When researching your family history, have you included probate records in your search? They provide a wide variety of details about a deceased person and his or her family. Most probate records have been digitized and can be obtained by contacting the probate office at the courthouse in the county where the person lived. Sometimes probate records are stored at records center or state archives. Many are online at Ancestry.com or FamilySearch Wiki.

The packet of probate records for each person was tied with a cord and was assigned a number. If the person left a will, it was usually placed in the packet. If your ancestor’s estate was small, no probate records may have been filed.

Because county boundaries often changed, your ancestor may have died in an area that is now part of another county. Thus, if you can’t find records in the county where you believe your ancestor lived, check adjacent counties. Also check probate records of relatives because their packets might have records that will be helpful in your genealogy search.

Probate packets list the date of death, the name of the spouse and the names of children and grandchildren and their addresses. Some records have signatures of the surviving spouse, children and witnesses. In addition, the packets contain a legal description of parcels of land the person owned, the number of acres in each, and types of buildings and crops on each. If the deceased person had made loans to others, the packet lists the people who owed money, the amount owed and the interest rate each was paying.

The packets also contain an inventory of assets. Any personal…