Daily AncestorLetters of administration
Letters of administration are the court order appointing an administrator to manage and distribute the estate of someone who died without a will.
Letters of administration are the document that gives an administrator legal authority to act for the estate. They are issued by the probate court.
The date they were granted is a useful clue, because it usually follows the death by weeks or months. Compare letters testamentary, which do the same job for an executor named in a will.
As seen in a recordCounty probate court record, 1800s
Letters of administration granted to Elijah Ross on the estate of Thos. Ross, he giving bond in $2000.
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Daily Ancestor. "Letters of administration." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/letters-of-administration. Last checked 2026-10-01.