Free Oklahoma Probate Records and Wills

Probate records and wills are available online from all over the U.S. and are what I consider another hidden gem of information that can assist you in advancing your family history and genealogy research.

What can you find in these records? How about date of death, spouses and children names, birth order, siblings and siblings spouses, parents names, and residence locations for all named persons. Also, ownership of land and/or other significant property, business names and occupation, military service, guardianships, and adoptions. Basically, anything owned by the deceased is typically listed and to whom it is to be assigned.

I won’t pretend to be an expert on the probate process – all I know is that I have discovered an amazing amount of good information from probate records and wills as part of my personal genealogy research. 

Here are a few good primers on the benefits of searching probate documents and wills:​

​Below, listed are links to probate records, wills, and indexes available for free online for the state.

Note: Please be aware that if you find a desired will or probate record in an index, that the holder of the actual materials (e.g., (archive, county court, etc.) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the material itself.

Note: Some of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital.

(Updated September 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!​

​For other Free Oklahoma Links, click on the category of interest:​

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records

Bi-Monthly Newsletter from The Ancestor Hunt – September 15, 2021

Hello to The Ancestor Hunt readers! Here is the latest Bi-monthly Newsletter. It includes links to all of the articles published since the previous newsletter, as well as articles that I think you might find interesting from other authors. It also includes research tips, a joke or two, and other interesting genealogical stuff.

It is published on The Ancestor Hunt website and shared on The Ancestor Hunt Facebook Page, Twitter, Linked In, and Tumblr.

I hope that you find it useful. And Thank You for being a loyal reader and visitor.

To download the file, click on

Bi-Monthly-Newsletter-2021-09-15

FamilySearch New and Updated Collections – September 1-15, 2021

FamilySearch continues to add or update its records collections at a fast pace for us to search. ​​For the period of September 1-15, 2021, the added/updated collections are:

For a complete list of all added/updated collections, go to https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list
​
I hope that some of these are what you have been waiting for!

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

Huge Collection of 1,380 Free Online Historical Newspaper Titles from Mexico, Russia, China, North Africa, and the Middle East Available from The Global Press Archive

The East View Global Press Archive (GPA) is conducting a massive program essentially to digitize thousands of historical newspaper titles.

From the GPA website:

“The East View Global Press Archive® (GPA) is a groundbreaking program to create the most comprehensive collection of digital news sources from around the world. GPA is the result of a landmark initiative of Stanford Libraries and the Hoover Institution Library & Archives to digitally preserve and make more accessible thousands of original print newspaper publications collected by the Hoover Institution and now housed by Stanford Libraries.

Encompassing newspapers in more than 30 languages, GPA will ultimately include thousands of titles from across the globe, all presented in full-image and full-text format optimized for scholarly use. Many titles appearing in GPA will be first-ever digital versions of these publications and collectively this activity presents immense new value for scholarly research.”

Essentially the “pilot initiative”, The Hoji Shinbun Digital Collection through Stanford University’s Hoover Institution Library & Archives, and the Japanese Diaspora Initiative (JDI) is “currently the world’s largest online archive of open-access, full‑image Japanese American and other overseas Japanese newspapers. There are over 85 free titles of Japanese American newspapers available for online searching. There is an article about this project and database at Historical Japanese American Newspapers Online

The first set of GPA collections has 29 different digitized newspaper databases. Many are closed access, but four do have Open Access, available for anyone to search and discover. Read the entire list at Global Press Archive Titles

The 4 Open Access Titles can be found at GPA Newspaper Archives Open Access

The 4 Open Access Collections with the number of titles and years available are:

I highly encourage you to avail yourself of these outstanding resources

Veridian Software – Historical Newspaper Report – September, 2021

Veridian Software has many clients with collections of digitized newspapers that can be searched for free. Over 50 million pages currently.

They power California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Virginia,  Washington, and Wyoming state newspaper collections. And country-wide collections, such as Estonia, Israel, New Zealand, Singapore, and Switzerland.

Veridian is the name of the software and service package created by DL Consulting,  headquartered in Hamilton, New Zealand.

We will be posting an article monthly to display the additions of pages to existing collections, and the new collections added. This mionth’s list is all their current collections, provided now to establish a baseline.

Here is a list of their current collections with the link to the collection and the number of pages in the collection. 

Check out their website at Veridian Software to learn more about them. And as always, you can see all the free online newspaper links colledcted by The Ancestor Hunt  in Newspaper Links

100 New Free Online Immigration Record Collections Added to Now Total 580

Immigration Records are some of the richest genealogy record sets and can provide excellent clues as well as data about your ancestors. Specifically, when they came to America, or traveled but did not immigrate. Emigration records can tell you when they left their homeland and can direct you when they might have immigrated, if you are having trouble finding the immigration record.

What types of information are available in these records? First of all, let me clarify that naturalization records are a related type of record. You can discover online naturalization collections and records available via links on this website on the Naturalizations Page. In the Petition for Naturalization record for example, where and when the applicant arrived in the U.S. is stated. And the Certificate of Arrival is another immigration document used in the naturalization process.

Regarding immigration – it bears repeating – not EVERYONE came through Ellis island. It was open between 1892 and 1954. Approximately 12 million people came through that immigration station. The highest year was 1907, when just over 1,000,000 people came through. For immigrants landing at U.S, ports in the 19th century and early 20th century, the busiest ports were New York, Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, and Philadelphia. There were almost 100 ports that were used by immigrants to enter the U.S., via the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes.

Check out all of the Free New Collections on the Immigration Page

Free Florida Online Voter Records

Voter registration records are available online and offline from all over the world and are what I consider a hidden gem of information that can assist you in advancing your family history and genealogy research.

Here are several reasons why voter records are such a wonderful tool for researching (and finding) ancestors:

  • They fill in the gaps between censuses – in the ten years between censuses – people move, they die, they get married, etc. The advantage of voter registration records is that they can tell you their address, their occupation, etc. And like city directories, they are published yearly or every couple of years.
  • Naturalization information – in some records from the 1800s, the date, and place of naturalization is included, which can provide leads for obtaining their detailed naturalization records.
  • Middle names – often a complete name is included in voter registration records – in fact, the only place that I ever found my great grandfather’s middle name was in several of these records. Prior to finding them, I only knew his middle name as an initial.
  • You can find a spouse – after 1920 for all of America, women could vote – so at that time their names began to show up in Voter Registration records. Some states had passed women’s suffrage laws prior to 1920, but just a few. To be complete – women in some states in the late 1700s had voting rights until they were all taken away by 1807. The given name of a woman is sometimes included in the voter registration record.. If a man and a woman with the same last name lived at the same address on the registration list, one could surmise that they were married to each other or they could be siblings or have a parent-child relationship. But there is a good possibility that they may be married to each other, providing more clues.
  • Nativity – again in the 1800s, the place of birth is entered, which is especially helpful for finding naturalized immigrants.
  • Physical Characteristics – in a few states, the voter registration form includes the applicant’s age, height, complexion, eye and hair color, as well as any distinguishing marks or scars.
  • Political party or affiliation – usually abbreviated as Dem or Rep, but you will find other party names as well in addition to “None”. Remember that Democrats and Republicans from years ago did not necessarily align with the same principles as the parties do today.
  • Migration – a few voter registration forms include a question regarding how long the voter lived in the state, the county, and the precinct. This can be useful to determine when they moved, which can help determine their whereabouts for additional research.

Most of the voter registration records are still in paper form or have been microfilmed. There is quite a bit online though, and I am capturing those links and they are below. The paid subscription sites such as Ancestry, Fold3, My Heritage, and FindMyPast have voter registration collections also. 

Below are links to voter records available online. Unfortunately, some just list the voter’s name. Although that is sparse information it can help you find a person’s residence at a certain point in time, again helpful to find where ancestors resided between the census years.

Note 1: There may appear to be duplicate titles in the links. This is because there are scanned images of an original typed list or scanned images of original applications, and also a transcribed copy of a voter registration list.

Note 2: Many of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital.​

​(Updated September 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

For links to other states go to the Voter Records page.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Florida Links, click on the category of interest:​

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records

Free Tennessee Online Voter Records

Voter registration records are available online and offline from all over the world and are what I consider a hidden gem of information that can assist you in advancing your family history and genealogy research.

Here are several reasons why voter records are such a wonderful tool for researching (and finding) ancestors:

  • They fill in the gaps between censuses – in the ten years between censuses – people move, they die, they get married, etc. The advantage of voter registration records is that they can tell you their address, their occupation, etc. And like city directories, they are published yearly or every couple of years.
  • Naturalization information – in some records from the 1800s, the date, and place of naturalization is included, which can provide leads for obtaining their detailed naturalization records.
  • Middle names – often a complete name is included in voter registration records – in fact, the only place that I ever found my great grandfather’s middle name was in several of these records. Prior to finding them, I only knew his middle name as an initial.
  • You can find a spouse – after 1920 for all of America, women could vote – so at that time their names began to show up in Voter Registration records. Some states had passed women’s suffrage laws prior to 1920, but just a few. To be complete – women in some states in the late 1700s had voting rights until they were all taken away by 1807. The given name of a woman is sometimes included in the voter registration record.. If a man and a woman with the same last name lived at the same address on the registration list, one could surmise that they were married to each other or they could be siblings or have a parent-child relationship. But there is a good possibility that they may be married to each other, providing more clues.
  • Nativity – again in the 1800s, the place of birth is entered, which is especially helpful for finding naturalized immigrants.
  • Physical Characteristics – in a few states, the voter registration form includes the applicant’s age, height, complexion, eye and hair color, as well as any distinguishing marks or scars.
  • Political party or affiliation – usually abbreviated as Dem or Rep, but you will find other party names as well in addition to “None”. Remember that Democrats and Republicans from years ago did not necessarily align with the same principles as the parties do today.
  • Migration – a few voter registration forms include a question regarding how long the voter lived in the state, the county, and the precinct. This can be useful to determine when they moved, which can help determine their whereabouts for additional research.

Most of the voter registration records are still in paper form or have been microfilmed. There is quite a bit online though, and I am capturing those links and they are below. The paid subscription sites such as Ancestry, Fold3, My Heritage, and FindMyPast have voter registration collections also. 

Below are links to voter records available online. Unfortunately, some just list the voter’s name. Although that is sparse information it can help you find a person’s residence at a certain point in time, again helpful to find where ancestors resided between the census years.

Note 1: There may appear to be duplicate titles in the links. This is because there are scanned images of an original typed list or scanned images of original applications, and also a transcribed copy of a voter registration list.

Note 2: Many of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital.​

​(Updated September 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

​​​For links to other states go to the Voter Records page.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Tennessee Links, click on the category of interest:​

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records

Free Ohio Online Voter Records

Voter registration records are available online and offline from all over the world and are what I consider a hidden gem of information that can assist you in advancing your family history and genealogy research.

Here are several reasons why voter records are such a wonderful tool for researching (and finding) ancestors:

  • They fill in the gaps between censuses – in the ten years between censuses – people move, they die, they get married, etc. The advantage of voter registration records is that they can tell you their address, their occupation, etc. And like city directories, they are published yearly or every couple of years.
  • Naturalization information – in some records from the 1800s, the date, and place of naturalization is included, which can provide leads for obtaining their detailed naturalization records.
  • Middle names – often a complete name is included in voter registration records – in fact, the only place that I ever found my great grandfather’s middle name was in several of these records. Prior to finding them, I only knew his middle name as an initial.
  • You can find a spouse – after 1920 for all of America, women could vote – so at that time their names began to show up in Voter Registration records. Some states had passed women’s suffrage laws prior to 1920, but just a few. To be complete – women in some states in the late 1700s had voting rights until they were all taken away by 1807. The given name of a woman is sometimes included in the voter registration record.. If a man and a woman with the same last name lived at the same address on the registration list, one could surmise that they were married to each other or they could be siblings or have a parent-child relationship. But there is a good possibility that they may be married to each other, providing more clues.
  • Nativity – again in the 1800s, the place of birth is entered, which is especially helpful for finding naturalized immigrants.
  • Physical Characteristics – in a few states, the voter registration form includes the applicant’s age, height, complexion, eye and hair color, as well as any distinguishing marks or scars.
  • Political party or affiliation – usually abbreviated as Dem or Rep, but you will find other party names as well in addition to “None”. Remember that Democrats and Republicans from years ago did not necessarily align with the same principles as the parties do today.
  • Migration – a few voter registration forms include a question regarding how long the voter lived in the state, the county, and the precinct. This can be useful to determine when they moved, which can help determine their whereabouts for additional research.

Most of the voter registration records are still in paper form or have been microfilmed. There is quite a bit online though, and I am capturing those links and they are below. The paid subscription sites such as Ancestry, Fold3, My Heritage, and FindMyPast have voter registration collections also. 

Below are links to voter records available online. Unfortunately, some just list the voter’s name. Although that is sparse information it can help you find a person’s residence at a certain point in time, again helpful to find where ancestors resided between the census years.

Note 1: There may appear to be duplicate titles in the links. This is because there are scanned images of an original typed list or scanned images of original applications, and also a transcribed copy of a voter registration list.

Note 2: Many of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital.

​(Updated September 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

​​​For links to other states go to the Voter Records page.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Ohio Links, click on the category of interest:​

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records

Free Wisconsin Online Voter Records

Voter registration records are available online and offline from all over the world and are what I consider a hidden gem of information that can assist you in advancing your family history and genealogy research.

Here are several reasons why voter records are such a wonderful tool for researching (and finding) ancestors:

  • They fill in the gaps between censuses – in the ten years between censuses – people move, they die, they get married, etc. The advantage of voter registration records is that they can tell you their address, their occupation, etc. And like city directories, they are published yearly or every couple of years.
  • Naturalization information – in some records from the 1800s, the date, and place of naturalization is included, which can provide leads for obtaining their detailed naturalization records.
  • Middle names – often a complete name is included in voter registration records – in fact, the only place that I ever found my great grandfather’s middle name was in several of these records. Prior to finding them, I only knew his middle name as an initial.
  • You can find a spouse – after 1920 for all of America, women could vote – so at that time their names began to show up in Voter Registration records. Some states had passed women’s suffrage laws prior to 1920, but just a few. To be complete – women in some states in the late 1700s had voting rights until they were all taken away by 1807. The given name of a woman is sometimes included in the voter registration record.. If a man and a woman with the same last name lived at the same address on the registration list, one could surmise that they were married to each other or they could be siblings or have a parent-child relationship. But there is a good possibility that they may be married to each other, providing more clues.
  • Nativity – again in the 1800s, the place of birth is entered, which is especially helpful for finding naturalized immigrants.
  • Physical Characteristics – in a few states, the voter registration form includes the applicant’s age, height, complexion, eye and hair color, as well as any distinguishing marks or scars.
  • Political party or affiliation – usually abbreviated as Dem or Rep, but you will find other party names as well in addition to “None”. Remember that Democrats and Republicans from years ago did not necessarily align with the same principles as the parties do today.
  • Migration – a few voter registration forms include a question regarding how long the voter lived in the state, the county, and the precinct. This can be useful to determine when they moved, which can help determine their whereabouts for additional research.

Most of the voter registration records are still in paper form or have been microfilmed. There is quite a bit online though, and I am capturing those links and they are below. The paid subscription sites such as Ancestry, Fold3, My Heritage, and FindMyPast have voter registration collections also. 

Below are links to voter records available online. Unfortunately, some just list the voter’s name. Although that is sparse information it can help you find a person’s residence at a certain point in time, again helpful to find where ancestors resided between the census years.

Note 1: There may appear to be duplicate titles in the links. This is because there are scanned images of an original typed list or scanned images of original applications, and also a transcribed copy of a voter registration list.

Note 2: Many of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital.

​(Updated September 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

​​​For links to other states go to the Voter Records page.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Wisconsin Links, click on the category of interest:​

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records