While McLean County was formed in 1830, and the court did have proceedings prior to this book, this begins the written record of the Guardian and Probate Court.  In this book are many deaths that are not found elsewhere.  It is presumed that since these people died in McLean County, they are buried here as well.  In a few cases, the deceased died elsewhere, and that location is noted in the record.

     If a person died intestate (without a will), state law dictated how their estate would be divided.  For a widowed mother with children the estate would be split divided between the mother and children of the deceased.

    Real property (land and buildings) was divided differently than personal property (tools, household goods).   Real property was split with 2/3 going to the children and the Widow inheriting a life estate in 1/3.  The Widow could remain in possession of only 1/3 of any real property and the children owned the remaining 2/3.  When the widow passed, the remainder of her life estate would revert to her children.

     Personal Property was split with 1/3 going to the Widow and 2/3 going to the children. Often the children would now own assets and still be minors and dependent upon their mothers, but since they owned property, the court required that the mother petition to be their legal guardian.

     Each image has be cropped and enhanced for maximum readability.  A comprehensive name index in the rear of the Will Book 1 showing page numbers those names appear on (over 1300 entries)  This book is copyrighted for the index and how the images were enhanced – please respect that.  The file are large, allow time to download.  The downloading of files from here is for members only – otherwise the volumes can be purchased in our Publications Store.