Probate Records:
Finding Slave Ancestors Before 1865
Discover Your Roots 13
Gerard McKay - March 14, 2015
1. Probate records can provide a means to identify and document the life and location of a slave
ancestor before the 1870 Census and prior to the end of slavery in the United States in 1865.
2. Probate is the legal process by which the estate (property, funds, assets & debts) of a deceased
person are inventoried, appraised, managed and distributed to heirs and debt holders. Slaves were
usually classified as the “personal” property of slave owners.
3. Probate records can be found in state & county court records, the FHL catalogue, libraries,
historical & genealogical society archives, Ancestry.com and other online sources.
4. Probate records can also be identified by such terms as: estates; notarials; wills; letters of
administration; executor/administrator bonds; settlements; annual returns and more.
5. The probate files of deceased slave owners, who died prior to the end of slavery, likely contain a
property inventory list and a property appraisal list showing the name, gender and monetary value of
a slave.
6. Additional slave information can also be found in other probate documents including: will, tax,
medical, petition, distribution order, debt holder claim, settlement and any other document in the file.
7. In all, probate records can track the lives and locations of slave ancestors over several proximate
years; reveal the family relationships of slaves as well as slave owners; show slave sale transactions;
indicate the origins of surnames of former slaves and provide the means to better understand other
family documentary records and information.
8. Determine the name(s) and location of an ancestor’s likely slave owner(s) by:
Family stories
Research & documentation
DNA testing
Best assumptions
9. Determine the appropriate probate records repository:
State & county court records/archives
Historical & genealogical society archives
FHL catalogue
University & public libraries
Online sources & service providers