Probate records can include wills, administrations, probate packets, and guardianships. The will could have been created several years before it was actually presented to the court. Probate packets can include every receipt for expenditures at the time of death and until the probate process is completed. Inventories of all property owned by the deceased give a picture of the household.

Elements of the citation could include: name of the deceased, the type of record, the case name, the file number, the date filed and the date of the specific document being cited, the location of the probate case, the volume and page(s), microfilm number, Web page, URL, repository and repository address.

First Footnote or Endnote Subsequent Footnote or Endnote Bibliography
Book format [Compiler or author], [Title], vol. [number] ([Publication city], [Publication state]: [Publisher], [year published]), [page number], [Name of person]. [comments or details describing the setup or contents of the publication]. [Compiler or author], [Title], [volume number]: [page number]. [Compiler or author]. [Title]. Volume [number]. [Publication city], [Publication state]: [Publisher], [year published].
Example St. Louis Genealogical Society, St. Louis and St. Louis County, Missouri, Probate Records; 1804–1849. Vol. I. (St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis Genealogical Society, 1985), p. 54, Wilson P. Hunt. The probate records were abstracted by members of the St. Louis Genealogical Society. St. Louis Genealogical Society, St. Louis and St. Louis County, Missouri, Probate Records; 1804–1849, I: 54. St. Louis Genealogical Society. St. Louis and St. Louis County, Missouri, Probate Records; 1804–1849. Volume I. St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis Genealogical Society, 1985.
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Courthouse [County], [State], [Series], [file number and Name] [(file date)], [Item of interest], [record date]; [Record repository], [Record repository location]. [County name] Co., [State abbreviation], [Series], [file number and Name] [(file date)], [Item of interest], [record date]. [State]. [County]. [Series]. [Record repository], [Record repository location].
Example St. Louis County, Missouri, probate case files, estate no. 27686, Louis August Wilson (1958), Affidavit as to Heirs and Legatees, 8 August 1958; Probate Court Clerk’s Office, Clayton. St. Louis Co., Mo., probate case files, estate no. 27686, Louis August Wilson (1958), Affidavit as to Heirs and Legatees, 8 August 1958. Missouri. St. Louis County. Probate case files. Probate Court Clerk’s Office, Clayton.
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Microfilm [County] County, [State], [Record series], Book [number or letter] : [page number], [type of record] of the estate of [Name of testator], [year]; [Creator of the microfilm abbreviated] microfilm [number]. [County] Co., [State abbreviation], [Record series], Book [number or letter] : [page number]. [State]. [County]. [Record series]. [Author of the record], [City]. [Creator of the microfilm abbreviated] microfilm [number]. [Creator of the microfilm], [City for creator of microfilm], [State for creator of microfilm].
Example City of St. Louis, Missouri, Record of Wills, 1852–1861, Book E: 510, Last will and testament of Peter Piant, 1856; FHL microfilm 1,405,569. City of St. Louis, Mo., Record of Wills, 1852-1861, Book E: 510. Missouri. City of St. Louis. Record of Wills, 1852-1861. Probate Clerk’s Office, City of St. Louis. FHL microfilm 1,405,569. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
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Missouri State Archives Digital Images [County], Missouri, probate case file no.[number], [Name of deceased], ([year of probate]), [specific document] , [date of document]; “[Specific collection],” digital images, Missouri Secretary of State (http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/mojudicial/images : accessed [date]); the document is imaged as p. [number] of collection [number] of documents within the [Last name of deceased] file. [Comments about the document. (Example – Last will and testament of John Brown including the names of all family members included in the will.)] [County], Missouri, probate case file no.[number], [Name of deceased], ([year of probate]), [specific document] , [date of document]. Missouri. [County name] County. Probate case files. “Missouri’s Judicial Records.” Digital images, Missouri Secretary of State. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/mojudicial/images [year accessed].
Example St. Louis County, Missouri, probate case file no. 01728, Wilson P. Hunt (1842), last will and testament, collection 13, image 1 through collection 15, image 5, 2 September 1839; digital images, “Missouri’s Judicial Records,” Missouri Secretary of State, (http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/mojudicial/images: accessed 14 September 2011). [Last will and testament of Wilson P. Hunt including the names of all heirs. There are several copies of the will in this collection due to the fragile nature of the original document. The original was taped at some point making it difficult to read.] St. Louis County, Missouri, probate case file no. 01728, Wilson P. Hunt (1842), last will and testament, 2 September 1839. Missouri. St. Louis, City of. Probate case files. “St. Louis Probate Court Digitization Project, 1802–1900.” Digital images, Missouri Secretary of State. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/mojudicial/images : 2011.

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Last modified: 30-Jun-2016 08:37