Genealogy Ebooks Prior to the dissolution of monasteries, the town of Bury St. Edmund's being exempt from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Norwich, within whose diocese it was locally situate, the wills of the burgesses were proved before the Sacrist of the monastery of St. Edmund; but, on the passing of the Act 31 Hen. VIII. c. 13, confirming the surrender of religious houses to the king, the town became subject directly to the Bishop.]]> The wills belonging to persons dying in the North of Lancashire, that is, in that part of that county lying to the north of the river Ribble, which flows through Preston, and the parts of Cumberland and Westmoreland belonging to the old diocese of Chester, were as a rule proved at Richmond, in Yorkshire, that place being far more accessible to the inhabitants of that district than Chester. These " Richmond Wills," as they were called, proved previous to the year 1748, were a few years since removed to Somerset House, London. The Lancashire…]]> The wills belonging to persons dying in the North of Lancashire, that is, in that part of that county lying to the north of the river Ribble, which flows through Preston, and the parts of Cumberland and Westmoreland belonging to the old diocese of Chester, were as a rule proved at Richmond, in Yorkshire, that place being far more accessible to the inhabitants of that district than Chester. These " Richmond Wills," as they were called, proved previous to the year 1748, were a few years since removed to Somerset House, London. The Lancashire…]]> The wills belonging to persons dying in the North of Lancashire, that is, in that part of that county lying to the north of the river Ribble, which flows through Preston, and the parts of Cumberland and Westmoreland belonging to the old diocese of Chester, were as a rule proved at Richmond, in Yorkshire, that place being far more accessible to the inhabitants of that district than Chester. These " Richmond Wills," as they were called, proved previous to the year 1748, were a few years since removed to Somerset House, London. The Lancashire…]]> The wills belonging to persons dying in the North of Lancashire, that is, in that part of that county lying to the north of the river Ribble, which flows through Preston, and the parts of Cumberland and Westmoreland belonging to the old diocese of Chester, were as a rule proved at Richmond, in Yorkshire, that place being far more accessible to the inhabitants of that district than Chester. These " Richmond Wills," as they were called, proved previous to the year 1748, were a few years since removed to Somerset House, London. The Lancashire…]]> Two statutes of very general importance are constantly referred to in this volume. The first, 21 Hen. VIII, Cap. 6, passed at the Parliament holden at Westminster in 1530, relates to mortuaries. In the preamble it states that mortuaries or corse presents were demanded and levied for such as, at the time of their death, had no property in any goods or chattels, and many times for travailing and wayfaring men, in places where they had fortuned to die. The other statute, called the Statute of Wills, 32 Hen. VIII, Cap. 1, is still in operation. The…]]> No publications of the Society create a greater interest, and none are so widely and carefully studied. In these five volumes more than a thousand Wills and Inventories have been printed, either in their entirety or to a very considerable extent. In the opinion of some, a large portion of each Will ought to be published. The resources of the Surtees Society are quite unable to satisfy this demand. Few persons have any idea of the vast number of Wills preserved at York, and it has been thought best to give a selection from these documents, which…]]> Wills and Inventories now preserved in the Probate Court, Chester, between the years 1545 and 1620, and 1621 and 1650 respectively. Between the years 1650 and 1659 no wills were proved at Chester, nor after 1653 in any of the various Bishops' Courts throughout the kingdom, for, as has been explained in the Introduction to volume IV., after the year 1653 all wills had to be proved, and all letters of administration taken out, in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, at London.]]> In this volume that Index is continued and brought down to the year 1650, after which date, for about nine years, no wills are now preserved at Chester, and it seems probable that none were proved there during that period, 1651 – 1659. Why the year 1650 should have been specially selected at Chester, as the last year for some time, when wills were proved there, is difficult to explain, but it arose, at least in part, from the unsettled state of the country after the Civil War, and the abolition of Episcopacy. As early as Nov. 5, 1644, the House…]]> The popular belief to the contrary had, however, some countenance from a rule which, till very recently, existed with respect to Wills (or other instruments) made in exercise of any power or authority to appoint any propert)', real or personal, amongst several objects. Unless the instrument conferring the power authorized an exclusive appointment, as by the use of the words "to or amongst such one or more, exclusive of the other or others," &c., or by some equivalent expression, it was necessary to the validity of an appointment…]]> It has been found impossible to travel more quickly over a field which is so crowded with interesting documents. At the same time, the Editor has not scrupled to abridge his materials where curtailment was practicable, and all formal and valueless details have been generally discarded. The next volume ought to extend, if possible, over the reign of Henry VIII., but the reader will find that after the beginning of the sixteenth century the Wills preserved at York become gradually less interesting.At the same time, as evidences for the genealogist,…]]> During the last few years the records of the Bishop of Lincoln have been in process of arrangement, and among them a great number of testamentary documents have been found and transferred to the District Probate Registry. These, in so far as they relate to the period from 1600 to 1651, have been included in this volume, and have helped to swell the appendix. An index of persons residing outside the county of Lincoln has been added to the volume, and the places have, so far as possible, been identified, and given in this index under their modern…]]> As a matter of fact, however, many executors of persons whose goods all fell within one Diocese chose to prove in the greater court rather than in one of the minor locals, and the net result is that we have here gathered together the most wonderful mass of testamentary evidences in the world, and an inexhaustible mine of wealth for the investigator.]]> As a matter of fact, however, many executors of persons whose goods all fell within one Diocese chose to prove in the greater court rather than in one of the minor locals, and the net result is that we have here gathered together the most wonderful mass of testamentary evidences in the world, and an inexhaustible mine of wealth for the investigator.]]> The majority of the twenty-four registers which" contain the wills here calendared possess preambles, and some few of them, notably Register " Martyn," have been enriched by the addition of coats-of-arms in the margin. These arms are of considerable interest both to the herald and to the genealogist, and it has been thought desirable to include a complete list of them in the following remarks upon the registers.]]> In response to my representations the Authorities at Somerset House kindly paged the Probate Act Book for the year 1658, and I have thus been enabled to give references in every case where the Act can be found to the page in the Act Book. As is well known, the Probate Act is sometimes the only source from which the residence of a testator can be ascertained, but owing to the Act Books being un-indexed and the Acts recorded without any reference to the order of the Wills in the Registers, much valuable time can be expended in searching for any particular…]]> In response to my representations the Authorities at Somerset House kindly paged the Probate Act Book for the year 1658, and I have thus been enabled to give references in every case where the Act can be found to the page in the Act Book. As is well known, the Probate Act is sometimes the only source from which the residence of a testator can be ascertained, but owing to the Act Books being un-indexed and the Acts recorded without any reference to the order of the Wills in the Registers, much valuable time can be expended in searching for any particular…]]> In the event of there being a sufficient demand for these abstracts, I may at a later date issue a volume of wills to be found at other Registries, such as Gloucester, Lichfield, St. Asaph, etc. Places of residence of testators, when not found in the wills themselves, have been sought for in the Probate Act books, and those so found have been entered between square brackets. I decline to be responsible for the spelling of Welsh place-names, which are left as spelt in the originals. It should be borne in mind in using wills for genealogical purposes…]]> In exhausting all wills and administrations relating to one surname in a given repository the worker is not only adding considerably to the history of that family but is also gleaning many invaluable buried references to other families in the same social stratum. To abstract all the wills, &c, recorded in any year irrespective of the names of the testators is excellent work, but it results in only a slight increase in our knowledge of any given family. On the other hand, a work of this nature, abstracting all wills, &c, of one surname,…]]> The essence of a will is said to be threefold namely: The testament (1) can be set aside or revoked 5 (2) It can affect property not in possession of the testator at the date of execution, but acquired before death; (3) It can make a representative to act for the testator when he is dead. In the twelth century a man could not give away his freehold land by will; it was not so allowed until 1540. Even then the lawyers held that it could only affect land that was in the testator's possession when his will was made, and this remained good law…]]>