Northampton County Probate Records

Northampton County probably was created in 1694 and was first called Accawmack. The name was changed by legislative action in 1643. As early as 1648, the terms of the county court of Northampton were held in two places. Six years afterwards, the justices adopted a resolution that they would meet on the 28th day of each month in Mr. Walter Williams' residence, which was situated near Hungars Creek. The erection of a permanent court-house was taken into consideration in the year of 1664, and "ye towne fields betwixt ye Ware Creek and ye Maine Creek" was chosen as the most appropriate site. Six years later, an Act of Assembly having authorized the voters of the county to choose a site for a new court-house, the freeholders and householders, who alone enjoyed the suffrage, were summoned by the justices to meet at the old court-house, on an appointed day, to declare their preference. Source: Northumberland County Records, vol. 1652-66, p. 188.

The early Wills and Deeds were written in the same books. As is typical of books this old, the surviving pages have suffered deterioration. A solution to reading the documents is to write out the names you are researching using the Colonial Script guide and then search through the pages for those names. Next, slowly resolve the interpretation by carefully comparison to the guide. Generally, legal documents begin with the following statements "This Indenture" (this is a deed which lists acreage, grantor, grantee, and date). "By All Men these Presents" is the introduction to a bond, usually an estate bond where the name of the deceased is mentioned, date, and who put up the bond. "In the Name of God, Amen" is the beginning of a last will and testament. The first and second paragraphs usually mentions the date of the instrument, burial information, name of wife and executors. Each paragraph which follows list the eldest male son (wherein he inherits the home place), following other sons, with lesser acreage tracts, and then the daughters and their husbands. Many testators included the names of grandchildren. The last date on the page is the the date of probate.

Northampton County Marriages to 1699

These marriages were published in The Genealogy Magazine: A Journal of American and British Ancestry.

• Kendall, Mary to Hancock Lee 1675
• Littleton, Esther to John Robins 9 Jan 1662
• Robins, John to Esther Littleton 9 Jan 1662

Marriages

• Bonds and Consents 1706 to 1858
• Register 1848 to 1861
• Register and Consents 1853 to 1860

Miscellaneous

• 1671 Tithables
• 1704 Quit Rent Rolls
• School Board Minutes 1922 to 1936

Indexes to Probate Records (Colonial handwriting)

• Index to Orders, Wills, Inventories, 1640 to 1645
• Index to Orders, Wills, Inventories, 1645 to 1651

Miscellaneous Wills and Estates

• Dixon, Benjamin, Inventory dtd 1772
• Dixon, John, LWT dtd 1764
• Dixon, John, 1799 Inventory
• Dixon, John, LWT dtd 1764. Includes Accounts of Mary, Sarah and Thomas Dixon, children of John, deceased
• Dixon, John, LWT dtd 1774
• Dixon, Tilney, LWT dtd 1764, Book 23, p. 172
• Dixon, Tilney, Inventory dtd 1764
• Dixon, Tilney, Estate and Inventory dtd 1764
• Dixon, Tilney, LWT dtd 1770; appraisement, etc.
• Dixon, Tilney, Estate dtd 1776
• Dixon, William, Estate Returns, Inventory, etc. dtd 1772
• Dunton, Sophia, 1778 Estate
• Evans, Esther, Appr Bk 13, 1778, p. 194
• Jarvis, Thomas. Probated in Norfolk County 1755-1772
• Johnson, Powell, Estate (1774)
• Starling, William (1698)
• Wilkins, Sarah, Estate 1777

Informational

• Samuel Argall
• William Starling
• Lewis Williams