RG 004:095, New London Probate Court

Inventory of Records

Finding aid prepared by Connecticut State Library staff.

Copyright © 2012 by the Connecticut State Library

Historical Note

New London, New London County, Town settled in 1646, City incorporated January 1784

New London Probate District was constituted May session, 1666, as a County Court. The New London Probate District presently serves the municipalities of New London and Waterford.

The New London Probate District also included the following municipalities at various times:
Canterbury, October 1703 - October 1719
Colchester, 1698 - October 1708
Deep River (Saybrook), October 1719 - May 1780
East Lyme, May 1839 - June 1, 1843
Groton, May 1705 - October 1766
Killingworth, 1667 - October 1719
Lebanon, October 1700 - October 1719
Lyme, 1667 - June 1830
Montville, October 1786 - June 26, 1851
Norwich, May 1666 - October 1748
Plainfield, May 1699 - October 1719
Preston, October 1687 - October 1748
Salem, May 1819 - July 8, 1841 (part taken from Lyme, from 1824-1841 also part taken from Montville)
Stonington, May 1666 - October 1666
Voluntown, May 1698 - May 1726
Windham, May 1692 - October 1748

City of New London, Probate District chronology:

1646 - May 1666, Colonial Jurisdiction at Hartford and later at new London
May 1666 - Present, New London County Court & District

For Probate Court contact information and hours of operation see, Probate Court Directory.

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Scope and Content

Probate record books, 1675-1930. Contact the probate court to access record books after Volume 46 for Records and Volume 46 for Journals. Volumes titled "Journal" record the proceedings of the court. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Probate files, 1675-1899. Probate files may consist of estates, conservatorships, guardianships, commitments, and insolvencies. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Inventory control book, 1675-1850 (coverage). Also known as the Godard Digest, it is a list of probate files transferred to the Connecticut State Library. It was compiled at the Connecticut State Library under the direction of State Librarian George S. Godard.

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Arrangement

Record books are numbered as follows: Records, A-I then 1-46; Journals, 1-46; Wills, 1-6. There is also an unnumbered Wills and distribution volume.

Probate files arranged by accession and alphabetically therein.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Researchers should first consult use copies when available. See Alternate Form Available Section below.

Accession 2011-048, Record books, 1675-1930, are stored at an off-site facility and therefore may not be available on a same-day basis.

See the Rules and Procedures for Researchers Using Archival Records and Secured Collections policy.

Restrictions on Use

See the Reproduction and Publications of State Library Collections policy.

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Index Terms

Subjects:

Places:

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Administrative Information

Alternative Form Available

Record books, volumes A-I and 1-40, 1675-1915 and Wills, volumes 1-4, 1890-1925; probate files, 1675-1850; and inventory control book (Godard Digest) were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah and are available for use in the History and Genealogy reading room or through the LDS Family History Centers. Volumes of Journals were not microfilmed.

Provenance

The probate files in accession 1912-006 were transferred to the Connecticut State Library on the following dates (with date span of files): July 23, 1912 (1675-1850).

The probate files in accession 1977-008 were transferred to the Connecticut State Library on March 14, 1977.

The record books in accession 2011-048 were transferred to the Connecticut State Library on November 22, 2010 and January 31, 2011.

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Other Finding Aid

Probate Files: The Probate Estate Papers Index, located in the index corridor adjacent to the History and Genealogy Reading Room, has two parts, a general index covering most of the state, and a Hartford Probate District index covering Hartford and some surrounding towns, 1820-1920. The index cards are arranged alphabetically by individual's last name and first names. The cards have the individual's name, town of residence, probate district, and list of items contained in the estate packet. To request retrieval of an estate packet, copy at least the estate name, file date, and probate district name from the index card. The probate files in Accession 1912-006, covering 1675-1850, and 1977-008, covering 1850-1899, are represented in this index. -1899 cards are generally only dated for those surnames prior to Bassett. There is an additional slip index for New London County Court records volumes 1-7, 1667-1700, found in the genealogical index corridor of the History & Genealogy reading room.

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