Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994

What is in This Collection?

This collection includes probate records created in Pennsylvania counties for the years 1683 to 1994. Probate records include petitions, inventories, accounts, decrees, wills, estate records, indexes and other documents.

Probates have been recorded on a county basis since the origin of the Commonwealth in 1682. Some major cities, such as Philadelphia, also kept probate records. Complete records are available in most counties. Probate actions taken in a locality before the present county was formed are found in records of the parent county. 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, and 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.

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:

• Name of the testator or deceased
• Names of the heirs, such as spouse, children, other relatives, and friends
• Name of the executor, administrator, or guardian
• Names of witnesses
• Residence of the testator
• Dates the documents were written and recorded (used to approximate event dates since a will was usually written near the time of death).

Collection Content

Sample Image

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  1852 Will