Liverpool & South West Lancashire FHS - Forum

The Lancs Wills on Family Search are available to view again when signed in:-

https://www.liverpool-genealogy.org.uk/ ... 63#p123263


Blue

Thanks, it looks like it would be very hit and miss finding one you are interested in, in the later years at least, unless you have found some logic to it.

It would be easier if we had the volume number or film number of the will at least we would have only one roll to search. There's websites that have will indexes for the Isle of Man they make it easier with the film number and sometimes they have another number that makes the search easier within the roll. I can't find any site that makes this search easier. It's a long search but great when you find what you are looking for.


Blue

I've managed to locate a will for Paul Brookfield who died 1801 who I think was an older brother of an ancestor. My ancestor, Robert Brookfield, was working as a servant for Paul on the 1767 RC Returns. Paul had a "farm at Gillmoss under Lord Sefton" as the will describes it. It mentions Paul's children, their uncle Henry Brookfield, his "kinsman" Will Brookfield and the education of a grandchild. No mention of my ancestor although he died the same year in Toxteth where they ran the Peacock Inn. The Jane Brookfield who married Joshua Hewitt in 1757 seems to be from this family possibly a sister of Paul and Robert but they were RC. Joshua and Jane's children were CE. Perhaps because Joshua was CE.


Blue

I scrolled down to the later entries - the Registered copy Wills and looked for 1855 and of course there are five volumes for that year and not listed in the index alphabetically. I imagine they are alphabetical, so seems like I'm going to have to brush up on my old handwriting reading skills

I have sometimes been puzzled about the differences between C of E's marrying RC's but I think I tend to accept that it happened, I heard recently that there was a requirement for Catholics to Register, something I may look more into at some point and I expect have to enquire at Preston.

A quick way of getting through the wills, it worked for me with the 1840s wills, is to minimise the images and only look and maximise the images that look like a spine of a book:-






Blue

Good thinking, that'll give a guideline, especially as I don't know if there is a Will for those I'm interested in looking for - yet!

Some links where you can discover that a will exists I would use all three together to be sure as a trial of these three has only link 2 finding the Paul Brookfield 1802 will and only links 1 & 3 finding Esther Brookfield 1840 will:-

http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-w ... nd-probate

https://user.xmission.com/~nelsonb/lws.htm

http://archivecat.lancashire.gov.uk/Cal ... ew.Catalog


Blue

Thanks, yes I've found all those useful, the Wills I've had the most luck with are the early ones, pre 1854, where every time I've visited Preston I've tried to take a copy of another one or two with a surname I'm interested in, so long as the district was Liverpool. This is going to save the camera fee for the day up there.

So I don't just look for a Will for somebody specific but any possible connection as the most useful one I discovered, in 1822, I didn't even think he was part of my family, yet on reading it I discovered his brother's name was my ancestor, who I didn't think had a brother with that name!! It made me realise how easy it was to make a huge mistake in your research.

The lesson is - check as many as possible.