Find Ancestors

only people who have left a will or for whom there are letters of administration (admons) will have a probate index listing..

County record offices or archives often have the national fiches of the indices which are indexed by year & name so easy to look at. You may have to search for a few years after a death as probate was not always applied for immediately. If the death was before 1858 the indices are only held at the relevany county office, but if found wills are often available to read there. I'm sure the staff will give guidance.

If you look at the national archives site there is quite a bit about searching for & obtaining copies of wills.

I did find this death but it is a verified entry so either it was written wrongly as Woods in the first place or it is the wrong one!

Deaths Dec 1856 (>99%)
WOODS Stephen Basford 7b 57

Hi Sharon,
sorry not replied earlier - I will check out the marriage you have found. I am in Nottm so can nip to the archive and have a look [esp seeing though you have found the parish/church for me!! Thank you.


Hi Ann,
I dont know alot about probate records - any further information you can give me would be most useful. Does everyone have a record? or just those with enough monies to leave behind?

Where do i access probate records? - the archives?

Many thanks.

Elaine

hi,

sorry should have put occupation on the posting. i believe that he was a provision merchant the same as his brother - the business in ilkeston was a shop - i think selling alsorts of stuff [as they would in those days] but the impression i get is that it was more food stuffs!!

my apologies for not giving this info

Elaine

have you tried looking for a will, or at least the probate. If I remember rightly the earlier probate records state the occupation of the deseased as well as the other details.

Ages on death records are only as good as the person registering the death knows and were often a bit out.

hi elaine
possible marriage stephen to hariett rouse 19 1 1862 notts st paul
sharon

hi elaine
1881 there is a stephen wood living at 102 caroline st with wife harriet
timber merchant employing 14 men born geddington
sharon

Hi Sharon,

that seems to be the problem - i cannot find a death that matches with his date of birth!!

he just seems to have disappeared!!

Elaine

hi elaine
probably no good to you but found one burial of a stephen wood 5 6 1885 age 63 at carrington st john sherwood the age is wrong
regards sharon

I have found my 'direct' line of ancestors but am puzzled by the brother, Stephen, the brother of my g.g. grandfather -Alfred Burton Wood . Stephen was born in Geddington/Kettering in 1839.

Information that I have found on his brother Alfred say that he succeeded his brother Stephen [in business?] in 1866. Stephen was his eldest brother.

I have found Stephen in the 1841 and 1851 census returns - but can find no record of him after this date. The 'business' was in Ilkeston [then in] Nottinghamshire. can anyone else find a trace of him or do you think he died? His mother was Rachel Wood [nee Richardson] and his father Isaiah Wood a tailor in Kettering.

If he was indeed the founder of a business then he would have died in either Ilkeston Nottingham or gone home to his family in Kettering, Northants [I assume]

It may be that the book I obtained the information from at the local library is wrong - they have taken some information from [somewhere!! regarding his father] and I believe that this is also wrong!!]

I have looked throught FreeBMD and they have records of deaths of Stephen Wood's but none of them in Nottingham, Basford or Ilkeston.

If anyone can help me with this annoying niggle to my family history - then i would appreciated it VERY much as it is doing my head in!!!

Elaine