Wills and estates: 1785-1859

Use the information below to find wills and estate files at the Archives of Ontario from 1785 to 1859. Estates during this period were handled by the Court of Probate.

Find files from before 1793

We hold wills from as early as 1785 for the following three districts/counties:

Hesse District (Lake Erie and Windsor area)

To find a will:

Request to view in person a copy of the Hesse District Prerogative Court register (RG 22-6)
If you find the name of the person you are seeking in the register, ask the reference desk to retrieve the file or order a reproduction.

Lunenburg District (Upper Canada-Lower Canada border area)

To find a will:

Request to view in person the Lunenburg District Prerogative Court minute book and register excerpts (RG 22-7)
If you find the name of the person you are seeking in the register, ask the reference desk to retrieve the file or order a reproduction.

Essex County and Leeds and Grenville County

To find a will:

Search for the name of the person you are looking for in Collection Search.
Take note of the name, location, file number, microfilm reel number, and whether the file is from the Probate or Surrogate Court. If there is no file number, the files will be arranged alphabetically.
Retrieve the microfilm from the self-service cabinet in the Reading Room.

Find files from 1793-1858

To find a will and estate file from 1793 up to 1858:

Search for the name of the person you are looking for in Collection Search.
Take note of the reference code, name, location, file number, microfilm reel number, and whether the file is from the Probate or Surrogate Court. If there is no file number, the files will be arranged alphabetically.
Search the table below to find links to the Probate or County Court records that match your search.
Browse the microfilm reels on FamilySearch or in person by range of file numbers to find the one that includes the will you need.

1793-1858 wills and estates

Loading table data…

Help accessing the records

Expand All Collapse All

create a free FamilySearch account or log in.

How to use the images in FamilySearch:

There is no search bar for these records.
- selecting the reel of microfilm will open a group of images in thumbnail view on FamilySearch. These images include multiple records and may include multiple record types.

webpage showing thumbnails of documents, one of which is highlighted by a red square.

- look for the title page, which is often black. View the title of record section to confirm you are in the right place. One group of images may have multiple title pages indicating the start of a new set of records.
- the title of record section should tell you if the files are organized numerically or alphabetically. In this example they are alphabetical from AND to AS.

Black title card with white writing describing information about the range of files that appear in an image gallery.

- look for the number of images on the top left of the screen. The number of images combined with the way the files are organized will give you a clue about how to look or search through the images.

A website gallery image counter highlighted by a red box.

- open distinct looking images, for example file folders, to see the beginning of a new estate file.

An online gallery of thumbnail images with a red box highlighting one image.

Use the clues you’ve gathered, for example:

There are 579 images.
The files are organized alphabetically, from ‘AND’ to ‘AS,’ as indicated on the black title page.
For example, if you’re looking for ‘Anker’, you might start near the beginning of the records since they begin with ‘AND’. You could open image 20, which shows a file folder, to check the last name or estate file number.

Learn more about finding historical records on FamilySearch.

If the file is available on microfilm:

Note the microfilm number and related information from the collections search.
Find the microfilm in our self-service cabinets in the reading room.
Load the microfilm into the microfilm reader.

- Learn how to use microfilm readers.

Locate your file on the microfilm:

- - Files are listed either alphabetically or by estate file number, as indicated in the data table.
  - Scroll through the microfilm to find the person you are looking for.

If the file is not available on microfilm:

Note the name, courthouse location, year, estate file number, and record group (RG) number found in the data table.
Request to view the original in-person.

Visit a reference desk in the Reading Room if you need more help.

Didn't find what you were looking for?

Explore related records and resources in the main wills and estate files topic page.