Pre-1858 wills - what's on Name Search?
Indexes to Diocesan administration bonds (admons)
- Armagh diocesan administration bonds, 1600 - 1858
- Clogher diocesan administration bonds, 1660-1858
- Connor diocesan administration bonds, 1661- 1857
- Derry diocesan administration bonds, 1698/9 -1857
- Down diocesan administration bonds, 1641-1857
- Dromore diocesan administration bonds, 1742 -1857
- Kilmore diocesan administration bonds, 1728-1858
Please note, the original bonds referred to in the indexes no longer exist. There is no further information available other than that recorded in the indexes and therefore copies of the actual administration bonds cannot be provided.
Indexes to Diocesan wills
- Armagh diocesan wills, 1633-1857
- Clogher diocesan wills, 1661-1858
- Connor diocesan wills, 1622-1859
- Down diocesan wills, 1608-1859
- Kilmore diocesan wills, 1682-1857
Please note, the original wills referred to in the indexes no longer exist. There is no further information available other than that recorded in the indexes and therefore copies of the actual wills cannot be provided.
Indexes to Prerogative wills
- Prerogative wills, 1811-1858
Please note, the original wills referred to in the indexes no longer exist. There is no further information available other than that recorded in the indexes and therefore copies of the actual wills cannot be provided.
Pre-1858 wills index
The type of records referenced in the pre-1858 wills index include:- copy of a will
- extract from a will or an abstract of a will (usually abbreviated in the index as ‘ext’)
- note of a grant (abbreviated to ‘Gt’) of probate or letters of administration (the latter is usually abbreviated in the index as ‘admon’ or ‘I’ meaning ‘intestate’)
- copy of grant of probate, usually attached to a copy of the will
- note of issue of an administration bond (usually abbreviated in the index as ‘admon bond’)
- extract from an administration bond (usually abbreviated in the index as ‘admon bond’)
- renunciation of executors or of a will
About the pre-1858 wills index
Although most originals were destroyed in the fire in the Public Record Office of Ireland (Dublin) in 1922, copies of testamentary records or extracts from them survive in a wide variety of PRONI sources. The pre-1858 wills index is an attempt to bring together pre-1858 wills and admons found within the archives in PRONI. There are over 15,500 entries in this index.Relevant PRONI reference numbers are given, meaning you can come into PRONI and consult the testamentary papers mentioned in the index if you wish (or order a copy from PRONI).
Please note, in many instances the information in this index has been copied from the original records, therefore there is no guarantee of the accuracy of the information nor the spelling of personal and placenames.
It is often difficult to identify placenames. Where it is reasonably certain to ascertain, the modern townland spelling is provided. Where there is some uncertainty, the modern townland spelling is placed in brackets or is followed by a question mark.
Where there are covering dates, it means either that the date of death and date of the grant are given or that there are a number of documents within a date range.
