326
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io- s. 111. APRIL 29, 1905.
& Simpson sold " the manuscript library and
collection of autograph letters of the late
Mr. Dawson Turner." Lot 416, consisting of
"a Collection of original Letters of Sove-
reigns and other illustrious personages, illus-
trative of Scottish History, 2 vols., russia
extra, gilt edges, 1538-1704," went to Thorpe
at 280. The summary of the contents of
these volumes occupies two pages of the
catalogue and has three plates of reproduc-
tions ; but the most interesting item is
"Mary, Queen of Scots, nine letters, one of
13 pages being holograph, and one having seal
and hanaper perfect, 1547-85." This, I think,
identifies the letter sold on 30 March. I have
been informed that Thorpe broke up these
volumes and catalogued the letters at prices
that produced a very handsome profit. It is
almost impossible to ascertain when and how
Dawson Turner came into possession of this
particular letter ; probably it was obtained
subsequent to 1851, when he published
privately his ' Descriptive Index of the Con-
tents of Five Manuscript Volumes illustrative
of the History of Great Britain,' as it is not
mentioned therein. ALECK ABRAHAMS.
[The Athenceum of 8 April, p. 435, gives particu- lars concerning Thorpe's dealings with this letter.]
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: THEIR DATES. There are six different dates which may be given for the beginnings of our States :
1. The date of discovery of any part of the State.
2. The first ephemeral settlement.
3. The earliest European settlement ivhich has 2?ersisted.
4. The granting of a Dutch or English charter.
5. The landing of the first immigrants under the charter.
6. Admission into the Federal Union.
In cyclopaedias, &c., these dates are often confused, as when the 'Grande Encyclopedic' (article ' tats-Unis ') gives 1609 as the date of the founding of New York. This was merely the year of discovery by Hudson, not of any actual settlement. Moreover, there are frequent misprints. In the following table of the earliest settlements I have taken No. 3 of the above six dates, and have consulted several authorities, so as to eliminate misprints. If any historian can correct any of these dates I shall be grateful.
1565. Florida (St. Augustine).
Circa 1598. New Mexico.
1607. Virginia.
1614. New York (Dutch fort near Albany).
1620. Massachusetts.
1622. New Hampshire.
1623. Maine.
1623. New Jersey (Dutch fort at Glouces-
ter).
1633. Connecticut.
1634. Maryland.
1636. Rhode Island (Providence).
1638. Delaware (Dutch and Swedish fort at Wilmington).
1653. North Carolina.
1670. South Carolina.
1682. Pennsylvania (New Sweden ante- dates this, but it was more in Delaware than in Pennsylvania). ALBERT J. EDMUNDS.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
SURREY MARRIAGE LICENCES. Many genea- logists will be interested to know that a col- lection of 1,367 original Surrey marriage licences, circa 1760-1820, has lately come into my possession. These records are often valuable, because, in the case of minors, parentage is frequently given, and it is well known that before civil registration came into force in 1837, it was not the rule for parentage to be recorded in the marriage register.
It is curious to note that people seem to have come from all over the country from Leeds, in Yorkshire, to Poole, in Dorset to get married at St. Saviour's, South wark. The various parishes in London and on the south side of the river are well represented. GEORGE F. TUDOR SHERAVOOD.
50, Beecroft Road, Brockley, S.E.
CHOLSEY, BERKS. It may be worth while to record the names of the following clergy of this parish, which occur in the MS. church- wardens' account-book :
1681. William Wotton, vicar.
1689-90. Ed. Hind, vicar.
1706-10. Will. Williams, curate.
1709. William Sawle, vicar.
1728. Eich. Knight, vicar.
W. C. B.
THOMAS AMORY, AUTHOR OF 'JOHN BUNCLE.' So little is recorded of this writer that it is not amiss to exhume from The Gentleman's Magazine for 1811, pt. i. p. 496, the statement that his relict died on 13 April, 1811, at Wakefield, at an advanced age.
W. P. COURTNEY.
ENGLISH LITERATURE IN THE FAR EAST. The visitors at the Hotel Prinz Heinrich, Tsingtau (Kiautschou), might have seen in the entrance-hall the following English works for sale : ' The Hunchback ' and ' The Love Chase' (Sheridan Knowles), 'Wander- ings in South Africa' (Charles Warburton), 'Voyages in search of the North -West Passage' (Hakluyt), 'The Temple' (George
