Update to Hampshire County Probate File Papers

A topographical map of Hampshire County Massachusetts by Henry Francis Walling (By http://maps.bpl.org [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

This update to the Hampshire County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1660-1889 adds 6,538 additional case records and 175,000 individual file papers.  This database is possible through our collaboration with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives and the Hampshire County Probate & Family Court.  The collection contains the records of Hampshire County probate cases filed between 1660 and 1889. The probate cases include wills, guardianships, administrations, and various other types of probate records except adoptions, which are not public records in Massachusetts.

Rather than sequential case numbers, the Hampshire County file papers are numbered by file box (1-267) and then folder within the box. The case number naming convention is [box number]-[folder number]:[page number]. For example, the first page of the first folder in box 1 is “1-1:1”.

For more information about this database, please consult our introduction which contains helpful information and examples for understanding and interpreting this collection.

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