Court Records
General Overview
Probate Court documents can provide much in the way of clues for researchers. A Probate Court was established by the legislative authority of the Northwest Territory. However, it was abolished by the Constitution of 1802. Between 1802 and 1851, when another constitution was adopted, each county in Ohio was required to establish a probate court.
Probate court records include wills, estates, guardianship, and naturalization records. Occasionally, a stray adoption record may appear.
Our department holds microfilm of Probate Court records through the late 1910s.
Wills, Estates and Guardianships
Not everyone who died left a will. These individuals died intestate.
Our department has several guides to finding early wills, estates and guardianships.
- Will Abstracts, Estates and Guardianships Wayne County, Ohio 1812-1851
- Will Abstracts, Estates and Guardianships Wayne County, Ohio 1852-1900
- Index to Probate Court Records Wayne County, Ohio, Part 1: 1812-1917
- Index to Probate Court Records Wayne County, Ohio, Part 2: 1918-1934
Final Records
Final Records were recorded in Wayne County, OH Probate Court beginning in 1852. The Ohio Constitution of 1851 removed probate jurisdiction from the Court of Common Pleas and created a separate Probate Court in each county.
The Final Records recorded in Wayne County, OH include court documents pertaining to real estate. These include but are not limited to the following: petition to sell real estate or land, notice of sale of land, application to appropriate land (e.g. for the railroad), appropriation of real estate or land, petition to complete contracts (relating to real estate), formation of county roads, etc. Many times, the petition to sell the land or real estate is being made by the guardian of the minor children. All the minor children are listed. On the rare occasion, you may find an adoption, antenuptial record, or other such documents in the Final Records.
Our department has the Final Records dating from 1852 to 1919. They are indexed, but the index is not an every name index. These are different from the wills, estates, and guardianships recorded in the Probate Court files.