The first photograph is of the rack where the books recording the wills of Amite County are housed in the Chancery Clerk's office.  Wills Books One and Two, the basis of most of my research are the top two books on that shelf.  The middle photo is of Will Book One opened to the will of Margaret Anderson who died in 1835.  Will Book Two is opened to the 1858 testament of Victoria Street in the third photograph.

         

    Will Book One is actually volume "B" of a two volume set--volume "A" has been missing since at least the 1940s.  Casey mentioned that volume "A" had disappeared in the 1948 Volume One of his History of Amite County.  The extant Will Book One begins with the will of George Gayden in 1819 and ends with the 1848 testament of Alfred White.  Researcher needed information on individuals who died before 1819 should consult Volume I of Wills and Administrations (1809-1820).  While the wills are not officially copied out, the county clerk of the day included copies of all the papers associated with the estate.
    Will Book Two continues with the testament of Elizabeth Denman from 1848 and ends in 1922 with the will of Hampton Burris.  Will Book Two is considerably larger and more unwieldy than Will Book One thus it is harder to get good copies out of.  Will Book One has a higher-quality rag paper as compared to the cheaper light blue foolscap paper of Will Book Two thus contributing to the reasons why the first volume has aged much better than the second. 
    Casey thoughtfully included an index to both will books in  Volume I of his History of Amite County (Index to Will Book One on pg 414 and the Index to Will Book Two on pgs 196-196) even though his summaries of the wills end with the 1860 testament of Elizabeth Parker.

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