Vermont, Franklin County Probate Records, 1796-1921

What is in This Collection?

The collection consists of images of probate papers located at the Public Records Office, General Service Center, Middlesex. It includes records for the years 1796 to 1921. This collection is being published as images become available.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

To Browse This Collection

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

Sample Images

• Vermont Probate Record Examples
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  1903 Probate Record Page 1

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  1903 Probate Record Page 2

Probate records are court documents may have included both loose papers and bound volumes. These records were generally known as an estate file, case file, or probate packets.

These files normally included the following types of documents:

• Wills
• Letters of administration
• Settlement papers
• Guardianships
• Inventories
• Receipts
• Distributions
• Name changes
• Adoptions
• Any other records pertaining to estates

Vermont was originally part of Massachusetts. In 1749, New Hampshire claimed a large portion of the area. In 1764, New York claimed jurisdiction over a large portion of the land held by New Hampshire. In 1777, Vermont became independent and was made a state in 1791. Probate records for those who died before 1777 may be in the records of the county and state who claimed the area before Vermont was formally created. Probate courts began recording probate records soon after the county was created. There are 14 counties but 18 probate districts. The four southern counties have 2 districts each. Probate records cover approximately 40 percent of adult males who left wills, but this may be less than 25 percent in some areas. Less than 10 percent of women had wills or estate inventories. Wills are more likely to be found in rural communities than in larger cities and industrial areas. A higher percentage of individuals died without a will, but they may have had their estates probated and distributed through the courts. Wills and other estate documents are found in the estate files.

Probate records were used to legally dispose of a person’s estate after his or her death. If the deceased had made a will, the probate process transferred the following from the deceased to an executor or executrix:

• Legal responsibility for payment of taxes
• Care and custody of dependent family members
• Liquidation of debts
• Transfer of property title to heirs

If there was no will, the transfer went to an administrator or administratrix. A guardian or conservator was appointed if the deceased had heirs younger than 21 or if the heirs were incompetent due to disability or disease.

The death date, residence, and other facts that were current at the time of the probate proceedings are reliable, but realize that there is still a chance of misinformation. The records may omit the names of deceased family members or those who had previously received an inheritance. In some cases, the spouse mentioned in the will was not the parent of the children mentioned. Also, some wills do not name family members.