Table Of ContentBRITISH
929.142
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THROUGH PARISH & PROBATE
TO YOUR ENGLISH ANCESTRY
By
JOSEPH DRUSE
L.
Department of Humanities
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
Published by
THE DETROIT SOCIETY FOR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH
1965
GENEALOic^lCAL SOCIETY
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
OF UkHER-DAY SAINTTS
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1966
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THROUGH PARISH AND PROBATE TO YOUR ENGLISH ANCESTRY
By Joseph L. Druse, Department of Humanities
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
published by The Detroit Society for Genealogical
Research 1965
GENEALOGICAL
SOCIETY
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHftfST
OF
LATTER-DAY SAINTS
7544
J
FEB 1 6 1966
FAMILY
HfSTORY
LIBRARY
NORTH WST
15 TEMPLE
--^-1 LAKL CITY, UTAH
84150
THROUGH PARISH AND PROBATE TO YOUR ENGLISH ANCESTRY
By Joseph L. Druse, Department of Humanities
Michigan State University - East Lansing, Mich.
Ancestrally speaking, the American people descend largely from
the English people. In consequence, when it comes to genealogical
problems involving transatlantic roots, the greatest area of their
concentration is in England. Moreover, most of us whose ancestors
have been here three or more generations have at least one such set
of English roots. Sooner or later, then, we run up against the emi-
grant ancestor from England for whom no research has been done, or,
if attempted, has as yet proved fruitless.
Now, as the problems involved are surveyed, we note that they
resolve themselves into two separate but sequential problems.
First: where did our mysterious ancestor, John Smith, come from?
Then, secondly: who were his forbears? The second problem is usually
a little easier than the first to solve. When we look at the materi-
als available for reaching a solution, again we note a division of
the problem. Was he in England before 1840 or after 1840? In some
ways, as one would expect, the solution of later problems is much
easier than those of earlier date, not alone from the fact that
family tradition is stronger, more detailed, but also from the fact
that about this time both census and registry records become more
centralized and standardized in England itself.
Correlated with these problems are those of Irish, Scottish,
and Welsh research. Irish and Scottish research involves special
techniques and acquaintance with records peculiar to those areas;
moreover, Irish and Welsh records are based on the tales the tra-
ditional bards handed down concerning the descents of families,
and the degree of reliability and utility of such records is a
matter of much dispute today. For these reasons we will not treat
of them.
In solving the problem of the transatlantic pioneer, the pro-
cedure at the start is the same as for an American problem. First,
we must assemble all we know about the man concerned - American
evidences; family traditions which suggest his age, places in England
where he resided, occupation, religious affiliation; romantic stories,
such as eloping with an earl's daughter; estimated or known date of
emigration, place of origin of his wife or in-laws, or of the settlers
of the community in which he resided; variant spellings of his name;
Christian names both male and female which appear frequently in the
family; heirlooms; any or all of this material may prove exceedingly
valuable as clues or as corroboration. In many cases your acceptance
of an ancestral descent will depend on a very high degree of prob-
ability; few of such researches result in so conclusive a piece of
evidence as the will of a father specifying his "son Onesiphorus
Buckingham, dwelling in Boston, New England."
All of this information should be painstakingly and carefully
garnered before setting off overseas, or even before spending time
on printed materials which are relevant and which occur in libraries
in this country. Since most of us have more opportunii y to utilize
these than we have time and money to spend gallivanting off to
England, it is best to pluck out as much as possible here. Thus,
for example, every American record of the community in which the
ancestor appears should be ransacked; one never knows when there
is court testimony that the ancestor knew a certain person when
they both were living in the town of Bishop's Parham, Wiltshire.
All wills and deeds involving the ancestor, his wife, and his
children should be scrutinized for odd phrases that betray dates,
places, and persons connected with the problem. Town meeting
minutes, vestry sessions, petitions, educational admissions, all
may provide clues.
If the family name of the man whom you are pursuing is a rare
one, find where else it appears in the colonies and whether anything
is known about the origins of the other holders of the name. If the
name is Clark, Smith, or Jones, do not despair. Find other Clarks,
Smiths, and Joneses in the community of your problem, and see if
anything is known of their origins. It will also be useful to draw
up a list of variants in spelling the name; erratic spelling was
the rule rather than the exception in earlier eras.
Now you can assemble all your data - label all of it as either
evidenced, probable or possible. Indicate for your probabilities
and possibilities whether they are strong or faint. These decis-
ions will determine the order in which you pursue the various
leads. A caution here - even if you come across a piece of evi-
denced proof of origin, such as direct testimony of the place of
origin, don't stop or discard whatever other material of proba-
bility and possibility you may have accrued. Perhaps John Jones
was in Bishops Parham at a given time; but the mobility of English-
men in the late sixteenth and later centuries was such that he may
have been there for but a few years, and his real origins are in a
far distant place, perhaps indicated by one of your faintest possi-
bilities. One of the most common and plangent cries of American
researchers in England is - "Why didn't I check so and so before I
Ceune over?" Be sure, rather than sorry.
The second thing you can learn to do before you set forth for
England is to school yourself in the script and legal forms of
earlier English history. Wills become common in the sixteenth
century, and the script of that era is not too difficult, although
spelling is a block. But the earlier seventeenth century forms of
handwriting become quite varied, and the script of each locality is
a separate challenge. If you can learn to read these early scripts,
you can save yourself hours and days of painful work over there,
painful particularly because you know your time is limited, and
every hour is precious. Volume III of the Smith and Gardiner
series presents examples and exercises to work, Khowledge of
legal forms is useful. You can learn to scan a will, for instance;
a glance usually indicates the name and place of the estator; then
you can skip the flowery religious dedications of body and soul,
and get into the heart of the matter. Similar acquaintanceship
with deeds, apprentice forms, and the like, will save you quite a
bit of time.
The third thing to do is to familiarize yourself with the
English map. It is well worth your while to know where the vari-
ous English counties are in order to visualize a sort of real
atmosphere for your ancestor. You can begin to lay out routes to
the places where you have leads. Very often the English ancestor
will have moved or married across English county lines. If you
are certain of the county concerned, study the names of the
villages and parishes in it.
The fourth task for you is to apprise yourself of the methods
and techniques of English research. You will want to read and re-
read some good reference work on the matter: the set by Smith and
Gardner, Genealogical Research in England and Wales (three volumes
out of four already issued) provides a wealth of information,
recommendations, and clues to research in the ancestral isle.
These you can study at home and make better plans for your trip
abroad.
The fifth and not the least important thing is to join the
Society of Genealogists in London. They issue a quarterly journal
which is both interesting and useful; but more than that, the great
library in London, the best of its sort in England, has great
indexes and manuscript material which you cannot afford to neglect.
They also publish a handbook which is just that - a wonderful short
guide which you will find of infinite value. There is a daily and
half-day fee for non-members.
Sixth, you will examine and check the printed materials avail-
able in America, or at least in your locality. There are first of
all the great bibliographies - Marshall, and Whitmore, his continu-
s
ator. These provide an excellent survey of materials, listed by
families, down to 1953. Materials appearing since that time must
be picked up from the periodical bibliographies. Next there are
various printed series which you can scan: the Harleian Society
has in many of its volumes the great Visitations of the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries and also other materials such as Musgrave
'
Obituaries. The Victoria County History Series, still in the process
of appearing; the Phillimore Marriage Register series; the great
separate county histories written in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, many of which are rich in genealogical data; the printed
abstracts and lists of the Canterbury Prerogative Court wills; and
the three volumes of H. F. Waters, Genealogical Gleanings in England
which was the result of years of abstracting London wills which
seemed to the author relevant to early American colonists. There
are published lists of emigrants from England to America in various
years, various types (e.g. Quakers, bound-servants), and from vari-
ous places, (e.g. Liverpool, Ipswich). Banks and Brownell's Topo-
graphical Dictionary if used carefully, is of value. The great
,
county historical society's series are also available and should
be consulted. If you have checked all these things before leaving
for England, your knowledge (even if of a negative cast) will make
your time abroad much more profitable.
Last, you may wish to consult American libraries before going
abroad. It is often very convenient to combine this sort of re-
search with other forms of travel. All the good genealogical col-
lections such as the Burton, Michigan State Library, the New England
Society, the New York Society, the Newberry in Chicago, the Library
of Congress, have much very worthwhile material available, some in
manuscript, some printed. But today probably the richest material
in America lies in the great Salt Lake City collection of the
Latter Day Saints Church, whose active young people have been
abroad for many years microfilming the parish registers and other
such materials, as well as many of the library manuscript materials
and indexes of the British Isles and the Continent. I cannot tell
you under what circumstances research in their collections is
available; I hear glowing reports of great numbers of microfilm
readers, which are so fully used that they must be booked in ad-
vance; reports of attempt to use the new computer systems to some
genealogical advantage. I am certain that a great deal of time in
England can be more profitably employed after the resources of Salt
Lake City have been exploited.
Now you have done what you can in America. Your ticket for
England is in your purse, and, behold, you have landed in London.
I assume any 100% red-blooded genealogist will fly, if merely to
save the ten days or two weeks for more research abroad. You've
checked into your hotel (and for the genealogist there are three
