This series consists of the unbound estate records filed with the Court of Ordinary (later Probate Court) under the state laws of Georgia. Oglethorpe County is one of the older counties of Georgia, and the family relationships and material possessions of its citizens as reflected by these records is an important part of Georgia's history. Included in some of the returns are inventories of slaves with their names listed. These slave inventories are an invaluable source of information for genealogists researching black families. Also included are: (1) original wills (2) administrators' bonds (3) guardians' bonds (4) estate appraisals (5) administrators' annual returns (including final returns) (6) guardians' annual returns (including final returns) (7) petitions for dismissal (8) orders for division of property (9) heirs' receipts (10) listings of perishable property of estates (11) cancelled checks of estates (12) other legal papers as circumstances dictated. As the term "probate" is used in Georgia, it encompasses the proof of the will and also the judicial proceeding at which such proof is established. To become legally operative, a will must be proved and probated in the manner required by law after the death of a testator. The executor is then permitted to execute the terms of the will. If no will has been made, the court appointed an administrator to administer the estate according to the laws of the state. Records were created throughout every step of these legal procedures. This record series is preceded by the paper covers of the Ordinary's first record book, dated 1799. The covers were found in the miscellaneous loose records of the Inferior Court of Oglethorpe County. The second folder listed on the finding aid includes those items which could not be identified as belonging to a specific estate. The users of these records are advised that the information on the folder fronts is incomplete. Researchers should rely on their own investigations of the papers within.