Thos. Smith in Index to Butler County Wills, 1800-1971

My search for Thomas Smith of Butler County, Penna., continues. I ordered a Family History Library (FHL) microfilm, "Index to wills R-S 1800-1971." It arrived at my local Family History Center (FHC) last week and I went to look at it on Saturday morning.

There is one most likely candidate, one whose will closely coordinates with the Thomas Smith whose gravestone is in Mount Varnum Cemetery, Washington Township, Butler County. He is recorded as "Thos Smith," and wrote or filed his will on October 3, 1862. His will is File #S251 in Will Book Vol. D, page 169.

I ordered the microfilm which contains Thomas Smith's will. It could arrive as early as next week. I hope the will names Rebecca Smith Bartley as Thomas' daughter and/or her husband Dixon Bartley as Thomas' son-in-law. If either is named and relationship given, this would give me a sure connection between Rebecca and Thomas. If it doesn't, I'll need to search other sources.

"Thos B. Smith" of Parker Township is also listed. He may (or may not) be the son of Thomas Smith. Thomas B. filed his will in June, 1909. I don't yet see a need to search for his will but may in the future.

The FHC has three microfilm readers, one of which has a printer. Unfortunately, the printer no longer works. I knew several years ago that the printer would eventually die and that it was too old to be repaired. With that possibility in mind, I took my camera with me. The image is not as clear as I hoped for but clear enough to read what I need. I'm not sure how well it will photograph a full page will.

If you'd like to see a larger view of the image, click on it and a larger version will appear on the screen. Click on it again and it will enlarge even more. When you're finished viewing it, click the back arrow at the top of your browser and you'll come back to this post.

If you'd like to follow along with my search for Thomas Smith, click on the post titles below which are listed in chronological order according to my search efforts. The link you click will open in a new browser window. When you're finished reading close the window and continue reading here.

Searching for Thomas Smith, Sr.
The Search for Thomas Smith Continues - 1850 and 1860 Census Records
Neighbors of Thomas Smith, 1850. Neighbors of Henry Smith, 1860
Thomas Smith and 1858 Property Map of Parker Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania
T. Smith - Mount Varnum Cemetery, Washington Township, Butler County, Penna