Ontario Government Record Series RG 22-191

Northumberland and Durham United Counties Surrogate Court estate files

About these records

Title
Northumberland and Durham United Counties Surrogate Court estate files
Dates of Creation
1803-1976
Physical Description

94.2 metres of textual records

Scope and Content

Series consists of estate files containing the original documentation filed with the court in proceedings leading to a grant of probate or administration.

Typically, an estate file includes the original will in cases of probate, administration bonds in cases of administration, petitions for probate or administration and supporting affidavits, and the order for probate or administration.

While some inventories of estates exist for the early period, the occurrence of these in the files becomes more frequent after 1892 when the Succession Duty Act required detailed inventories and lists of heirs to be included in the files of taxable estates. When the value of taxable estates was lowered by an amendment to the act in 1907, the presence of these inventories and lists becomes even more common.

If the will or the grant of probate or administration was contested, the estate file should also include the caveat filed against the estate, relevant citations and affidavits, and the final judgment issued by the court.

The pre-1859 estate files are arranged alphabetically. Subsequently, the files are arranged by their non-contentious business number.

Administrative History or Biographical Sketch

Click on the link(s) below for more information.

Ontario. Surrogate Courts
Restrictions on Access
Researchers must use the microfilm version whenever it is available.
Terms For Use and Reproduction
Copyright is primarily held by the Crown. There are no restrictions on reproduction for research and private study. If you wish to use other than for research and private study any of this material, submit a Request for Permission to Publish, Exhibit or Broadcast Form.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These records were transferred to the Archives of Ontario as part of the records scheduling process.
Availability of Other Formats

The pre-1931 estate files are available on microfilm
Accruals

The Archives of Ontario receives annual accruals to this series.

Finding Aid
A nominal province-wide index for 1793-1858 for all Ontario estate files is available online as part of the Archives of Ontario's Interloan Microfilm Catalogue. There is also a nominal index to the 1859-1900 Northumberland and Durham estate files to be found in the bookcases of the Archives of Ontario's Reading Room. A microfilm listing for the pre-1930 Northumberland and Durham United Counties estate files is available online in the Microfilm Interloan Catalogue and in the User's Guide to Surrogate Courts and Surrogate Clerk Microfilm Reels in the Archives' Reading Room. A nominal index to the pre-1859 Northumberland and Durham United Counties estate files is available online.

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Agency or agencies that created these records

These records were created by the following Ontario government agency or agencies. Click on the agency reference code for information about this agency and other records it created.

1803-1976 :

Surrogate Courts (BA44)

How to order these records

From our Reading Rooms

For the years 1803-1967, consult the indexes in series RG 22-188 (Northumberland and Durham United Counties indexes) on GS 2, Reel 115. For those years after 1967 where the Archives does not hold an index, consult the Superior Court of Justice, 860 William Street, Cobourg, Ontario, K9A 3A9.

For pre-1859 estate files, consult the online listing of self-service microfilm in the Finding Aid section.

For 1859-1930 files, consult the self-service microfilm listing for Northumberland and Durham United Counties available online in the Microfilm Interloan Catalogue or in the User's Guide to Surrogate Courts and Surrogate Clerk Microfilm Reels in the Archives' Reading Room.

The 1931-present files have not been microfilmed so the original records must be requested from offsite storage. A minimum of 1 business day is required to retrieve the material onsite. Please contact a Reference archivist for more information on how to order these records.

Scroll up to "Finding Aid" for more information about any available finding aids or listings.

By Microfilm Interloan
Some of this material is available through the Archives of Ontario's Microfilm Interloan Service, which allows you to borrow microfilmed archival records through a library or other institution that participates in the interlibrary loan system.

http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/microfilm/surrogate_court_northumberland_t.aspx