RG 004:096, New Milford Probate Court

Inventory of Records

Finding aid prepared by Connecticut State Library staff.

Copyright © 2012 by the Connecticut State Library

Historical Note

New Milford, Litchfield County, Town established in October 1712

The New Milford Probate District was constituted May 1787, from the Danbury, Sharon, and Woodbury Probate Districts. The New Milford Probate District merged with the Brookfield and New Fairfield Probate Districts on January 5, 2011 to create the Housatonic Probate District which serves the municipalities of Bridgewater, Brookfield, New Fairfield, New Milford, and Sherman. The New Milford Probate District also included at various times the municipalities of Kent, May 1787-May 25, 1831; New Fairfield, May 1787-October 1822 (north society of town only which became town of Sherman in October 1802); Sherman, October 1802-June 3, 1846.

Town of New Milford, Probate District chronology:

October 1712 - October 1719, New Haven District
October 1719 - May 1787, Woodbury District
May 1787 - January 4, 2011, New Milford District
January 5, 2011 - Present, Housatonic District

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

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Scope and Content

Probate record books, 1787-2006. Contact the probate court to access record books after Volume 244. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Probate files, 1787-1947. Probate files may consist of estates, conservatorships, guardianships, commitments, and insolvencies. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Inventory control book, 1787-1947 (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 from 1 to 244.

Probate files arranged alphabetically.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

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

Probate files from 1921-1947 are RESTRICTED as they may contain confidential documents. Tax returns (succession, transfer and estate tax returns and all attachments) from January 1, 1921 and later are confidential per Connecticut General Statutes §12-15.

Accessions 2009-013 and 2010-038, Record books, 1787-2006, 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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Related Material

Original record books, volumes 1, 2, 6, 10, 13, 15, 16, 22, and 56 are at the New Milford Historical Society.

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Index Terms

Subjects:

Places:

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Administrative Information

Alternative Form Available

Record books, volumes 1-56, 1787-1920 (except for volumes 21, 25, 29, 33, 37, 39, 42, 50, 54); probate files, 1787-1880; 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.

Provenance

The probate files in accession 1917-003 were transferred to the Connecticut State Library on the following dates (with date span of files): September 27, 1917 (1787-1914); November 28, 1930 (1858-1926); May 13, 1938 (1899-1929); September 9, 1942 (1921-1941); November 18, 1946 (1925-1947); February 18, 1948 (1925-1947); January 6, 1949 (1925-1947); December 16, 1949 (1911-1947). They have been interfiled into one alphabetic series.

The record books in accession 2009-013 were transferred to the Connecticut State Library on December 5, 2008.

The record books in accession 2010-038 were transferred to the Connecticut State Library on May 13, 2010.

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Other Finding Aid

Record Books: Index cards for the record books have been scanned. Ask History and Genealogy staff for assistance. Note: CSL does not hold any original record books. See Alternate Form Available section for volumes available on microfilm.

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 1917-002 are represented in this index.

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