IGRS Wills Card Index

The destruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland in 1922 consumed virtually all of Ireland’s pre-1858 testamentary records. During the decades following, efforts were made by various institutions and individuals to locate copies and abstracts of Irish wills. The IGRS wills card index, held at the Society’s Library, was an early and praiseworthy attempt by IGRS members to build a central database of genealogical abstracts from a variety of testamentary sources.

The index includes Irish Prerogative Wills from the Betham Collection, as well as from the Prerogative Court of Canterbury; the Welply Wills at the Society of Genealogists, plus the Swanzy Collection at the IGRS Library. Other sources are not only wills deposited at the Library, or quoted in our manuscript collection, but also wills held in private collections quoted in The Irish Genealogist, as well as in other journals.

The card index also includes many regional wills & administrations.

There are some 3500 to 4000 cards in all and while they stretch from Acheson to Young, those from A to F are slightly better covered than the rest of the alphabet.

In each case, the full source for the abstract is quoted, and great pains were taken to show family relationships, making this an essential reference.

Abbreviations used: D = date of will, not death; P = date will proved; Ms or MSS = manuscript, J = Journal; ADM = Administration date; Soc of Gen = Society of Genealogists in London; Prerog = prerogative.

When clicked, each of the files below downloads automatically in pdf format. Most are under 1mb in size. A few are very slightly larger.

A small number of cards in the Wills Index have information on both sides. For technical reasons, the ‘double sided’ cards have been scanned separately, so be sure to scroll right to the bottom of the list below to check the ‘double-sided card files’ list, too. They are in alphabetical order.

‘Double-sided’ card files