244
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. vn. MAKCH so, 1901.
the ' Rolls of Parliament/ concludes tha
accordingly it was carried out at Tyburfl.
The reader, if sufficiently interested on the point, will make his own deduction. The writer,guided by the con tern porariesKnigh ton and Froissart, and inclined to Grafton's " hedded with his own axe," though its source be wanting, thinks it most probable that the past Lord Mayor of London ("faux chivaler de Loundres," as termed by his enemies) was finally allowed the dignity of decapitation on Tower Hill ** without London," as recorded by Knighton and Froissart. At this time (1388), however (if on a subject so grave trivial pun can be pardoned), hanging was in full swing at Tyburn. For, besides Chief Justice Tresilian, we have of " other knights and gentlemen" such names as Sir John Salisbury, Sir James Berners, John Lord Beauchamp (of Holt), John Blake of the King's Household, and Thomas Uske, Under- Sheriff. All these, says Daniel, in part quotin William of Worcester, " were drawn an hanged [apparently at Tyburn] for the same crimes," the support of a worthless young sovereign already hastening towards ruin, and in revolt against restraint which was only too necessary, however unworthy may have been those who exercised it.
W. L. RUTTON. (To be continued.)
GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH IN AMERICA.
IT will interest genealogical students to learn something, which may be unknown to them, of the conditions under which genea- logical researches may be made in New York and other states ; as a rule the same regula- tions are common to each of them. During a recent visit I went through an apprentice- ship which may be of value to others having a like object in view.
There is remarkable freedom for searchers in most departments in fact, with deference to the wiser heads of the U.S., it is in some respects a little too free. Any searcher, without giving his name and address (which are practically requisite in all English deposi- tories), can enter the Record Room, take down the indices, and refer to the transcripts, without let or hindrance ; may take copies or notes by typewriter or pen, and may do pretty much what he pleases. He is requested to return the volumes to the shelves, but it is a request not properly complied with, for much time is often lost in finding the index or volume which a careless searcher has put back into the first convenient opening.
No fees are demanded, and, although the
offices are often small and inconvenient,
they are not overcrowded, and comparatively
few persons seem interested in the records.
The Probate Office contains a considerable number of wills, commencing about 1662, generally conveniently indexed, all those of the same name being brought together, and the Christian names given alphabetically, with the date and the volume and page in which they are recorded. The volumes seem perfect, but probably a large number of the original documents are lost. There are also lists of administrations, of bonds, of letters testamentary, of guardianships, of inventories, and of other records. The most valuable feature in this department is the collection of documents used in the proof of each will. These, unfortunately for their .safety, are not copied, but shown in the originals. Any stranger can call for the papers relative to any wills, and they are at once handed to him ; and he takes them to what part of the room he pleases, examines them along with his own papers, and hands them back again, if he pleases to be so obliging, to the officer who looks after them ; but this officer takes no check or receipt for the bundle, and cannot possibly see whether any of the papers are extracted, or indeed whether the bundle is ever returned. Were a person so disposed, there is nothing to prevent him from mis- appropriating any or all of the documents.
One especially valuable class of papers is that called citations to proof of wills by affidavits of executors, (fee., containing the names of the heirs at law and next of kin of the deceased, which to a pedigree hunter are of inestimable value. In my search I had the misfortune to find, in the very will I sought, that these documents were wanting ; this was not considered surprising by the officer, nor was it, when the facility for naking away with the documents is remein- Dered. This requisite of furnishing the names of the family must surely be a safe- guard against the payment of the trust fund
- o improper persons, and it is a regulation
which (omitting the facility for making away with the record) might well be followed in England ; but what would be thought of L hrowing open the wills and administrations o the public, without charge of any kind ? We should certainly require additional ac- commodation for the public.
Another department of the records contains evidence of the dealings with property, and hese are divided into two classes, of convey- ances and mortgages, under one or other of which are included trusts and every species )f dealing with real estate. These records
