WHAT CAN YOU LEARN FROM A PROBATE RECORD? HERE'S ONE FROM 1884 FOR MY 3RD GREAT GRANDMOTHER

  

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have located the probate record for my 3rd great grandmother, Elizabeth BURGESS nee GADEN/GAYDON.  Here is the link to that post:  http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2014/11/want-to-find-probate-records-online.html

BACKGROUND: Elizabeth was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England on 30 Jan 1813.  Her parents were Richard GAYDON and Mary THOMAS.  She married Henry BURGESS on 14 Nov 1832 in Barnstaple, Devon, England.  To them were born 3 known children: William born 27 Nov 1835, John born about 1837 and Susan born 20 Nov 1841.  To my knowledge all children were born in Barnstaple, Devon, England.  On 23 Dec 1862 Susan came to the United States with her daughter Susan and Susan’s husband Joseph GILLESPIE and their two infant children.  There is no record of Elizabeth’s husband, Henry traveling with them, nor have I been able to locate a death date or burial location for Henry.  Elizabeth BURGESS died on 16 May 1884 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.
 
I was very excited to have located her probate record.  I have only ever been able to obtain probate records for a couple of my ancestors.  Not for lack of wanting to find them, but many weren’t and still are not online.  The ones I have located were found when I traveled to various locations and went to courthouses.

Having located the probate index record on familysearch.org and finding that the actual record was not online, I requested help from a contact who lives in Detroit.  I know her via the Detroit Genealogy Facebook group.  Her name is Deidre Denton and she is available if you would like her to obtain Michigan records for you. 
CLICK HERE TO GO TO DEIDRE'S WEBSITE AND CONTACT HER

I took the time to transcribe all 16 pages of this probate record.  Doing so, helped me to read it carefully, word by word.

SO EXACTLY WHAT DID I LEARN FROM THIS 16 PAGE PROBATE RECORD?

• Conformation that Elizabeth Burgess died on Friday, 16 May 1884
• She was a resident in the City of Detroit, County of Wayne, State of Michigan at the time of her death
• She was possessed of real and personal estate with an estimated value of $1,000 of which $50 was her personal estate
• That the names, relationships & residences of her heirs were: Susan Gillespie, William Burgess, John Burgess (children) and Susan Milne (grandchild), all of Detroit, Michigan. 
• The administrator of her will was Edwin F. Culver
• That there were two notices of the pending probate published in the newspaper (a copy of those articles is even shown in the probate papers)
• That Elizabeth Burgess left several pieces of real estate and a house to her daughter, Susan Gillespie
• That she left $50 to each of her sons, William & John Burgess
• That she left a watch to her granddaughter, Susan Milne
• The names of the two witnesses to her will
• That Elizabeth Burgess probably couldn’t write, as she left “her mark” on the will (later confirmed by an 1870 census)
• The various amounts of money paid from the estate for rent, tax and other items
• That the record was final & filed on 11 Nov 1885

That is quite a bit of information.  

WERE THERE ANY EARTH SHATTERING, JUMP UP AND DOWN DISCOVERIES IN THIS PROBATE RECORD?

I’d have to say no to that.  However, what I did learn was that she owned some property and that her two sons, according to this record, were living in Detroit, Michigan.  I had no idea if they had ever traveled over from England.
 
This also, of course, gives confirmation of relationships, which we are always looking for in our research.

MY NEXT STEPS

• Try to locate where her property was in Detroit
• Find records for her sons, John & William in the U.S.
• Attach the probate record to Elizabeth in my Legacy database & cite my source
• Share this record with my brother, John, who is the other genealogist in our family
• AND, go back to Family Search and find more probate records (I’m already in the process & have found others)

Probate records can be very helpful in your research.  Some are more revealing than others.  But, all of them give us a little bit more insight into our ancestor’s lives.  Isn’t that what our research is all about?

Here are a few more pictures of the actual pages of the probate & will.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)
  
    

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST 
EVALUATING YOUR RECORDS ON AN INDIVIDUAL - WHAT YOU WILL LEARN 

WHAT ABOUT THOSE RECORDS WITH COMPLETELY INCORRECT NAMES? HOW I FOUND MY GRANDMOTHER'S BIRTH RECORD 

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

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