Berkshire County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1761-1900

Berkshire County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1791-1900 now makes available 21,143 Berkshire County probate cases filed between 1761 and 1900. This database was created from digital images and index contributed to NEHGS by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. The probate cases include wills, guardianships, administrations, and various other types of probate records. Berkshire County was originally part of Hampshire County and became a separate county in 1761. The Berkshire probate records begin with case number 727 and the earlier cases are believed to be in the Hampshire County records. The specific Hampshire county probate cases that represent Berkshire cases 1-726 are not known at this time.

Make sure you watch our video, How to Search Massachusetts Probate File papers to learn how to search these collections.  Don’t get frustrated when the first page you find is just the upper portion of a file folder–this is the first page of every case.  Use the blue arrows on the upper right to move to the next pages in the case.  You can visit the transcript page to know how many pages are in a given file folder.  You can find more tips and resources on searching probate records on our Probate Records Resource Page.