UK Probate Genealogy, 9 Thorneyholme Drive, Knutsford (2026)

11/09/2026

There really is nothing new under the sun - this witty yet heartfelt letter was written by my great grand-father, John Done OBE, in the 1920's bemoaning the effect of the government and taxes (and in laws!) on his life and finances. He was a successful farmer and milk producer and JP in Cheshire.

“To my Creditors,

I regret to inform you that the present condition of my bank balance makes it impossible for me to send you a cheque in settlement of your account.

My present financial position is due to Government Laws, Corn Laws, Corporation Laws, bye-laws, brother-in-laws, mother-in-laws and outlaws that have been foisted upon an unsuspecting community.

Through the various laws, I have been held down, help-up, walked on, sat upon, flattened out and squeezed, until I do not know where I am, what I am, who I am or why I am.

These laws compel me to get down to brass tax and to pay Occupation Tax, Capital Tax, Excise Tax, Income Tax, Real Estate Tax, School Tax, Auto Tax, Gas Tax, To***co Tax, Land Tax, W**e Tax, and numerous other Taxes.

In addition I am requested to subscribe to every society and organisation that the inventive mind of man can organise — the Children’s Home, Policeman’s benefit, YMCA, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides etc., etc., also to every hospital and Charitable Institution — the Red Cross, Black Cross, Purple Cross and Double Cross.

The Government has so governed my business that I do not know who owns it — I am suspected, inspected, prospected, disrespected, examined, re-examined, informed, investigated, required, requisitioned, subpoenaed, commanded, and compelled until all I know is that I am supposed to provide an inexhaustible supply of money for every known need, desire and hope of human race.

Because I refuse to donate to all, I am cussed, lied and discussed, boycotted, talked to, talked about, lied about, held up, held down and robbed, until I am nearly ruined, so that the only reason I am clinging to life, is to see what is coming next.”

10/09/2026

Feeling wronged by a will? Feeling unloved and resentful? Thinking that your dastardly relatives influenced the testator to change his/her will?
Well firstly ask yourself one question – “Can I afford to lose?” – contested probate is rife with stories of people who spent £100,000 contesting a possible £20,000 inheritance. The executors will usually have far deeper pockets than you which moneys will only come out of the estate,.
Having found yourself unable to swallow your pride and resentment then contact a contentious probate lawyer (I am not a lawyer so this is the limit of my advice) and try your hardest to take their advice, especially if they don’t think you have a case! They will often recommend some sort of arbitration as a first step.
Of course, if you had kept in touch with the deceased a little more often then they might have remembered you. It’s a little mercenary but sometimes some enlightened self interest can reap dividends!

09/09/2026

Who/where is Jane Smith? The power of love…
So, you are executing a will and one of the beneficiaries is called Jane Smith – no clue at all about who they are, what their connection to the deceased is, is Smith their married or maiden name? Were they work colleagues? Is she a blood relation or in-law? In the armed forces or government service?
Where on earth do you start? Sometimes family members and other beneficiaries can be helpful, sometimes they can be downright obstructive – you think they know who Jane Smith is but they are unwilling to help – possibly thinking that there might be a larger share of the estate if a beneficiary can’t be found.
When faced with obstruction I find that “you’re only delaying your payout and if you don’t help it could be months/years before you receive it” often concentrates their mind.
In the absence of any other clues I find that investigating local schools, previous addresses and work places can yield results. Alumni associations, electoral rolls, gazettes, military records, local newspapers, family trees and, if you can find them, the local curtain twitcher will reveal secrets that have gone missing.
We found such a beneficiary recently by using the list of attendees at the funeral – when we contacted her she revealed that she was an old flame who hadn’t seen the deceased for 40 years – he’d been holding a torch for her all those years!
The moral of this story is, however, when you are writing a will useful information will include date of birth, address, full (and maiden) name and connection with the deceased – make it easy please!

27/08/2026

Did you know that surnames can go extinct just like species do?
One historical reason for surnames becoming extinct was World War I. When there were mass casualties, a village or town might lose a whole generation of their men. Because names at that time were often specific to an area, a surname could be lost.
There are less drastic reasons for a surname’s disappearance as well. Sometimes, a name is changed over time, or a male line may simply die out.
Since 1901, about 200,000 names have disappeared altogether from England and Wales, according to a study conducted by Ancestry.co.uk. These include
• Chips
• Hatman
• Temples
• Raynott
• Woodbead
• Nithercott
• Rummage
• Southwark
• Harred
• Jarsdel
Hundreds of other English surnames are “endangered” — so rare that fewer than 50 people in England and Wales have them. These include
1. Pober
2. Mirren
3. Febland
4. Nighy
5. Grader
6. Bonneville
7. Gruger
8. Carla
9. Fernard
10. Portendorfer
Actress Helen Mirren, whose name is on that list, was born with the last name Mironoff, which her Russian father Anglicized to Mirren. Actors Hugh Bonneville and Bill Nighy also have endangered surnames.
More people researching their roots today has led to an interest in preserving rare surnames, and as a result, more people are using hyphenated surnames in England. In 1901, “double-barreled names” were just 1 in 50,000 people. Today, 1 in 50 people has a hyphenated surname, and almost half of them say it’s to preserve a family surname.
Research by Ancestry.co.uk

26/08/2026

Are you good at geography?

I always thought I was until a recent probate research case became the most geographically diverse project we have encountered.

At first it seemed quite straightforward – the deceased, an only child, unmarried and without issue, had 7 aunts and uncles (all deceased) who had 14 children between them. So it didn’t look too problematic to begin with.

However it soon became clear that the 14 cousins were as fecund as they were dysfunctional! Of the 14 cousins, 12 were deceased and had 72 children between them, many of whom had dispersed all over the world, reputedly (according to the two surviving 1st cousins) due to family disputes, inheritance disputes, bankruptcy and criminal records! The family was part of an unusual Christian sect (for whom, apparently, contraception was not an option!) and quite a few of them became missionaries.

It took a while but here is a partial list of the more surprising locations:
Luanda, Angola (A missionary like a number of the others)
Arua, Uganda
Kampala, Uganda
Wichita Falls, Texas
Rochester, Nevada
Elorza, Venezuela
Augusta, Western Australia
Davao, Phillipines
Xinjiang, China

The rest are in the UK and Europe – a very satisfying result.

Ironically the cousins’ descendants had very few children between them, no doubt learned the lessons of their parents’ decisions!

25/08/2026

Parents - be kind to your children!

Over the years that we have been doing our probate genealogy at UKPG we have come across a wide variety of most unusual names that unthinking parents have given their children. A few of the worst examples are below. (And we have double checked - they are all genuine!)

A Mr Pleasant Bottom (b1799 Kentucky) - well I'm sure he had one but there was no need to tell the world

The misses Ima and Ura Hogg (b 1908 Alabama) - verging on the edges of child cruelty here

If-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou hadst-been-damned Barebone (b1621 Massachusetts)

Fly-fornication Jones (b1865 Arkansas)

Experience Bliss (b 1649 Massachusetts) – let’s hope she did!

Zebedee Twopenny (19th C Yorkshire)

And this one I promise you is true - a Mr Preserved Fish - I attach an extract from his will. His brothers all had normal names so what possessed his parents we shall never know.

Finally it never occurred to the parents of F***y Kirby that she might one day marry a Mr Rash... or another who married a Mr Smellie

Parents - be careful!

Any unusual or unfortunate names in your family?

19/08/2026

How to trace people - education slot

Lost someone? Need to find a beneficiary, executor, trustee, family member or friend, work colleague or school friend – here are a few tips on where to look – these are all methods we use regularly in concert with our main genealogy sites

1. My favourite (and often most rewarding) is the nosy neighbour – find the local curtain twitcher at the last known address – they will be delighted to fill you in on all the comings and goings – “of she was sh…..g him and he was sh…..g her” – “he moved to x town and she had 6 children by 6 different men” – etc etc no end of gossip often yields those vital clues needed for a successful search

2. Don’t forget the will and other estate papers if available – these often yield valuable answers in your search – look at them yourself as clients often don’t realise the usefulness of the most minor of details

3. Social media, especially Facebook is a great source of contacts and establishing family groups – as a last resort leaving posts on local social media groups will stir local “concerned citizens” to enter the search on your behalf. (Be careful not to infringe on the dreaded GDPR though!) Was the missing person involved in local sports clubs, alumni associations or workplace groups? – these often yield valuable results.

4. There are missing people charity groups, many dealing with tracing estranged family members such as missingpeople.org.uk and locate-international

5. There are several paid for search resources such as LexisNexis, Altia Clio, Onic, Resolver and Microsoft Purview – you have to demonstrate a legitimate need and pay an annual subscription for these. We subscribe to LexisNexis TraceIQ

6. More distant relatives are sometimes in touch with family members otherwise estranged form their own immediate family.

7. Newspaper archives and the gazettes online, local newspaper websites are useful too

These are just a few resources we use but you can always call us on 07725 993 400 or email [email protected] for a fixed price quote and timetable

13/08/2026

A death sentence for probate fraud might concentrate people’s minds a bit more today!
Another probate dispute from the archives – The Weekly Worcester Journal of 1 June 1744 reports as follows:
A Sarah Lowther was sentenced to death for “impersonating the widow of a Nicholas Woollen, mariner, and obtaining a probate of his pretended will, knowing the same to be false and counterfeit” - the sentence was transmuted to 14 years transportation.
In the same article an Isabella Mills was also sentenced to death for stealing a silver tankard!
Justice was severe in the 18th century!

12/08/2026

Was your ancestor a baddy or a goody?

Two great resources for family history and probate research are the Gazettes (London, Edinburgh and Belfast) and old newspapers

The gazettes can be searched at https://www.thegazette.co.uk/

(and they are free!)

And include such fascinating records such as contemporary reports on historical highlights such as the great fire of London and war reporting. Also you can find out if your ancestors were made bankrupt, had criminal records, served in the military or civil service and their progress, received honours and awards.

The gazettes also record births, deaths and marriages, probate notices, how they interacted with society and much much more – it’s easy to get sucked in and spend hours and hours on these sites.

The gazettes go back to 1665 and are accessible at https://www.thegazette.co.uk/

One of my family’s ancestors appears several times suing the then King in Scotland for non-payment of his printing debt – alas history doesn’t reveal if his majesty paid up!

Old newspapers are available on ancestry and findmypast.

Give them a go, you might find something about your ancestor that is really interesting

11/08/2026

Nearly 300 years ago – disputed probate shows that there is nothing new under the sun!
The Gloucester Journal of Jul 10th 1733 reports that a Mrs Moore, the sister of the deceased, tried to turn over the executor, a Mr Payne, named in the will. Needless to say the judges “after hearing several learned arguments of the advocates on both sides were pleased to determine in favour of Mr Payne”.
It was clearly just as hard to turn over a will then as it is now.
The really interesting matter is the value of the estate - £10,000 – over £2 million in todays money. While one would never impugn Mrs Moore’s motives it would have been interesting to hear her objections!

UK Probate Genealogy

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