It’s been awhile since I’d last tried to search for my great great grandfather. I hadn’t given up though!

In one last ditched attempt I thought I could try and search for a will. I searched on ancestry, but I couldn’t view anything as I needed to be on a higher subscription. So I searched Google for free wills, and came across an article about the probate office releasing thousands of wills for free

I searched on the probate site [gov.uk]. I didn’t know his date of death, but I did know that he had died before my great grandfather had married, so I started in 1916, the year before his marriage.

I got lucky first time, this is what I was looking for, and found!

Rogers George of 17 Badminton road Ashley road Bristol cabinet maker died 14 September 1916 at General Hospital Bristol Administration Bristol 13 October to Henry George Rogers tailer’s cutter
Effects £250 4s 8d

That was it! After all these years I was finally looking at my great great grandfather. And hopefully his will would name his children and I could finally find my ancestors.
I duly paid my money and waited for the will to become available for download.

When I got the will it was not a will, but an administration of letters. This gives the named person power of attorney over the deceased estate. In this case it was George Rogers’s son Henry George (my great-grandfather) who had power of attorney. It did name two of Henry Georges sisters, Florence Rogers and Nellie Rogers both living at the same address.

This was great news, as these names matched with the family I had found in the censuses I could carry on my research.