Susan:

I want to REMIND you of my post discussing some of the dynamics of the confusing county and state boundaries:

"Mecklenburg, NC, Old Tryon County, NC, and York / Lancaster Boundary Changes" (14 Jun 2015 3:28PM GMT)
http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1903.9.2.1.2/mb.as...

SInce Walter ASHMORE seemed NOT to own land at his death, there would seem to be some UNCERTAINTY as to precisely WHERE HE LIVED. The Census records for 1790 place Walter ASHMORE in York County, SC. However, a sliver of what was previously York County was CEDED to Lancaster County in 1791, precisely the year that Walter ASHMORE's Will seems to have been recorded.

It is possible that one of the witnesses to Walter ASHMORE's Will presented the Will for probate to the York County Court. The distressed and bereaved widow may very well have turned to her immediate family -- possibly the FINCHERS -- for help and support, but presentation of the Will at the YORK County seat may have happened without the involvement or assistance of her brothers.

IF the area in which Walter and Hannah were residing was that ceded to Lancaster, very soon thereafter everyone would have KNOWN that are to be part of Lancaster County.

A dispute over the disposition of the property with the children might have arisen later, particularly as the eldest children were reaching majority and eligible to receive a distribution pursuant to the terms of the Will.

If someone checked the Lancaster rather than York records, there would probably have been NO INDICATION of the probate. One would have had to go to the York County Courthouse to find the records. If Walter and Hannah ASHMORE lived in York County proper, this might have been intuitive. By contrast, if they lived in the sliver which was later appended to Lancaster County, the FINCHERs might not have as readily known or remembered to look for probate records in York County. (Remember the FINCHERs were from Mecklenburg County, NC.)