Tracing Your Legal Ancestors

by Wade, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9781848842267
• ISBN10: 1848842260
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-02-19
• Publisher: Pen & Sword

Summary

The law had as much influence on our ancestors as it does on us today, and it occupies an extraordinary range of individuals, from eminent judges and barristers to clerks and minor officials.Yet, despite burgeoning interest in all aspects of history and ancestry, lawyers and legal history have rarely been looked at from the point of view of a family historian. And this is main purpose of Stephen Wade's accessible and authoritative introduction to the subject. Assuming that the reader has little prior knowledge of how or where to look for such information, he traces the evolution of the law and the legal professions. He describes the parts played in the system by solicitors, officers of the High Court, registrars, recorders, town clerks, clerks of the peace, proctors, coroners, notaries, parliamentary agents, judges, barristers and magistrates. Also he identifies the various archives, records and books that the family researcher can turn to, and discusses other sources including the internet. Stephen Wade's concise account of legal history and research resources will be an invaluable guide for anyone who is studying the subject or seeking an ancestor who was associated with it.

Author Biography

Stephen Wade is a freelance writer specializing in the history of crime and the law in Britain and Ireland. He has written fourteen true crime and crime history- books, including Tracing Your Police Ancestors and Tracing Your Criminal Ancestors. He has also published a history of detectives (Plain Clothes and Sleuths) and of the City of London Police (Square Mile Bobbies). He also teaches crime history at the University of Hull and, as a visiting lecturer, at Oxford. He has contributed to Family Tree Magazine, Ancestors and other periodicals.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. ix
How to Use this Book	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
The professions explained	p. 1
An overview of sources	p. 7
Professional bodies	p. 7
A survey of the courts system	p. 9
Understanding the Legal Professions	p. 17
The origins of the English legal system	p. 17
The coroner ('crowner')	p. 20
Notaries and attorneys	p. 21
The assizes	p. 24
The Community of Lawyers	p. 29
The Bar	p. 29
Specialisation and local history sources	p. 34
Some early publications	p. 36
Case Study: Staple Inn	p. 38
The Judges and the Courts	p. 41
Judges: an historical survey	p. 41
Officials in the criminal justice system	p. 48
Civil Courts	p. 49
The Magistracy	p. 51
The Quarter Sessions	p. 51
The creation of the magistracy	p. 58
Information on magistrates	p. 58
Case Studies: Edmund Tew and H Rider Haggard	p. 59
A Survey of Sources I	p. 63
The Surtees Society and the Selden Society	p. 63
Coroners	p. 65
Almanacs and biographical reference works	p. 67
Case study: A Leeds coroner, John Cooper Malcolm	p. 74
A Survey of Sources II	p. 77
The National Archives (TNA)	p. 77
County Record Offices	p. 81
Newspapers and reports	p. 85
Parliamentary papers	p. 87
State papers	p. 90
Case study: A family of solicitors	p. 90
The Literature of the Judiciary	p. 95
Biography	p. 95
Memoirs	p. 100
Obituaries	p. 102
Case study: More listings in specialist publications	p. 103
The Servants to the Law Machine	p. 109
Other professions: ancillary groups	p. 109
Administrators	p. 113
Women working in the law	p. 118
Case study: Ernest Pettifer, Clerk to the Justices	p. 119
Lawyer Ancestors in Scotland and Ireland	p. 121
The Scottish legal system	p. 121
Sources for Scotland	p. 125
The Irish State and its law	p. 132
Sources for Ireland	p. 135
Case study: Writer to the Signet	p. 139
Approaches and Methods: A Summary	p. 145
Summary of procedures	p. 146
Quick help alternatives	p. 147
Glossary	p. 151
Bibliography and Sources	p. 157
Index	p. 171
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