Probate records are records disposing of a deceased individual's property and may include an individual's last will and testament if one was made. To find a woman's maiden name in probate records, you must at least know the woman's full married name, the approximate date of her death, and the county or town in which she lived at the time of her death. If you do not have the minimum information to locate a probate record, you can either:

Get help finding some of the minimum information by selecting one of the following items,

Name

Death date

Place of death

click the Back button on your browser to return to the list of other places where you can find maiden names, or

read the paragraphs below for a few additional tips.

Finding probate records

Probate record indexes and abstracts have been created in many counties. These indexes can provide you with the information you need to access the record, even if you don't have the minimum information required to find the original records. Check with libraries and genealogy societies in the area -- they may know if any indexes exist for the records that you need.

Finding maiden names

You can look to a woman's children's names for clues to her maiden name. Do any of them have unusual first names or middle names? It's possible that it is the woman's maiden name.

Make sure to check photo albums, scrapbooks, diaries, and family Bibles at home. See the topic Finding information at home for more information. Also check for local histories. See the topic Finding previous research.

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