Pennsylvania Probate Records (2024)

Online Resources[edit | edit source]

• 1683-1993 Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993($), index and images, incomplete.
• 1683-1994 Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images

Record Synopsis[edit | edit source]

Probate is the “court procedure by which a will is proved to be valid or invalid” and encompasses “all matters and proceedings pertaining to the administration of estates, guardianships, etc.”^[1] Various types of records are included in probate files. These may include, wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. These documents are extremely valuable to genealogists and should not be neglected. In many instances, they are the only known source of relevant information such as the decedent’s date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their places of residence. They may also include information about adoption or guardianship of minor children and dependents. For further information about the probate process, types of probate records, analyzing probate records, and to access a glossary of probate terms, see United StatesProbate Records.

History[edit | edit source]

Probates have been recorded on a county level since the origin of the Commonwealth in 1682. 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.

State Statutes[edit | edit source]

Understanding the Pennsylvania probate laws and how they changed over time can help us learn how the estate was administered, taxed, and distributed and might help to solve difficult genealogical problems.

Additional information about Pennsylvania state statutes relating to probate matters can be found at law libraries. For example:

Online digital versions of state statutes can often be found by conducting a search engine search for the term, "Pennsylvania statutes."

Repositories[edit | edit source]

Pennsylvania State Archives
350 North St.
Harrisburg, PA 17120-0090

Historical Society of Pennsylvania
1300 Locust St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107-5699

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
215 S. Broad St.
Phildelphia, PA 19107-5325

Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society
400 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4080

Local[edit | edit source]

Pennsylvania wills have been filed with the "register of wills" in each county, where they are recorded in indexed books.

The records of the orphans' court include minute books, proceedings, dockets, appeals, bonds, inventories, distributions of estates, marriages (since 1885), births and deaths (1893-1905), and adoptions (since 1925). Published abstracts of wills and administrations with comprehensive indexes are available for most of the oldest or largest counties.

The docket index, estate index, or general index is the first place to search for evidence of probate proceedings. These indexes list all the records created for a particular probate. The FamilySearch Library has obtained microfilm copies of many of these indexes, often up to the 1980s.

The various documents (bonds, letters, inventories, etc.) are usually transcribed into Orphans' Court Record Books or Administrator's Account Books. The FamilySearch Library has microfilmed the wills and orphans' court records for most counties, usually up to the early 1900s.

The library has few probate records from Lackawanna, Lehigh, Lycoming, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, and Union counties. Some probate records are listed in the Locality Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under PENNSYLVANIA - GUARDIAN AND WARD.

A few land, probate, and will records are available on line from Ancestry.com.

Regional[edit | edit source]

National[edit | edit source]

Additional probate record information and sources can be found in the Locality Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

Pennsylvania- Probate Records Pennsylvania, [COUNTY] - Probate Records

References[edit | edit source]