The REAL Reason Your Ancestor Wasn't In the Will
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- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- When you don't see your ancestor listed in a will, it's easy to jump to conclusions -- and that can mess up your genealogy research. Here are some common reasons why some children weren't included in their parents' wills.
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Timestamps:
0:00 - Why People Left Children Out of Their Wills
0:27 - How This Impacts Genealogy Research
1:13 - The Common Reason Why Children Are Omitted from Wills
1:46 - Another Reason Why a Child Isn't Named in the Will
2:29 - Token Amounts Left in a Will
3:10 - Looking Beyond the Will
#genealogy #familyhistory #ancestry
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Just found this site- thank you for all the great information- and your voice is very easy on the ears )
This is a tricky thing with my 3x Grandma. Of all her siblings, she was the only one to move away. So in her father's will, he splits his wealth between "all his children" but makes specific mentions of and gives specific items to all the children except for my 3x Grandma. Was a bit frustrating when I finally got the will.
That's frustrating, for sure. I would hope that she would be listed in the final distribution since he did have a bequest to "all of his children."
@@AmyJohnsonCrow Good idea! I haven't looked into that & I'm not really sure where to start, but I'll look into it :) Thanks
Good suggestions, thank you!
Very helpful and valid points! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks!
One of my ancestors left "$5.00 and no more" to one of his grandsons, "as I have done all for him I intend". I had always thought that a negative thing, until seeing this video. Perhaps Grandpa was the source of finances for that move from Virginia to Illinois!
From my 4th great-grandfathers will, dated 11 July 1864 ... if any of my children have been or shall be in any way disloyal to the United States of America, shall be and hereby are disinherited.
They were living in southwestern Missouri at that time, so you can only imagine what it was like in the time and place.
That's a fascinating condition in his will!
When do wills become public information?
In the US, they're generally public information as soon as they are filed in the court.
@@AmyJohnsonCrow Interesting. I'm going to look one up. Thanks.
My challenge with long-ago wills is ... handwriting. Trying to read some of those is extremely challenging. I wish there was a transcription mechanism in place, perhaps a Wiki that was initiated by a handwriting AI, but then made editable for human users to collaborate on. It sure would make name indexing and reading the details easier.
Handwriting can definitely be a challenge! I think we'll see more AI-assisted indexing in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, the best way through old wills is practice. Knowing what is normal "boilerplate" language can help you decipher things. Seeing how they write phrases like "know all men by these presents" and "of sound mind and body" can help you figure out other words in the document.
@@AmyJohnsonCrow Please tell me that back then they didn't spell that word incorrectly- of course they might have. Present means here or to put forth something. The context is not the one for the word that is written.
The phrase really is "know all men by these presents." (It's plural, not singular.) "Presents" refers to the contents of the document; it isn't referring to the men being present at the signing or the document/paper being presented. Of course, people would spell things incorrectly, but if you can see how common words are written in a document, it will help you decipher the rest of the document.
@@AmyJohnsonCrow By the way, my original comment was referring to the handwriting more than the linguistic phrases. I've managed massive legal contracts (700+ pgs) before, so grammar ballet is familiar to me. Some folks have such poor handwriting that they might as well be doctors.
@@KimberlyGreen Definitely! You'd think that a lawyer or a court clerk would have better handwriting than they often did!
You forgot a couple of other reasons:
1) The child moved away and the parent doesn't know if they are still living. The inability to read and write often meant the last time you saw or heard from your child is when they are leaving to move elsewhere.
2) The older children already had their own property and the younger children by another mother would still be at home and needed assistance
We’ve don’t years of ancestry and even joined the website in the attempt at finding my 2 times great grandmother. Nothing. It’s like she just hatched under a rock somewhere.
Those ancestors are so frustrating! It's times like that when I cast a wider net, and start researching everyone associated with her. I tracked down the parents of my great-great-grandmother by researching the people she was living with in 1850 and 1860 (completely different surname). They turned out to be her aunt and uncle, but I wouldn't have discovered that had I not started researching them.
I had the same with a great Aunty she’s in the house with my other great aunt on the censors then disappears no death record or anything, in the uk
I’d watched you other videos and cast a wide net, through several states - she’s no where to be found. No parents. She first appeared when she was married, it’s almost like she mircled herself here. I also have my DNA matches yet no one from her other than my mother, grandmother, Gt Gma & Gt gt Gma where it stops. It’s weird. I also tried the * in the spelling next the ? and still bothering h other than where she was married in 1872.@@AmyJohnsonCrow
My 3rd great grandmother got kicked out of her grandfather's will for marrying someone he didn't like..."4th I will and bequeth that my Granddaughter Vinee, the wife of Hiram Maynor, shall not receive any part of my estate..." Harsh...This was 1849 in South Carolina.
That is harsh! At least he listed her by name and relationship.
Why is that some people leave their oldest children, possibly from a different mother than the younger ones, such a trivial mention , such as a penny a piece, or not mentioned at all? What makes people do that?
Mostly just my rhetorical questions. Musing.
It's like I mentioned in the video -- there *could* be a rift, but it could also be a way of the decedent (the person leaving the will) to avoid legal challenges by the heirs. You can't dispute a will, saying you were left out when you were specifically mentioned. The token amount could be because of a rift, or it could be because they already received their inheritance.
Dunno how common this might be, but one older son was left seven pence, while the children of the later wife got decent settlements. But, the eldest child was the only child of his mother, and near as I can tell, inherited all of her holdings - she being the sole heir of a sizeable estate herself. I do know that "Richard" continued associating with his younger half-siblings, so it was likely amicable.
Your ancestor was well loved if they inherited the feather bed and the iron pots more than 200 years ago. ❤
Come at 5pm
The law shouldn't allow for this to happen unless the child committed a heinous crime.