Inventories were filed in compliance with Pennsylvania law when individuals died without a will. An inventory of personal property was required to be taken and filed at the Courthouse within 30 days. This may be a room by room inventory listing household furnishings and farm implements.
Inventory records prior to 1861 are kept at Lancaster’s Historical Society.
Search Tip: Names within this index are arranged separately by the first letter of the surname and then by first letter of given name. Names are indexed chronologically by date filed. To make your search quicker, the second letter of the decedent’s surname is written in the left column. References beginning 1962 may be found in estate files.
Lancaster County Inventory Index Books