies. Have checked A2A and a copy of the will is not available from them. Have emailed the Devon Records Office and am awaiting a reply from them. I have read the info on the site details Sarah was kind enough to give me and it does not look very good for getting a copy of the will. Looks like most of them were destroyed in a fire. Nothings easy in this genealogy game. I thought I would find out lots of details about my ancestors. Thanks again Irene

Thinking about it, Irene, your entry probably comes from a very thick volume published pre-war, merely calendaring the wills. If you are very lucky, though, someone may have researched your family pre-war. The Devon Record Office and the West Country Studies Library do have several volumes of abstracts of wills.

Irene, Towards the bottom on the main page for England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland: Parish and Probate Records there is this blurb: How do I find copies of the originals? These records are a finding aid that help researchers locate an ancestor in a particular time and place in history. With a location and an approximate date, the microfilm number of pertinent corroborating records can often be found on the LDS Church's FamilySearch site (www.familysearch.org) in the Family History Library Catalog. The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA has the largest collection. For unfilmed original parish records in England, Wales and Scotland go to The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers, under the county of interest. This will direct you the County Record Office where the registers are housed. Also contact local genealogical societies or local parishes for information on viewing original records. See Crockford's Clerical Directory, a directory of the clergy from the various national churches. It is published annually. There are other church records, and a search on Familysearch.org on the FHLC can provide you with listings of original parish records by doing a locality search for your county/parish, then look under 'Church Record' type. Ancestry.com. United Kingdom and Ireland: Parish and Probate Records . [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2001. Original data: Electronic databases created from various publications of parish and probate records Hope this helps Rose

Thanks again Sarah that is really kind of you. Many thanks Irene

Thank you Pink Tabitha for your kind reply. I will give it a go. Does not look very good though does it. It may not have surviived. I was hoping I could find out a few more details of my family. Many thanks Irene

Try looking to see if it is on A2A Virtually all Devon wills were destroyed in WW2. If this survives, it will be an Estate Duty copy that was originally held in London. The bonus on this is that you ought to be able to get hold of the Death Duty Register entry as well, which can help sort out relationships amost the beneficiaries. (Not that I'm jealous, but I know Devon ancestors of mine left wills in 1796 which do NOT survive)

Lesley the details of the will were in parish records, if you click records at the bottom on the birth/marriages and deaths section the parish records will come up. Good Luck Irene

Thank you Sarah for your very kind reply. I will get intouch with Devon. Many thanks Irene

Have found details on Ancestry of a will in 1796 for Amos Rowcliffe, Swimbridge W. It states Devon,Cornwall & Gloucester:-Wills and Administrations proved in the Consistory Court of the Bishop of Exeter, 1531 to 1800. Would I be able to get a copy of this will online please. If so how do I go about receiving it. Many thanks Irene