Editor's Note: This article is the second in a two-part series. Read Part 1.
Among recent e-mails arising from "Probate in Ireland, Part 1" was a
request for more information. One reader reported that she had
searched the microfilm Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ireland
1536-1810 and found surnames of interest, but that no one had been
able to tell her how to proceed further.
The short response is to first check the CD Index to Irish Wills
1484-1858 (Vol. 1 is in the Irish Records Index to Records at the
National Archives of Ireland, Eneclann, 1999) and the films of the Public Record Office
of Northern Ireland (PRONI), Wills Card Index. The long answer, which
constitutes the article that follows, will help this reader
understand what she is working with, what else she needs to do, and
what she can expect to find.
About the Records
Before 1858, probate was the responsibility of the Church of Ireland
(for post-1858 Irish probate, see Part 1 of this article from 4
October 2000 at the URL above). Each diocese of the established
church had a consistorial or diocesan court, and in Dublin, superior
to these, was the Prerogative Court of Armagh. When property of the
deceased was located on two or more dioceses and was, in each of
these, of a value greater than five pounds, then probate had to be
dealt with at the Prerogative Court. Prior to 1816, this court did
not have a permanent home. Records were scattered, which explains, at
least in part, why significant gaps were found when the Public Record
Office of Ireland began to transcribe and index these probate
documents.
When the system changed, all the probated records of the church
courts—that is, the consistorial courts throughout the country and
the Prerogative Court in Dublin—were sent into the newly created
Public Record Office of Ireland. There, staff set to work
transcribing and creating a series of will and grant books. Indexes
were made to wills and letters of administration (issued in instances
of intestacy).
In addition, many volumes of will abstracts were prepared. The most
valuable of these, then and now, is the Genealogical Abstracts of
Records of the Prerogative Court of Armagh, by Sir William Betham.
His work was supplemented by Sir Bernard Burke. These abstracts, as
the title suggests, summarize family relationship information. Now
that the wills are gone, it is easy to see why the abstracts are so
important.
Pre-1858 probate records suffered extreme losses in the 1922 fire at
the Four Courts. The original documents and nearly all the will and
grant books were lost. For the most part, with some damage, the
indexes survived, as did the Betham abstracts and a number of other
indexes, abstracts, and extracts. Over the years, considerable
effort, both in Ireland and in Northern Ireland, has been directed
toward making up for these losses as much as possible. For example,
documents have been gathered from solicitors' offices, and any
relevant details deposited with other records have been collected.
The latter details include material gathered from marriage licenses,
the Registry of Deeds, land records, records of the Inland Revenue
Department in London relating to legacy duties, and charitable
bequests. Both the National Archives in Dublin and PRONI in Belfast
have created finding aids to their probate holdings.
Back to the Problem
It is time to return to the problem in the opening paragraph. What
the reader has looked at is Sir Arthur Vicar's Index to the
Prerogative Wills of Ireland 1536-1810, originally published in 1897
and recently reprinted (Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967, 1989).
This is an index to wills only, probated in Dublin at the Prerogative
Court of Armagh. People using this court tended to be from the upper-
class elements of society. The index does not include letters of
administration at the Prerogative Court or wills or administrations
handled at the diocesan level. Since it was published in 1897,
Vicars' index offers no details about which wills can still be found
today. This is where the Index of Irish Wills CD is useful. Quoting
from the introductory remarks, "This volume is only concerned with
those records that survive in more than index form." Take note that
the Betham abstracts and the Groves papers (another significant
collection) will be the subject of later volumes in the Eneclann CD
series.
A search for pre-1858 probate records would start with some
geography. In which diocese did the deceased reside? [Names and
boundaries of dioceses are not the same as those for the counties.]
Then, indexes should be checked for the appropriate consistorial
court—beginning with the most accessible finding aids (see Indexes
to Irish Wills, 5 vols, by W. Phillimore and G. Thrift, originally
published 1909-20, reprinted by GPC 1970)—and for the Prerogative
Court of Armagh. The Phillimore/Thrift index and the Index to the
Prerogative Wills of Ireland, 1536-1810 are part of the collection
of resources found on the CD Irish Source Records, 1500s-1800s
(Family Archive CD #275, by Broderbund, in cooperation with
Genealogical Publishing Company, 2000).
Published indexes tend to be for wills, so it is worth checking for
finding aids to letters of administration. In addition, there are
other indexes, made by archives and by individuals. Early on in your
research, a careful browse through the LDS Family History Library
Catalog (FHLC) will reveal the details of this extensive collection
of Irish probate materials (it includes the PRONI Wills Cards Index,
the partially alphabetical administration indexes for the Prerogative
Court, and the few surviving will books).
Looking at both published will indexes and the Eneclann CD allows for
comparisons of what wills existed there before the 1922 fire and what
names now have something more than an index entry associated with
them. The Eneclann CD provides the following information:
- Family name and forename
- Status or occupation (not in every case)
- Address (not in every case)
- Document type
- Document status (e.g., transcript, original)
- Year of will, grant, etc.
- Where proved/granted (may mention court, diocese, or another place, and may mention executor)
- National Archives reference
- Notes (not in every case)
- Document ID
Regardless of what is found on the CD, look at other indexes,
determined in part by region and time period. It can be helpful to
find a name and a date, and to have some idea of place; and remember,
for those who died intestate, you should check indexes to
administrations, too. If there is something at the National Archives,
the CD gives the reference and facilitates a direct Internet link to
Eneclann to order a copy (for a fee)—or you can return to the FHLC
and order the appropriate film to a Family History Center. As pointed
out above, some collections, like the Betham abstracts, must be
searched separately.
Final Advice
If it seems like the suggestions here are only the beginning, that's
true. In fact, there is a better beginning. Go back to a methodology
book to get further insight into this complex subject (e.g., Irish
Records: Sources for Family and Local History, by James G. Ryan,
Ph.D., Ancestry, 1997; Tracing Your Irish
Ancestors, by John Grenham, GPC, 1999; or Ireland: A Genealogical
Guide, by Kyle Betit and Dwight Radford, Irish at Home & Abroad,
1998). Spend enough time studying the FHLC: reading the entries adds
to your knowledge and helps in planning how you intend to obtain the
necessary indexes and records. And check out the Web sites,
particularly those of major repositories, including:
Sherry Irvine, CGRS, FSA (Scot) has been researching her British
ancestry for thirty years. She founded Interlink Bookshop and
Genealogical Services in 1988, and
she currently lectures in Canada and the United States and is vice
president of the Association of Professional Genealogists.
Suggestions for future British genealogy articles can be sent to
Sherry Irvine at sherryirvine55@myfamily.com. Sherry will not
be able to send personal replies, but she will feature some questions
in upcoming issues of the Ancestry Daily News. She also regrets
that she is unable to assist with personal research. Sherry is the
author of Your Scottish Ancestry: A Guide for North Americans and Your English Ancestry: A Guide for North Americans.
Ancestry Daily News
