Get access to historic probate records

Probate records, including the administration of estates, probate of wills, and the appointment of guardians, have been under the jurisdiction of the courts since the 1630s. County courts and later county judges of probate were responsible for these functions until 1783, when the Probate & Family Courts were established.

In general, "historic" collections refer to those that have been made available online. These series typically end somewhere from the mid-19th century to early 20th century, depending on the county. Anything from the mid-20th century forward would still be accessed through the probate courts, regardless of county.

There are 2 basic types of probate records:

1. Probate books — The "probate books" include selected probate documents (wills, inventories, guardianships, etc.) from the probate files which were transcribed into large bound books. The "Indexes" listed are the indexes just to these transcribed books. All of this was microfilmed, digitized, and made available online by familysearch.org, which is free.
2. Probate file papers — The "probate file papers" are the result of the most recent digitization project by familysearch.org, which is digitizing (without microfilming) each entire probate case file from the earliest file to a certain date, which is different for each county. Adoption files are supposed to be sealed, but some adoption files were inadvertently included and filmed in a few of the counties, and are therefore also online. These digitized "probate file papers" were provided to the New England Historic Genealogical Society at americanancestors.org, and they are making them available for free after you sign up for guest membership.

These records are indexed by county — there is no statewide index available. Indices will provide docket numbers, and the docket books will provide access to the record books, which are contemporary copies of the file papers. Not all of the counties have both file papers and record books available through the Judicial Archives. Massachusetts Archives Reference staff has information on the specific records available for research on microfilm.

Researchers looking for 17th century probate records should also consult:

• the Massachusetts Archives Collection
• the Suffolk County probate index
• the Suffolk Files
• the Essex County Quarterly Court records
• and the Middlesex Folio Collection

The Probate and Family Court will know which files have been transferred off-site.