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Wills and Probate

Before 1777

Wills and Probate procedings from 1635 to 1777 were recorded at the state level in Maryland with the Prerogative Court. After 1777, the Wills and Probate were filed with the Orphans Court of the Appropriate County. As a result most wills, inventories of estates, and administrative filings for estates prior to 1777 are existent and held by the Maryland State Archives at Annapolis. However, there are a few wills that are referred to in land records, but apparently were never filed or have been lost.

Extracts of Wills

Extract of Wills State Wide (The following at extracts of wills listing all persons named, witnesses, tracts of land)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 1, 1635-1685, compiled and edited by Jane Cotton Baldwin, 1904, reprinted by Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 2, 1685-1702, compiled and edited by Jane Cotton Baldwin, 1906, reprinted by Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 3, 1703-1713, compiled and edited by Jane Cotton Baldwin, 1907, reprinted by Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 4, 1713-1720, compiled and edited by Jane Cotton Baldwin, 1914, reprinted by Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 5, 1720-1726, compiled and edited by Jane Cotton Baldwin, reprinted by Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 6, 1726-1732, compiled and edited by Jane Cotton Baldwin, reprinted by Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 7, 1732-1738, compiled and edited by Jane Cotton Baldwin, reprinted by Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 8, 1738-1743, compiled and edited by Jane Cotton Baldwin, reprinted by Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 9, 1744-1749, compiled and edited by F. Edward Wright, Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 10, 1747-1753, compiled and edited by F. Edward Wright, 1991, Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 11, 1753-1760, compiled and edited by F. Edward Wright, Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 12, 1759-1764, compiled and edited by F. Edward Wright, Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 13, 1764-1767, compiled and edited by F. Edward Wright, Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 14, 1767-1772, compiled and edited by F. Edward Wright, 1993, Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 15, 1772-1774, compiled and edited by F. Edward Wright, Family Line Publications. (in print)

The Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol 16, 1774-1777, compiled and edited by F. Edward Wright, Family Line Publications. (in print) This volume also contains corrections to early volumes.

There is also an index for Maryland Wills: Index of Maryland Colonial Wills 1635-1777, J. M. Magruder Jr, 1967 Genealogical Publishing.

Probate Records

The Probate Records include inventories of estates and adminstrative papers filed. Early inventories include extensive lists of debts owed the estate, chattel goods, persons making the survey, in later years the next-to- kin are identified. Adminstrative accounts identify the disposition of the estates assets, often a good source to find who a widow remarried as adminstrator/administrix. Astracts of these records are available/being compiled. An economical way to obtain most of the records filed with the Maryland Pererogative Court is to purchase a CD, Maryland Probate Records, 1674-1774 by Family Line Publications, Family Tree Maker Archives CD #206 which has images and master index of 54 volumes. After 1776, the administrative records were filed and kept at the county court.

Abstracts of Baltimore County Administration Accounts, Liber 6 by Robert Barnes, published by Bettie Carothers, 1975

Abstracts of Inventories and Accounts of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1674-1678 and 1699-1703, (Libers 1-5), Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr. 1992, Family Line Publications.

Abstracts of Inventories and Accounts of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1679-1686, (Libers 6, 7A, 7B, 8), Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr. 1992, Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories and Accounts of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1685-1701, (Libers 9, 10, 101c, 11A, 11B), Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr. 1992, Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories and Accounts of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1688-1698, (Libers 12, 13A, 13B, 14, 15), Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr. 1992, Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories and Accounts of the Perrogative Court of Maryland, 1697-1700 (Libers 16, 17, 18, 19 19-1/2A, 19-1/2B), Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr. 1992, Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories and Accounts of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1699-1704, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr, Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories and Accounts of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1699-1708 Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories and Accounts of the Perrogative Court of Maryland,1708-1711 (Libers 29, 30, 31, 32A, 32B), Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr. 1994, Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories and Accounts of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1711-1713, (Libers 32C, 33A, 33B, 34), Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr. 1992, Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories and Accounts of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1712-1716, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories and Accounts of the Perrogative Court of Maryland, 1715-1718 Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1718-1720, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Accounts of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1718-1724, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications.

Abstracts of Inventories of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1724-1727, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., 1991, Family Line Publications (Apparently is out-of-print).

Abstracts of Inventories of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1738-1744, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1744-1748, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1748-1751, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1751-1756, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1755-1760, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications.

Abstracts of Inventories of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1760-1763, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1763-1766, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1766-1769, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1769-1772, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of Inventories of the Perrogative Court of Maryland 1774-1777, Compiled by B. F. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of the Balance Books of the Perrogative Court of Maryland, Liber 1 1751-1755, Compiled by Debby Moxey, Family Line Publications

Abstracts of the Balance Books of the Perrogative Court of Maryland, Libers 2 & 3 1755-1763, Compiled by Vernon L. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of the Balance Books of the Perrogative Court of Maryland, Libers 4 & 5 1763-1770, Compiled by Vernon L. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications

Abstracts of the Balance Books of the Perrogative Court of Maryland, Libers 6 & 7 1770-1777, Compiled by Vernon L. Skinner Jr., Family Line Publications.

There is also a older set (1930s vintage of extracts and indexes that were prepared and published by A. W. Burns.

AFTER 1777

Wills and Probate preceeding were at the County level. Another set of documents of interest in this era were guardian bonds that were required when a minor became owner of property (often through inheritance). Indexes, abstracts, and copies (or original documents) a of these documents are in repositories such as the Maryland Historic Society and and Maryland State Archives. Baltimore County has supposedly shipped a number of old original wills and other documents to the state arcives within the past year.

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