Why does Family Search bring up less here in the UK than in the USA?
I recently did a search for a will of a relative who died in 1884 Warwickshire, England.
The person helping me found it on the system in minutes. I asked him for the path leading to the will, it did not work, it will not work!
Another lady from here in the UK followed the same pathway and her results were the same as mine.
The person in the USA could not explain it.
I tried emailing two local Family Search centres here in the UK; No response to my email and no answer from their telephone.
I am very disappointed that I cannot copy the will of my relative and with the lack of being able to go to a centre to see the will on their system.
Who do you speak to? I certainly do not know.
God Bless.
Mike
Answers
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@mike j charles I hope I give you a correct answer.
Short answer from https://www.familysearch.org/family-history-library/virtual-genealogy-consultation-faqs :
" Due to contractual obligations, we cannot show any restricted records. Some contracts permit the sharing of a few records; please fill out the Records Look-up Service form (https://www.familysearch.org/family-history-library/family-history-library-records-look-up-service) to request copies of specific records."
Even here in the United States, access to some FamilySearch records is restricted. I agree this can be frustrating especially when the record collection is know to contain ancestor records. I believe FamilySearch does all it can to make the indexes of a collection available to search so that records can be located - but the access to the media is sometimes just a matter of the contract with the Record Collection Custodian. This is what I get when trying to access Registered wills 1658-1699; Original wills and inventories 1557-1727; Typewritten index 1718-1773; Original wills 1685-1759 Wills and inventories, 1557-1849
Authors: Church of England. Peculiar Court (Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire) (Main Author)
I do see:
"United Kingdom 00-800-1830-1830 Note: This number will be discontinued as of September 1, 2021."
My recommendations at this point:
Use the lookup service referenced above - they MAY be able to send you an image copy of the will index. Here is the reference to your previous discussion where the Community member was able to locate the will INDEX ONLY - the citation information probably won't get you an image of the will:
Document Information
Reference IR27/64
Digital Folder Number DI0001076
Collection Information
England and Wales, Index to Death Duty Registers, 1796-1903
Cite This Record
"England and Wales, Index to Death Duty Registers, 1796-1903", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6ZKW-G72H : 7 May 2021), William Such, 1855.
From UK National Archives website: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9365
You could send a longer, in-depth enquiry for the citation to UK National Archives using their enquiry form:
If you have access to the index of the record collection you can still link that in the Tree to your ancestor.
I hope this helps and that they are allowed to send you a copy. Spread the information in the UK that this service is available.
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Thank you for your help I do appreciate it.
The Marriage bond I have already thanks.
The man that I was messaging had no difficulty seeing the will. He could not send it to me.
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@mike j charles Was that from the previous conversion with FamilySearch Community that I linked to or some other service? All I saw was the Index from that previous conversation...
The Index refers to the folio number which is supposed to take you to the registry - which is supposed to give some further direction to the will. But I haven't seen the actual will and I don't think FamilySearch has that - and I could not find it on UK National Archives:
FamilySearch MAY have the registers either in microfilm/digital images but I haven't been able to locate or access those either.
At this point I haven't seen a conversation with anyone that has access to anything other than the Index referring to folio #382.
This is the Step 1. I have been unable to proceed with Step 2 - the Registers.
I did contact FamilySearch Virtual Consultations to see if they can assist you further. Your continued patience is appreciated - hopefully the search will end with more success!
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I am afraid that it was
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Hi @mike j charles !
What @genthusiast 1 told you is correct. Both about the restrictions on the records and the lookup service provided by the Family History Library.
I can explain some things here, but I would recommend you sign up for a FamilySearch Virtual Genealogy Consultation with a British research specialist. Click the blue button to schedule. You can schedule with me directly here so you don't have to explain as much, but if my availability doesn't match yours, use the link above to schedule with another of our specialists.
The Death Duty Registers deal with estate taxes and while they will give some detail, at best they will only give an abstract of the will. If you schedule a consultation, we can walk you through how to find the will. We may be able to provide you with a copy of the will in the consultation or guide you to the information you need to request a copy either through our lookup service or The National Archives.
I hope this helps!
Kori Robbins, British Isles Research Specialist
Family History Library
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