GeniAus - #AtoZChallenge - L is for Legal

During April 2020 the month of this #AtoZChallenge I will be sharing short posts on some of the 2,000+ descendants I have identified of my 3x Great-Grandmother, Elizabeth Phipps. 

Elizabeth Phipps 1785-1869 was a convict who was transported from England to New South Wales in 1814 per Wanstead. 

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Jessie POWELL is great (x2) granddaughter of Elizabeth PHIPPS.

Jessie's details

Jessie had been married less than 8 years to Allen Bush when her life was cut short. I do not know the cause of Jessie's death or if she left any children. Perhaps a cousin who reads this may be able to fill me in.

1945 'Family Notices', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 12 January, p. 10. , viewed 05 Apr 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17937553

Barely three weeks after Jessie's death this notice appeared in the Legal Notices Section of  the local newspaper.

1945 'Advertising', Hawkesbury Herald (Windsor, NSW : 1902 - 1945), 31 January, p. 5. , viewed 28 Mar 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66362244

Finding this notice in Trove alerted me that there should be a Probate Packet for Jessie Bush at NSW State Archives and Records. The probate packets I have previously viewed are full of documents and letters that tell so much about the deceased's life.

It was a simple task for me to use their Collection Search to see if this was so.

State Records - Collection Search Box

It took less than 5 seconds for me to have an answer.

Of course I want to see what's in the Probate File, I have three options.

If I was in a a hurry I could pay to have the file copied and sent to me for $AU32.50

As the Centre's Reading Room is currently closed due to Covid-19 the second option of engaging a researcher or asking a friend to copy the file for me is not an option.

I'm a patient old girl so will take the third option and wait until I can next visit the Reading Room. I can preorder the file from the website so that it will be waiting for me when I arrive.

How will I remember to look for it? I have that covered in my genealogy software program. The Family Historian allows me to create lists, I have created lists for several of the repositories I visit. So I have put a note with details of Jessie's Probate Packet in the List for the NSW Archives that I will consult prior to my visit.

I love to connect with cousins and fellow researchers. Should you find any errors in my post or have additional information please contact me. 

Surrogate's Court

A couple of months before setting off on our holiday I sent an email to the Surrogate's Court in New York, the body responsible for maintaining probate files, as their website advised that old files may take up to three weeks to provide. We were anxious to follow up on the probate for Mr Geniaus' Great-great-aunt, Anna Regina Gowans (nee Bouton/Bouten) in the hope it would give us clues to find living relatives.

When we didn't hear from the Court after a few weeks we wrote again; this message also went unanswered. Ten days out from our proposed visit we went back to the website and decided to try emailing another address. What a contrast! We received an almost immediate reply from Ms Suzan Tell explaining that, due to time constraints, we would not be able to see the probate file on our visit but that we would be able to consult the Liber (a book used for keeping a record of specific documents or events having legal effect) for the record).

NY Surrogates Court

When we arrived in New York City our first destination was 31 Chambers Street, the site of the Court. We  found our way to the Records Department where Ms Tell was on the desk. She remembered our email, apologised profusely for her colleagues' lack of attention to our query and procured the Liber for us to peruse. She helped us with photocopying and the application to view the probate file. She promised to scan and email the file to us once it was available.  While we were in the building we also took the opportunity to visit the New York Municipal Archives in the same building in the hope to find some clues on our elusive ancestor, Maria Gowans. Unfortunately we had no luck there.

Ms Tell was as good as her word. A couple of days ago the probate file arrived in the form of several attachments to an email. We are so grateful to Ms Tell for her kind, considerate and prompt attention to our issue. 

The Surrogate's Court is housed in a magnificent old building

British Probate Survey needs speedy response.

From Ancestors Magazine Blog:

John Briden HMCS (Her Majesty's Courts Service) is hoping to get the Probate Calendar Indexes to Wills and Grants, issued since 1858 in England and Wales online. The index includes the full name and address of the deceased and date of death. See http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1226.htm He has put together a short questionnaire and would like to receive as many responses as possible by Friday 27th March. I realise that this is very short notice but if you are able to help by responding to John it would be appreciated.

Copy and paste the questions below into an email, add your answers and send your responses to john.briden@justice.gsi.gov.uk

Q1. If the probate calendar was available on the internet, would you use it?

Q2. If you would use it - how often would you use it?

Q3. What probate information would you be interested in seeing online, and why that particular information?

Q4. Would you like to order copies online, and be prepared to pay for them online?

Q5. Would you prefer to access the calendar online, but order and pay for copies by post, or by telephone?

Q6. Would you be prepared to pay a premium to the fee, in addition to the normal cost for a more immediate service?