A Treasure Trove at Ancestry.co.uk

Ancestry.co.uk has made the company's National Probate Calendar, 1861-1941, completely free to everyone until July 8th. You can search the index records to see where and when your ancestors died, see the original records to discover how much money or property they may have left behind, and you can use the information that you found, to order their wills and probate records from the Principal Probate Registry. (Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter)


Wills and probate records are much more than a list of possessions that one of your ancestors may have left behind when they died; it can provide you with information on their social standing and wealth, if any, that they may have had. You can find out what they liked or kept as a family heirloom or even give you a head start to finding another ancestor that may have been listed in the will. How great is that? It's free for a limited time, so take advantage of it! I love FREE stuff for genealogists! 

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Will And Testament Image

Another collection that will help you discover lost riches in your family tree is Andrews Newspaper Index Cards, 1790-1976. This unique card index was compiled in England from the 1790s until about 1970 and features a collection of notices from newspapers and various official sources, such as the London Gazette. Approximately 250,000 cards include announcements of births, marriages, obituaries, and deaths abroad; notices of wills, unclaimed estates, and filings under the Colonial Probates Act of 1892 (which recognized probates from courts in British possessions); and advertisements for missing persons and people seeking next of kin. The original newspaper clippings on the cards sometimes include annotations referring to additional information from other sources. (Ancestry.co.uk)