National Probate Indexes 

Probate is granted when a Will has been accepted by all parties involved and the executors named therein are willing to act in carrying out the wishes of the deceased. The Will is then said to have been "Proved". Only a relatively small proportion of people prior to the middle of the twentieth century made Wills - mostly professionals, tradesmen, wealthy widows and spinsters. If a person dies without making a Will, probate does not apply, but "Letters of Administration" (Admons) are granted to the next of kin who is thereby legally empowered to administer the deceased's estate.

Before 10th January 1858 Wills were proved in various church courts, usually Archdeaconry or Consistory Courts, but the 1857 Probate Act transferred jurisdiction to a new Court of Probate. Most Yorkshire wills were proved in the Courts of the Archbishop of York, and are now held at the Borthwick Institute in York. Indexes for the wills have been published by the Yorkshire Archaelogical Society and indexes are available at some libraries (pre-1689) or at the Borthwick Institute (1689-1858: see their website http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/bihr/bihr.html for details of costs, etc).

Before the Married Women's Property Act of 1882 only unmarried women and widows could make wills.

If a testator left property in more than one Court's jurisdiction, or died overseas, then the Will is likely to be in the records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. These records are held in London at the Public Record Office with copies at the Family Record Centre in Islington.

Since 1918 the public search rooms for Wills and Admons has been at: Principal Registry of the Family Division, Probate Dept., First Avenue House, 42-49 High Holborn, London WC1V 6NP (tel. 020-7936-7000). Orders for copies can be made by post to: The Postal Searches and Copies Dept., The Probate Registry, Duncombe Place, York, YO1 7EA (tel. 01904-624210) - see www.courtservice.gov.uk/wills_probate/probate_famhist.htm for full details. The cost is £5/each, cheques payable to "HMPG".

I extracted most of the details on the following pages from microfiche of the National Probate Indexes (Calendars) which start from 1858, and have made minor abbreviations and changes without compromising the facts. Ages at the time of death are in most cases those stated in the GRO Indexes.

As far as I am aware the summary includes all Ellerton Wills and Admons in the period from 1858-1943. If you find details of any of your ancestors here please drop me an e-mail so that I can add any appropriate notes (dates of birth, spouses, etc.) for other researchers to benefit from.

Pages last updated: March 2008