Tips and Resources

For times before detailed vital records were kept, probate records can be among the most valuable records providing direct evidence of family relationships.  Probate records, which can include wills, petitions for administration, inventories and distribution of property, often list all living children, including daughters’ married names, as well as the children of deceased children. Be sure to search for probate records for both parents, as well as grandparents and (especially ummarried) aunts and uncles.