For genealogists, delving into a package of probate records is an adventure. Probate records are sworn documents that go beyond the will to show how the estate was settled. These records offer insight even when persons left no will. They may reveal names, relationships, when a death occurred, items being sold, names of buyers, final distribution, money due to the estate, and more. Probate records are especially valuable for researchers in the difficult field of black genealogy. Slave names may be traced from estate to estate. Only one administrator failed to name slaves, but another kept fathers with their families. Others at least kept children with their mothers. This volume covers approximately the years 1800-1850 and contains probate records for deceased people with surnames beginning with A and B. But don't rule it out if your people came earlier or later, or if the names you are researching begin with a different letter! Sometimes the cases carried on for many years, and each entry contains so many names of other people that this is an excellent means of finding your ancestors in Edgefield County during this period. Carol Wells (2004), 2005, 5.5" x 8.5", paper, index, 128 pp.ISBN: 9780788425196 101-W2519
