Will Transcriptions
While doing some research on the internet I can across a website I had not come across before. As you can see from the title the website concentrates on will transcriptions and better still, the site is FREE to register and FREE to use……..How good is that?
Will Transcription Website
The wills. How do they get onto the website? Well, people like you and me, family and local historians transcribe a will that they have in their collection. Then a simple online form is completed, which tells whose will it is; where and when the will was Attested and then the content.
Three things I like are 1. The contributor retains the copyright. 2. The transcription is for family and surname history only but permission should be sought to copy, the site is NOT providing the information for any commercial use. 3. The details of who transcribed the will are kept private but there is the facility of contacting them online through the site – you never know there may be a family link.
Let’s see whose will I can find using the simple search box. As we all do, I tried surnames that tie in with my family. Did I really expect to find any, well I hoped a little. I then tried some more common names and found a few dating back to the 1700’s. Then I tried towns, well two towns and no will came to light. Now to try a county, surely I must find something here…….Bingo!
The will of John Bass Oliver came to light and informed where he lived and his social status. The will also went on to tell where John wished to be buried and why. The information was hard to read as there were no paragraphs, and the information was aligned to the left and the jagged right edge seemed to draw the eye. But nevertheless, John’s will told of where he had property, who his servants were and how much they were to be given under the terms of John’s will.
Family members, as you would expect, were mentioned along with their spouses, but there was also mention of a business partnership.
Without going off on a very big tangent and looking for John Bass Oliver, I have spent about five minutes on Google and came up with Birstall, Leicester and London connections to the name and occupations being landowner and solicitor.
The site was not helpful to me at this time, but I think when the site is better known and more wills are added it could save a lot of time looking for that elusive but of information that you would probably only find in a will.
Happy hunting!