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PREFACE
This is a ward and deceased index to
approximately 2400 guardianship and estate
cases (both testate and intestate) that were
filed in Franklin County, Ohio from 1803
through 1850. Franklin County was
created in 1803 from Ross and Fairfield
counties. All of the guardianship and
estate cases prior to 1852 were heard before
the court of Common Pleas. The modern
Probate Court was not created until 1852,
but it has assumed custody of the earlier
cases. Various sets of Court of Common
Pleas record books, however, are still under
the jurisdiction of that court and may
provide additional material pertaining to
these cases.
The first estate case heard in Franklin
County is for William Fleming in
1803, and the first guardianship papers are
for the children of Benjamin Kepler,
case number 4 filed in 1806. In the
latter instance the guardianship papers are
intermingled with the estate papers of
Benjamin Kepler, but in almost all
succeeding cases the two types of records
are filed separately. The records
associated with each case were kept in a
separate packet and numbers were assigned as
the cases came before the court.
In addition to the full name of the ward (a
child under 21) or deceased, the case nuber,
year, and comments by the compiler are
given. The contents of approximately
2400 case packets were examined as recorded
on microfilm. The data were then
compared 1806-1882" (OHS microfilm GR-866),
and "Index to Estates, Assignments & Trusts,
A-Z, 1801-1897" (OHS microfilm GR-864).
All discrepancies noted are mentioned
within. Numerous names from the
original records did not appear in the above
indexes, and many spelling variations and
references to misfiled papers are included.
A letter "g," which does not appear in the
original records, has been appended to the
case numbers here to designate has been
retained per the originals, but apparently
has no special significance. A table
correlating case numbers, years, missing
records, and microfilm numbers is given
below.
Researchers interested in locating a copy of
a transcribed will should consult "Franklin
county Probate Court, Index to Wills,
1805-1928," which is available on microfilm
(GR-868) at the Ohio Historical Society.
Such information will not be found in this
index, but many of the papers found in the
cases listed in this index pertain to
instances where wills were left. Such
material provides additional information
which may not be found in the will per se.
The original case packets are in storage at
the Franklin County Probate Court's
warehouse on Alum Creek Drive, but are not
easily accessed by the general public.
The microfilming was quite good, however,
which alleviates the need for examining the
originals in most instances. The
microfilm is available for viewing at the
Ohio Historical Society, Columbus. I
would like to thank Bob Jones and other
staff members of the Ohio Historical Society
for their assistance in this project.
W. Louis Phillips, C. G. R. S.
May 1984
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