Essex County, Massachusetts Probate Records Supplement, 1644 - 1691

Having a collection more complete than many other states, Massachusetts probate records are kept by each county rather than the state. This database is a supplement to the Essex County Probate Records and contains over 2000 names of persons who filed in the probate court of the county.

Each entry lists the name, date, type of record (wills, inventories, etc.) and the volume and page in which the original record may be found. Also included in many entries is the name of the town within the county.

Regarding the source records: If the volume is a Roman numeral the records were published in Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, volumes 1-9 (Salem: The Essex Institute, 1911-1975). If the volume number is an Arabic numeral the records can be found in the unpublished typescript copies done by the WPA, and in the custody of the Peabody Essex Museum at the James Duncan Phillips Library. Volume 53 is missing from that collection, and as a result there are no entries in this database from the September 1692 to March 1693 courts.