Family Story of Probate
Meet my Great-Great Grandmother, Sarah Skipper. Her husband, my Great-Great Grandfather Andrew Skipper, died in August 1910 while working at a train yard when he was around 24 years old. Grandpa Andrew died without a will, and Grandma Sarah had to administer his estate (valued about $10 at the time of his death) through probate while grieving and pregnant with my great-grandmother, Leoda. In 1911, with three small children to raise on her own, she also had to hire attorneys to sue the railroad companies that owned the train yard, and she demanded $15,000 in damages (approximately worth $438,000 in 2021).
In late 1911, a jury awarded her $3,250 (approximately worth $95,000 in 2021). It is unclear how long the probate proceeding remained open, but imagine the burden, costs, and delay associated with two court proceedings, the hiring of several attorneys, all while grieving and suddenly being forced to raise three small children alone. Salute to Grandma Sarah for carrying those burdens and raising my beloved Great Grandmother, who I had the privilege of knowing.
All of this historical information was documented in Newspaper Articles and public court documents that I found on Ancestry.com. Thus, a probate may have your information public for generations to come.