Last Wishes and Final Dispositions: Your Guide to Probate Records for Genealogy

One of the best shortcuts to learning about a community and its interconnections is to study the last wills and testaments and the estate records of its inhabitants across decades. Not only will you learn about the families of the deceased, you'll learn about those of servants, tenants, the enslaved, lenders, debtors, purchasers, merchants, professionals and craftsmen. Financial and legal entanglements are documented here alongside kinship. Learn about how to navigate and maximize probate records for your genealogical research.