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Hi Everyone,

Can anyone suggest where else I might search for the following will? It's out of the Briercliffe area but still in Lancashire.

Mary Ogden died in Droylsden (Manchester) in April 1840, at the age of 74. She was buried in Ashton-under-Lyne on April 18th. Her brother, William Wood, a surgeon at Manchester Infirmary, wrote his own will in November 1842, in which he referred to the will of his deceased sister, Mary Ogden.

I've tried Lancashire Record Office, Cheshire Record Office, the Borthwick Institute, the Index to Death Duty Registers 1840-1850 online, PCC Wills at the National Archives, Documents Online, without success.

The will may not have survived but I don't want to think that because it could contain valuable information for my research. I once found an ancestor's will written in 1819 just before he died, but not proved until 1830, so I'm hoping. I thought this one would be straightforward, should have known better.

Joan

Did you ever find this will Joan?

You list all of the places I can think of.

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Mel

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Hi Joan,
it might be worth contacting http://www.mlfhs.org.uk/ they may have some ideas as to where else to look.

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

Mel, Gloria, thanks for your posts. I still haven't found this will, but I live in hope. It could help me with another elusive ancestor.

I posted a message with an Ashton-under-Lyne group that I belong to and received a couple of responses, but unfortunately when I followed up they didn't lead to the will. I hadn't thought of contacting the Manchester and Lancashire Society but I'll try that. Thanks for the suggestion, Gloria.

Joan

I've found a leaflet about pre-1858 wills. I picked it up at that hall where we met up with you last year Gloria.

It says -
Wills and administration bonds ("admons") of people who lived in Lancashire and died before 1858 were proved in ecclesiastical courts. For Lancashire north of the River Ribble, this was the Archdeaconry Court of Richmond. For Lancashire south of the River Ribble it was the Archdeaconry Court pf Chester (see Lancashire Probate Records).

The Archdeaconry of Chester indexes cover 1545 0 1858. the Archdeaconry of Richmond indexes cover 1457 - 1858.
Richmond Will indexes are available on the A2A website. http://www.a2a.org.uk.

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Mel

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I hadn't tried the Archdeaconry Court of Richmond because Droylsden is south of the Ribble. However, always hopeful I went on to a2a but didn't find a wills index other than PCC wills and the death duties index. Maybe I'm missing something. Are the Archdeaconry Court of Richmond wills included with the PCC ones?

I'm waiting to hear from the Manchester and Lancashire Society.

Joan

I heard from the Manchester and Lancashire Society. The person who responded said I've exhausted the possibilities for locating this will. If it survived and I find it now I think it will be pure luck.

Joan

Ah well, you can't say you haven't tried. Put it with the rest of the brick walls.

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

This is a long shot Joan but what about the Registry of Deeds at Wakefield? I found records I never expected to while there. It's one of those places where you could really get yourself lost. Floor to Ceiling with huge bound books full of documents and the same in indexes. I found the staff there to be very helpful. Worth a shot?
http://www.archives.wyjs.org.uk/index.asp?pg=rod.html

I am going to the LRO for an hour today on my way to the meeting tonight so I'll have a look at the Chester and Richmond Probate Indexes there, just in case it was missed.

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Mel

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There are wills kept at Colne library which cover the larger part of UK, but only some of them!!! They appear to have spread them out over different areas. They are available anytime but am not sure how far they go back.

That's interesting Hannah, I didn't know they had some there.

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

Mel, I didn't know about the Registry of Deeds at Wakefield. I'll follow up. If you do find time to check at the LRO that would be great.

Hannah, I didn't know about the wills at Colne, either. Thanks for that suggestion. I'll follow that lead too.

Joan

Hi Joan - no such luck at Preston I'm afraid. I don't think I exhausted all of the books there so I'll keep her on my list of searches for the next visit. I'll also look for her under the name Wood - just in case. You never know!

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Mel

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Thanks for looking, Mel.

I checked out the Registry of Deeds on the West Yorkshire Archive site at Wakefield. Nothing there, or with their wills, for Mary Ogden, but I got diverted as always and spent a couple of hours looking at the site. Many Lancashire records are listed in the catalogue, including a few from Briercliffe. For example, there is an abstract of title, 1818, for Robert Townley Parker, which contains a schedule of tenements giving names of occupiers and acreages in Briercliffe, Extwistle, Worsthorne, Burnley, Cockden, although these aren't named in the description. Someone may already have this information, but if not and anyone is at the Archive and wants to check, the reference is MD335/1/1/33/8.

Joan

I'm heading there on Monday but the Registry section of Wakefield is fully booked unfortunately. I'll keep my eyes peeled for a gap in the room though.

Out of curiosity Joan, did you just use the site search function or have you had a search done at the archives themselves?
I ask because the documents I have had from there in the past are not in the catalogue that is linked to from their site.

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Mel

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