Search Ardagh Wills 1690 - 1857

The Index to Ardagh wills cover the period from 1690-1857. They are extremely useful for those researching their Irish family history with ancestors from counties Longford and Leitrim but the diocese also extended into parts of counties Sligo, Roscommon, Cavan and Westmeath.

The Ardagh Diocese includes the towns of:

• Carrick-on-Shannon
• Drumshambo
• Granard
• Mohill
• Edgeworthstown
• Longford
  
  As well as over 40 civil parishes
  The original bonds were destroyed in the Public Record Office fire of 1922, consequently all that survives is the index.
  The date displayed is the date of probate, unless that date is not available, in those instances the date is the date of the will.

Before the abolishment of ecclesiastical jurisdiction over testamentary matters in 1858, wills were proved either in the Diocesan Court or in the Prerogative Court. The will was proved in the

Diocesan Court if the deceased owned property in one Diocese only. This regulation applied to both Catholics and Protestants so a large number of Catholics appear in the Indexes to Wills.