Sunday, April 19, 2009

Thomas McClurken Probate Documents

Acquiring the Thomas McClurken Probate Documents has been a challenge. Per the Washington County Genealogy Trails website, they are in three different boxes in the Washington County Courthouse. First you request the documents, then they count the pages and quote the copy cost. You send the county a check and they send the copies.

My initial request specified the Thomas that died in 1845; however, I received the papers from box 93. These were for the wrong Thomas and related to the end of a guardianship for Harriet McClurken in 1879.

My second request was for both of the other two boxes: 37 and 141. I did acquire the contents of box 141; however, again the wrong Thomas. These related to the end of the guardianships for Clara McClurken and her brother, Andrew Todd McClurken, on May 5, 1870. I believe these were from the estate of their brother, Thomas, who died in 1861.

For box 37, I was advised that boxes 1 through 50 had been sent to the Illinois Regional Archives Depository facility in Springfield. I called and found out that they were preparing the documents for preservation and are currently working on box 37. They are going to call me back with the copying cost. They did check and let me know that two persons named Thomas McClurken were included; however, both died in the 1860s. I will order then in order to clarify the contents of the first two boxes.

I will scan and post the relevant copies on my website when I have sorted it all out. Unfortunately, none seem to exist for the Thomas McClurken who died in 1845.