The Leeds probate cohort, 1830–34

Between January 1830 and December 1834, 374 estates were brought from the Parish of Leeds for probate at the Prerogative Court of York and the subordinate Court of Ainstey. Three hundred and sixty-two of these probates concerned the transfer of adult property at death. In 74 per cent of them the transfer involved the directions of a written will. The rest were administrations for those who died intestate.

Over a quarter of the estates were female, with women having a slightly lower propensity to make a will than men (Table 3.1).

An estimated 10 per cent of adult male deaths resulted in a probate, as did 3.5 per cent of adult female deaths. For women, this was the same as the proportion (3.5 per cent) who had appeared in the Directory of 1834. For men, the proportion was much lower than the 15 per cent who appeared in the Poll Book and very much lower than the 25 per cent of adult males in the Directory. This was an indication not only of the exclusion of women from the listings of the public sphere but also the great instability of male participation in the listings of property and entrepreneurship.

The wills provided two items of information which help describe the nature of this limited and selective population, the occupational title and the sworn value of probate. Both need to be read with care.