Probate Records

By Anonymous on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 10:43

Forums

I am using a 1830 Probate record from Tyrrell County N.C. for a client report. It is a photocopy of the packet from Raleigh Archives. It contains several deeds. They are handwritten copies from deed books I believe. The handwritng, including signatures and marks, are of the same hand on all copies. The deeds were made(dated and filed) several years apart. I believe they may have been copied for use during probate. Should they be treated as original documents since they are within the packet or should they be analyized as derivatives, which they are in reality. They contain information which provides evidence of parents of one ancestor. Financial constraints do not allow for search and retrieval of possible deed book entries. That would be next step with a new request.

Submitted byEEon Tue, 05/12/2015 - 20:27

MillsTA,

You are wisely analyzing the characteristics of those documents. The possibility you describe is one we see with some frequency in various places. From the standpoint of citation, you would be citing documents filed in a probate packet, and each document would be separately identified; but it would  be wise to add a note that reports the characteristics of these deeds and your belief--based on those characteristics--that they were copies made for the purpose of probating the estate.

 

Submitted byEEon Tue, 05/12/2015 - 20:27

MillsTA,

You are wisely analyzing the characteristics of those documents. The possibility you describe is one we see with some frequency in various places. From the standpoint of citation, you would be citing documents filed in a probate packet, and each document would be separately identified; but it would  be wise to add a note that reports the characteristics of these deeds and your belief--based on those characteristics--that they were copies made for the purpose of probating the estate.

 

Submitted bycwhermann28on Sat, 09/12/2020 - 22:03

I requested a probate file from a county probate court and  was informed the court would supply the copies, but it may take some time as they had to obtain the files from the state archives.  The county probate court had the file returned, made copies and sent them to me.  Do I cite the court as if they were kept in there file or do I create a layered citation that includes a layer for the court and a layer for the state archives?  The court did not provide any information on the archive itself.

Thanks

Submitted byEEon Sun, 09/13/2020 - 09:41

Ah, cwherman, the efficiency of government!  Count your blessings that the file was not lost in the mail-back-to-local-and-then-return-to-the-state-archives process.

For the benefit of our readers, I'll point to Chapter 10, "Local & State Records: Property & Probates." Section 10.36 covers "Records Removed to State Archives."

As you've deduced, you have two basic approaches.

1. Cite it as a local file, following EE 10.31, then add a sentence to explain the acquisition process.

2. Cite it as a state-archives file, as per 10.36, then add a sentence to explain the acquisition process.

Your choice may hinge upon whether you have adequate identification from the local probate office to create a citation that distinctly identifies the file in a manner that it can be relocated. That is especially critical since you mentioned (if I'm interpreting you correctly) that the local office did not provide you with adequate details about its filing location in the archives.

To better understand the problem, EE would go online to that state archive's website, and study its catalog to determine how they organize the local records in their possession--i.e., the record group, series, collection, etc.

Thank you,

You are correct, I contacted the County Probate Court and requested the file and they advised me all probate records were by case number (which are assigned at the time of initial filing).  I provided them with the case number via email which they responded to informing me of cost per page, that it was at the state archive, located in Boise, Idaho and that it would take time to receive. 

They provided a cover letter with the paper copies of the file, but did not provide any additional information on the State Archive.  My web search just created more questions.  It is not clear if the Idaho State Archive are separate, part of Idaho State Historical Society or separate yet housed at the state historical society.

I think I will site as local record per EE 10.31 (because that was my source) with a sentence as below.  The contact at the county was very helpful and I will reach out to her for additional information or the Idaho Historical Society, to include in the explanation sentence.

Full Reference Note:

Latah County, Idaho, probate case files, no. 1324, John A. Gibb (1920), The tem of interest or entire file depending on what I am citing, 26 February 1920; Probate Clerk's Office, Moscow, Latah, Idaho; Records prior to ____ are stored at the Idaho State Archives, ______, Boise, Ada, Idaho.

Submitted byEEon Tue, 09/15/2020 - 10:15

cwhermann28, you've handled it well. EE would make a couple of tweaks

Latah County, Idaho, probate case files, no. 1324, John A. Gibb (1920), The item of interest or entire file depending on what I am citing, 26 February 1920; Probate Clerk's Office, Moscow, Latah, Idaho; records prior to ____ are stored at the Idaho State Archives, ______, [?] Boise, Ada, Idaho, but must be ordered through the county probate office.

Reasoning:

  1. When citing the location of an office or an archive, the convention is to cite City, State. The county's name is not necessary to locate that city or state. The county for the original file has already been identified in the author/creator column; it is identified there because the county office is the author/creator of the file.
  2. It's not clear what purpose is served by the blank between the name of the archives and the location of the archives. The issue over the relationship between the Idaho State Archives and the Idaho Historical Society would rarely need to be part of the citation.
  3. The addition of the last comment would be useful going forward, if not for you then for others who use your citation.