Have you heard about Ancestry's wonderful new
U.S. Wills and Probate collection? I've been using it all day and have found some great information for my book, including a notice that was misfiled into a probate folder although it belonged elsewhere, but was valuable in explaining a strange part of the history of a Missouri family.
Since I've been concentrating on Sidney Tanner's history recently, I pulled up his probate record. It was a difficult situation, since he had two wives, but only one was legally able to appear in court.
Each probate file is indexed by contents, as you can see in the right sidebar, making it easier to navigate through the file. I do wish it were possible to download the entire file with one click!
Sidney's file does not include a detailed inventory, which is disappointing, since that's my favorite part of any probate, but it does give a snapshot into the circumstances of his later years.
Have you used this new collection yet? Find anything interesting?
