Difficulty Locating Entries in the Calendar of Wills ~ HELP!

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s1nead
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Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 4:33 pm
Location: San Diego

Difficulty Locating Entries in the Calendar of Wills ~ HELP!

Post by s1nead » Sun Oct 19, 2014 12:41 am

I have been using the Calendar of Wills without any real success.

The people for whom I am searching were all prominent landowners yet, save one, my searches come up empty.

The only entry I have found is dated 1872 and is for my great great grandfather, Patrick Edward Reilly.

The information is very brief ~ only 3-4 lines and just offers a cash amount ~ nothing is listed about his property, his family, etc.

I have also tried searching for several other, prominent relatives with NO success.

In the case of my great grandfather, Henry Patrick Reilly, who was a Solicitor and who in 1870 was listed owning over 900 acres, I have seen his Will.

In 1967, my grandmother gave it to my father (whose sole heir father had died in 1960) and I remember reading it.

I was only 17 at the time but from what I remember, it consisted of dozens of pages and it included an inventory of every piece of property that he owned at his death.

My father was SHOCKED at what he was reading ....... there was property all over Ireland, including some island that had been turned into an amusement park.

There were also properties leased by him that belonged to the infamous Lord Lucan.

My grandfather had disdained this family wealth ...... he thought of it as "blood money"....... he was ashamed that his family were land agents .....

He didn't manage these properties at all and eventually everything reverted back to the government because he was an absentee landlord.

Sad that the legacy of two generations was gone.....

I am trying to get my sister to send me a copy of that Will (1894)...... I'll share that when I get it...

My point is ~ WHY can't I find an entry for the Will of Henry Patrick Reilly when I know it exists?

Is there some 'trick' to this search? It seems rather straightforward ~ NAME ~ DATE ~ LOCATION

Also, when/if I do find its entry in the Calendar of Wills, will that entry consist of a brief synopsis of the Will or will it provide the details of the original?

Basically, I do not understand why these records are so difficult to uncover....

I am VERY interested in your thoughts & insights.....

Thanks so much for reading this post!

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