Finding Aid for the Warren C. Shearman collection of English and American documents, ca. 1350-1875 (bulk 1558-1822)

Processed by Sara Torres in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli, 2008; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.

UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections

Manuscripts Division

Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library

Box 951575

Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575

Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu

URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/

Descriptive Summary

Title: Warren C. Shearman collection of English and American documents

Date (bulk): ca. 1350-1875 (bulk 1558-1822)

Collection number: 826

Creator: Shearman, Warren C.

Extent: 1 document box (.5 linear ft.) 1 oversize box 1 map folder

Abstract: This collection contains a variety of legal documents, including powers of attorney, indentures, writs, affidavits, correspondence, bonds, last wills and testaments, wills intestate, marriage settlements, land sales, etc., dating from ca. 1350-1875, with the bulk of materials originating from the seventeenth, eighteenth, and early nineteenth centuries in England and America.

Language: Finding aid is written in English.

Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.

Los Angeles, California 90095-1575

Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Gift of Warren C. Shearman, 1963.

Processing Note

Processed by Sara Torres in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli, 2008.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Warren C. Shearman collection of English and American documents (Collection 826). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 4232731

Biography

Warren C. Shearman was a collector of rare books, maps, and manuscripts. The Collection of English and American Documents was his collection of assorted manuscripts. It contains diverse and eclectic items in terms of time period, provenance, and type of legal document, dating from ca. 1350-1875, with the bulk of materials originating from the seventeenth, eighteenth, and early nineteenth centuries in England and America.

Scope and Content

This collection contains a variety of legal documents, including powers of attorney, indentures, writs, affidavits, correspondence, bonds, last wills and testaments, wills intestate, marriage settlements, land sales, etc., from both England and America. Particular highlights of this collection include a late fourteenth-century British document written on parchment in an anglicana scribal hand, several documents relating to the family of Sir Peter Temple, several documents relating to the Hall family and their estate in Normanton in Nottinghamshire, a letter from George II of Great Britain to William Henry, Earl of Rochford, regarding the Essex militia, several Elizabethan-era writs, a copy of part of the will of Dr. Benjamin Chandler, and several land transfers and purchases in the Boston area dating from the early colonial era. While the American documents include items from many of the original colonies and states, the British documents, though somewhat geographically diverse, include items from very similar locales, in particularly, Langar, Barnston, and Normanton-on-the-Wolds in Nottinghamshire, and Thoydon Mount, Essex.

Organization and Arrangement

The documents are organized into series based on provenance, depending on whether they are American or English. The American documents are then organized based on geographical provenance, while the British documents are organized based on relevance to a particular family, type of document, or chronology.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Warren Shearman --Archives.

Related Material

Warren Shearman Collection [of books], Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles. [Individually cataloged and can be searched in the UCLA Library Catalog.]

Warren C. Shearman Collection [of maps], Seaver Center for Western History Research, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

American Documents

Box 1, Folder 1

Legal Documents -- Pennsylvania and Maryland Provenance 1706 February 01 - 1799 January 23

Scope and Content Note

Folder contents include a copy of John Guest's will (Philadelphia, 1706), a petition from the vestry men and church wardens of St. Paul's Parish to the Justices of Baltimore County Court (November, 1733), and a notarized affadavit regarding the Schooner Mary of Philadelphia (1799).

Box 1, Folder 2

Legal Documents -- New England Provenance 1641 February 26 - 1802 September 07

Scope and Content Note

Folder contents include:

a copy of a land grant "to Wentworth Bay of Land at Muddy River being part of [ye Common?]" in the Brookline area of Boston (1641);
a land deed bearing two red wax seals, granting Samuel Dearing of Wrentham, Suffolk Co. Massachussets, a tract of land in the township of [Dedham?]--this document bears both the original date of October 11, 1710 and a later notarized addition dated September 26, 1748, as well as an undated inscription "This deed belongs to Amos Fuller of Needham" on the reverse side;
an indenture with red wax seals legalizing the apprenticeship of "Samuel Frank, negroman" of Providence, Rhode Island under Richard Fenner (1727);
the petition of Susannah Southworth of Middleborough in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, regarding a land purchase and property dispute (1765);
deed of Matthew Coffin (1766-7);
document of the Judge of the Probate of Wills, Jonathan Remington, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, regarding a guardianship case involving [Anne?] Fuller of Needham in Suffolk Co. and Deborah [Duntan?] of Middlesex Co. (1769);
an itemized financial list accompanied by a piece of cardboard on which is written "A Page from a Connecticut Tax Book, 1770, the Trumbulls - Roger Sherman (signer) etc.";
Issac Upton of East Greenwich, Rhode Island's power of attorney (1771);
bond hearings for Uriah Hawks of Mansfield, Windham Co, Conn., and Thomas Fanning of Windham County (1777);
a cardboard poster with Uriah Hawks' bond notice: "The case of Uriah Hawks arrested and charged with 'being guilty of depreciating the bills of credit of this and the United States of America...'" with the note "The Blue Laws of Connecticut" written in pencil along an edge;
intestate will for Samuel Fish of Edgarstown of Dukes County, Massachusetts (1782);
intestate will of Samuel Mumford of Newport, Rhode Island (1802).

Box 1, Folder 3

Legal Documents -- New York and New Jersey Provenance 1710 - 1838 November 14

Scope and Content Note

Folder contents include:

two documents to David Provoost of New York (1710 and 1733), the latter of which is accompanied by a brief description and the note "The document was undoubtedly printed by either the first or second printer in New York--William Bradford or J.P. Zenger, possibly the former"; a letter to the Attorney General in New York City from John Bayley of Duchess County, NY, regarding the debter Stanford [Cormehill?] (1755);
an indenture between William Sims of Tolland County, Connecticut and John Lincklaen of Herkimer County, NY and Herman Leroy of the City of New York involving a land transfer in Herkimer Co, New York and mortgage (1793);
an affadavit by notary George D. Cooper of New York regarding the Brig Esperanza (1805);
power of attorney for James Kitchel of Morris County, New Jersey (1822)

Box 1, Folder 4

Legal Documents -- Unknown Provenance 1750 - 1765

Scope and Content Note

Folder contents include:

an undated list of legal oaths including "Oath of [?] or Exectutor to the Inventory", "Oath of Appraisers to take an Inventory", "Oath of Commisioners", "Oath of Exec[cutor] or Administrator to their Accounts", "To persons that Affirm", "Oath of Witnesses to a Will";
to probate inventories, the first of which is entitled "an inventory of a trunk of goods belonging to the Estate of Jacob Long, Deceased, taken by us the subscribers" (May 7, 1750) and the second of which is entitled "Inventory of the Estate of Mr. Daniel Fortune, Deceased, taken by us the subscribers" (June 29, 1750);
Mr. Whitehead Hick's opinion on the will of Elizabeth Hamilton of December 3, 1750 (opinion dated July 26, 1765).

Box 2, Folder 1

American oversize 1696 -17??

Scope and Content Note

Folder contents include:

deed of sale of John and Hannah Devotion "Of Mudy [sic] river within the township of Boston in the County of Suffolk" to Samuel Sewell of "our tract and parcel of Land situate and being in Muddy river aforesaid..." dated April 24, 1696 with a memorandum dated June 24, 1696;
deed of sale of John and Hannah Devotion of "Brooklyne" in the County of Suffolk in Massachusetts Bay of land to Samuel Sewell, dated April 29, 1706;
first page of an eighteenth-century legal document with large red wax seal, probably of South Carolinian provenance, concerning an ongoing land dispute between Josiah Smith, Daniel Desausseure, and William Scott.

English Documents

Box 1, Folder 5

Legal Documents -- Sir Peter Temple and Family 1638 - 1720

Scope and Content Note

Folder contents include:

an "obligation"/bond of Sir Peter Temple, Knight and Baronett, Alexander Denton, Knight, and John [P?]ollard, in Latin and English dated May [14?], 1638, for a sum of 520 pounds "to John Salmon" (on paper);
an "obligation"/bond of Sir Peter Temple for a sum of [140?] pounds to John [Farmer?] in Cookham dated 1642, on parchment with red wax seal partially inact, Latin writing on skin-side and English writing on flesh-side;
a document written on the flesh side of parchment dated October 31, 1651: "An Inquisition Indented Taken at Burkingham in the county aforesaid the one and thirtieth day of October in the year one thousand six hundred fifty one before me Simon Benett, Esq, Sheriffe of the County aforesaid [?] virtue of a writt of Outlawrie to me and directed to this Inquisition a[?] by the oathes of ...[several names]... good and lawful men of my Bailey [torn]..who say upon their oathes that Sir Peter Temple, Gent., in the said writt mentioned at the time that he was [torn]...outlawed att the [suits?] of Leonard [W?]ard, gent., and others in the said writt verified...";
a note on paper dated March 24th, 1720: "Sr. Whereas the[re?] is one thousand pounds in my name in the third subscription to the Southsea now I desire you would place the same to the Acct. of Henry Temple, Esq. for so doing this shall be your warrant. A. Temple."

Box 1, Folder 6

Legal Documents -- Elizabeth Hall and Family 1707 - 1778

Scope and Content Note

Folder contents include:

an "obligation" on paper of Sir. Thomas [Siwill?] labelled "These writings relate to Mr. Hall's Estate at Normanton" written in Latin and in English, containing red wax seals;
widow Elizabeth Hall's (of Normanton on the Woulds, County Nottinghmam) last will and testament (2 pages on paper bound using parchment, contains red wax seal) dated October 29, 1768;
the will intestate of Thomas Hall of Normanton on the Woulds in the County of Nottingham yeoman, dated May 22, 1778, on paper with red wax seals.

Box 1, Folder 7

Last Wills and Testaments, Wills Intestate, and Related Documents 1702 - 1822

Scope and Content Note

Folder contents include:

deed of gift of Dame Mary Ashe of Twittenham, Middlesex, widow of Sir Joseph Ashe, 1st Baronet, regarding a land purchase made as a gift to her daughter Martha, dated April 22, 1702, bearing witnesses signatures, on paper with the remnants of a black wax seal;
the last will and testament of Henry Harding of Nottingham, dated May 17, 1709, on parchment with pencil ruling and pricking on the left and right margins, with part of first line written in a calligraphic hand, moderate creasing, date and note "Henry Harding's Will" written in ink on reverse (follicle-) side of parchment along with "Harding Nottm" in a modern hand in pencil, horizontal cuts near bottom margin through which is woven a strip of parchment that connects this document with a pendant seal as well as with another document written in ink in Latin on parchment and dated 1709, which contains pasted-on stamps on both sides; the last will and testament of husbandman William Flower of Barnston in Nottinghamshire dated November 1718, written in brown ink on parchment, connected by parchment strip to an intact pendant seal and a second legal document written in brown ink in Latin on parchment and signed by a registrar Joh[anne]s Shaw, with a pasted-on dark blue blindstamped paper on front (flesh-) side as well as an ink stamp, and a pasted-on stamp on reverse (follicle-) side;
the last will and testament of widow Anne Godfrey of Langar in Nottinghamshire, dated 1725, on parchment with pricking along left, right, and top margins, connected by parchment strip to remnants of a red wax pendant seal and a second legal document with typescript and handwriting written in brown ink in Latin on parchment and signed by a registrar Joh[anne]s Shaw;
an official copy dated November 10, 1732 of the last will and testament (original dated May 9, 1722) of malster (malt-maker) Thomas Harding of Nottingham, on paper with pricking along the left and right margins and pencil ruling with the label "Copy of Mr. Thomas Harding's Will" written on the reverse side;
an official copy dated November 10, 1732 of the last will and testament (original date of August 25, 1731) of Alice Cartwright, widow of malster William Cartwright, on paper with ruling and pricking along left and right margins and the note "The above is a true copy examined...by us J. Clay and Jos. Benison";
the last will and testament of widow Anne Goode of Langar in Nottinghamshire, dated May 9, 1743 written in brown ink on parchment with faint ruling, moderate creasing, with pendant seal intact;
single sheet of paper written in brown in on both sides, dated May 9-12, 1744 regarding a dispute over the administration of the Will of Samuel Heyden of Dublin: "At the Court of St. James's the 9th day of May 1744 Present The King's most Excellent Majesty in Council / Upon reading this day at the Board of the humble Petition of Thomas Wilson, Esq., one of the Executors named in the last Will and Testament of Samuel Heyden late of the City of Dublin, Esq., [deceased] bearing date the 19th date of April 1738 h[umbly] praying for the reasons therein contained that his Majesty will be graciously pleased to dismiss the Petition of Charles Matthew praying for a Commission of Review to rehear a cause lately heard before a Court of Delegates concerning the s[ai]d will of the s[ai]d Samuel Heyden and that his majesty will be pleased not to grant such Commission of Review. It is Ordered by his Majesty in Council that the s[ai]d Position (a Copy whereof is hereunto annexed) Be and it is hereby referred to the Right honorable the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (to whom the Position of the s[ai]d Charles Matthew for a Commission of Review stands referred) to Examine into the same & Report his opinion upon the whole matter to his [Majesty] & this Board. Signed W. Sharpe" and continues on reverse side: "To the Right Honorable Philip Lord Hardwick Baron of Hardwick Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. The humble Petition of Thomas Wilson Esq. one of the Executors?] named in the last Will and Testament of Samuel Heyden late of the City of Dublin Esq., [deceased] bearing date the 19th day of April 1738. Sheweth that his [Majesty] by the annexed Order in Council having been blessed to refer to your L[ordship] your P[?] Petition to the s[ai]d Order annexed to examine into the same report. Your L[ordship] opinion thereupon to his [Majesty] in Council. / Therefore & for as much as the speedy determining this affair is of great consequence to your Pet[?] / 12 May 1744 Let the Party's Concerned attend me on this matter, the next day of Petitions, whereof give Notice forthwith. Hardwicke"; the last will and testament of Hannah Rowe of Barnson in Nottinghamshire "spinster", dated July 5, 1752, written in brown ink on parchment with pricking on left and right margins and faint ruling, connected by parchment strip to a partially intact pendant seal and a second legal document with typescript and handwriting on parchment certifying the validity of the attached will, with a pasted-on dark blue blindstamped paper on front (flesh-) side as well as an ink stamp, and a pasted-on stamp on reverse (follicle-) side, dated April 26, 1757;
single sheet of paper labeled on front and reverse sides "Extract from the Will of Benjamin Chandler of the City of Canterbury Surgeon Dated 18th November 1781", written in brown ink with witness signatures, "Proved at Doctors Commons 30th May 1786";
a will intestate of the Revered Robert Master of the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, on parchment with typescript and handwriting, connected by parchment strip to an intact pendant seal with the insignia of the Archbishop of Canterbury, a pasted-on dark blue blindstamped paper on front (flesh-) side that has been also attached to parchment with a small metallic strip, and a pasted-on stamp on reverse (follicle-) side on which is also written "administration of the goods of The Reverend Robert Master Clerk deceased, extracted by W[illiam] Tebbs Proctor, Doctor's Commons", dated 1816;
a will intestate of William White of "the Berrow" in Worcestershire, on parchment with typescript and handwriting, "extracted by R. Townsend", connected by parchment strip to an intact pendant seal with the insignia of the Archbishop of Canterbury, a pasted-on dark blue blindstamped paper on front (flesh-) side that has been also attached to parchment with a small metallic strip, and a pasted-on stamp on reverse (follicle-) side on which is also written "administration of the goods of William White deceased, 7 June 1822".

Box 1, Folder 8

Miscellaneous British Legal and Financial Documents, Including Bonds and Indentures c. 1674? - after 1875

Scope and Content Note

Folder contents include:

an indenture from the County of Essex (c.1674?) on parchment with several signatures on reverse side; a deed signed by Richard Kimpton of Essex (1689);
a four page brief for hearing in court, with "Robert Lee Esq. & Lady Jane Alexander, Executors & Trustees of Henry Earl of Sterlin [deceased?] John Phillips & Mary his wife Robert Peter Jane & Judith Alexander younger children of the said Earl" listed on the upper-right hand side of the first page and "Richard P[orork?] and Mary his wife who was the Widow & Rel[?] of [Wm?] Alexander one other of the younger children of the said Earl [deceased] Jonathan Saye[r?] & Henry Earl of Sterlin oldest son & heir of the said [deseased] Earl" listed as defendents on the upper-left hand side of first page (c. 1702-3);
bond from Lord Gray to Robert Pierson (1743);
an appointment of office of William Field as Clerk of the militia forces for the County of Essex by William Henry Earl of Rochford, Lord Lieutenant for the County of Essex and collateral guarantee of debt repayment by the Earl of Rochford for William Field's debt of 3,000 pounds to the King (1759);
an undated sheet of paper with the name and address of William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898, a British Liberal Party statesman and four times Prime Minister) at 23 Carlton House Terrace. Gladstone moved to this residence in 1875.

Box 1, Folder 9

Fragments of Two Documents undated

Scope and Content Note

Two document fragments pasted onto a piece of paper.

The first document fragment is written on parchment in Latin in a heavily-abbreviated documentary anglicana scribal hand in brown ink, and contains two chevron-shaped cuts. Several personal names, including Roger son of Walter Po[?], John de la Crek, Henry de la Fenne, Galfred, and at least two place names, Walford, [Tyleteyam?] (possibly referring to Tyleteye, an earlier spelling of Titley, Essex), may be discerned.
The second fragment is written on paper in a much later hand in black ink, with a torn right edge bearing some mild water damage.

Box 1, Folder 10

Feoffment of Thomas Howard, Knight, Earl of Surrey 1485

Scope and Content Note

A feoffment written on parchment, with horizontal cuts through which a parchment strip is woven as the remainder of an appended seal, written in brown ink, with "1485 Richard 3" written in pencil in a later hand. On reverse of document is written "3 Ric: 3 / Keteryngham Hedersete [?] / Tho[mas] Howard [?] modo E[a]rl Surr[e]y / Walter Blyaunt Gentleman". Also included in folder is a typed description on paper of the document, which identifies it as "a release and quitclaim by Robert Turner to lands in Norfolk held by a feoffment of Thomas Howard Knt, Earl of Surrey.

Box 1, Folder 11

Obligation between John Grave and tenent Richard Archar of Theydon Mount, Essex 1558

Scope and Content Note

An obligation between John Grave and tenent Richard Archar of Theydon Mount, Essex, written on a sheet of parchment with Latin writing on one side and English on the other, dated October 6, 1556. Also included in folder is a typed transcription of the document on paper.

Box 1, Folder 12

Elizabethan writs c. 1558 - 1603

Scope and Content Note

Five long horizontal strips of parchment with documentary writing, all of which have a small hole near the left margin where presumably they were once bound. Two of the documents have significant water damage and a third is heavily creased; in these three cases, the script is partially obscured. A modern, hand-written note of unknown provenance identifies these as "Elizabethan writs".

Box 1, Folder 13

Receipt of six pounds paid to Richard Archer by Henry Archer 1613

Scope and Content Note

A paper receipt of six pounds paid to Richard Archer of New Town, Middlexsex, by Henry Archer of Theydon Garnon, Essex, "in parte of payement [sic] of thirtye poundes six shillinges eight pence payable to me as by obligac[i]on" dated May 6, 1613, and co-signed by Thomas White. At bottom of sheet in a different hand is written "ffor Sr Walter Wrottesley Bar[onet] / Poor Walter Wrottesley". A " Sir Walter Wrottesley" (c.1430-1473), soldier and administrator, lived in the fifteenth century, but it is not clear to whom this refers or for what purpose this name is written on the receipt. Also included in folder is a typed transcription of the document on paper.

Box 1, Folder 14

Obligation between Thomas Herd and Richard Ballard 1630

Scope and Content Note

An obligation relating to an "indenture of graunt bargaine sale and feoffm[en]t" betweem Thomas Herd and Richard Ballard, dated April 2, 1630 and containing multiple signatures. The document is on parchment, with Latin writing on one side and the English translation on the other. "Essex" is written on the left hand margin of follicle-side of the parchment. Also included in folder is a typed transcription of the document on paper.

Box 1, Folder 15

Indenture for apprenticeship of Richard Hemsley 1679

Scope and Content Note

An indenture dated September 20, 1679, witnessing the apprenticeship of Richard Hemsley to Robert Kirkby of Nottinghamshire, written in brown ink on parchment with a patent top edge, with several signatures on reverse (follicle-) side, and horizontal cuts through which a parchment strip is woven as the remainder of an appended seal. Also included in folder is a typed transcription of the document on paper.

Box 1, Folder 16

Letter from King George II of Great Britain to William Henry, Earl of Rochford, regarding the Essex militia 1759

Scope and Content Note

A folium-sized sheet of paper folded in half, containing the royal seal of George II and "George R[ex]" in script on the upper right hand side of the first page of the letter. The letter reads: "We having agreably to the Acts for the better ordering of the Militia Forces in that Part of Great Britain called England communicated to Parliament, that We had received repeated Intelligence of the actual Preparations making in the French Ports to invade this Kingdom, & of the imminent Danger of such Invasion being attempted, which Intelligence having been since further confirmed; Our Will and Pleasure is, and We do hereby order you, with all convenient Speed, to draw out & embody, at such Place as you shall judge most Convenient, all the Militia of the County of Essex, under your direction, and that you do cause the same to be held, in every Respect, ready to march as Occasion shall require, to such Posts within this Kindom as We shall judge proper to assign them, and to be put under the command of such General Officer or Officers as We shall be judged necessary for the Safety and Defence of this Kingdom. And for so doing this shall be your warrant. Given at our Court of Kensington the Twenty Seventh Day of October 1759. om the Thirty Third Year of Our Reign. / To Our Right Trusty & Right Welbeloved Cousin & Councillor William Henry Earl of Rochford, Our Lieutenant of & for Our County of Essex. / By His Majesty's Command [illegible signature]."

Box 2, Folder 2

Financial records of Sir Peter Temple and family 1641 - 1656

Scope and Content Note

Folder contents include:

a financial account of Lady Christian Temple, second wife of Sir Peter Temple, comprised of six sheets of paper bound with white string to form 24 pages, with the dates 1641-1651 written in a later hand;
a folio-sized sheet of paper labelled "A Schedule of the names of the Creditors of Sir Peter Temple [Knight] and [Baronet] Deceased which are to have partes & shares of the [seven?] thousand pounds paid to Sir Richard Temple into the hands of the Trustees Together with their [several?] principall debts" dated October 1, 1656.

Box 2, Folder 3

Two Wills and a Proclamation 1640-1740

Scope and Content Note

Folder contents include:

last will and testament of husbandman Richard Gladwin of Thoydon Mount, Essex, dated April 12, 1670, written on the flesh-side of parchment with pencil ruling and pricking along right and left margins, with a caligraphic script used for first line of writing, with offsetting from letter-press text on follicle-side and recent gauze repair tape, with heavy creasing and horizontal cuts near bottom margin remaining as evidence of now-lost pendant wax seal;
the last will and testament of malster (i.e. malt-maker)William Cartwright of Nottingham, with the addendum in different hand below "The above is a true copy examined the tenth day of November Anno [Domini] 1732 by us J. Clay, Jos. B[enison?]", on paper with pencil ruling and pricking along right and left margins, and torn along center horizontal fold on right and left side;
a legal document, probably a proclamation, issued by Thomas Langford, major of Nottingham, regarding the Burgesses exemption from a toll, dated 1740, written on flesh-side of parchment with pricking along left and right margins and ruled, with pendant red wax seal still in tact, ink stamp on flesh-side to the left of writing and pasted-on stamp on follicle-side of parchment along with transparent tape, heavy creasing with some water damage and slight tears along margins.

Box 2, Folder 4

Three Wills, a Lease and a Bond 1746 - 1798

Scope and Content Note

Folder contents include:

1) last will and testament of blanket-weaver John Redgate of the Parish of Witney in the County of Oxford, written on parchment with pricking on left, right, and top margins, dated April 22, 1746, with moderate creasing, recent gauze tape affixed to both sides of parchment and horizontal cuts near bottom margin remain as evidence of now-lost pendant wax seal, reverse (follicle-side) of parchment contains note "Probate Will of Mr. Redgate";
the last will and testament of husbandman Joseph Marriott of Gamestone in the parish of West Bridgeford in Nottinghamshire dated July 15, 1767, containing his signature and red wax seal, on paper and written in brown ink; a bond/obligation of "William Dearsly the Younger of Romford in the County of Essex and William Dearsly the Elder of Rainham" to John Archer of Coopersale, Essex, dated March 1773, written on paper in brown ink, except for a few calligraphic words executed in black ink, blindstamped and containing the seals of the two Dearslys and the signature of "Beckwith, Clerk to Mr. Dearsly Jun.";
a lease from Mr. Edward Goodall to Mr. Jarman for a year, dated June 7, 1779, written in black ink on parchment with pricking along the left margin, with the words "This Indenture" written in a calligraphic hand and the stamp of the seal of the chivalric Order of the Garter with the motto ""Honi soit qui mal y pense", a pasted-on dark blue blindstamped paper on front (flesh-) side that has been also attached to parchment with a small metallic strip, and a pasted-on stamp on reverse (follicle-) side, a patent top edge with red double-line ruling along left and top margins, the bottom edge folded up and over and affixed by a blue ribbon laced through two horizontal cuts near bottom edge over which is placed a red wax seal in the near proximity of the signature of Edmund Goodall of Nottinghamshire (this item relates to the other Hall family documents, as Goodall married Elizabeth Hall);
a copy of the last will and testament of "James Evernden of the parish of St. Andrews in the Province of Canterbury, Kent, written in brown ink on three sheets of paper that have been bound at the upper right hand corner with a tied parchment strip. These pages contain pricking along left and right edges. On the reverse of the last (i.e. third) page is written "copy of the last will and testament of Mr. James Evernden, deceased, dated 5th August 1776, proved 9th May 1798.

Box 2, Folder 5

Two Abstracts of Land Titles in Canterbury undated

Scope and Content Note

Folder contents include two abstracts of land titles in Canterbury. The first abstract is comprised of 15 pages of paper (the first of which contains pencil corrections and the last of which is blank) written on in brown ink and bound at the upper-right-hand corners with pink cloth ribbon and two parchment scraps, and labeled on the reverse of the final page: "Abstract of Title to a Stable Ground and Premises in the several Parishes of St. George the Martyr and St. Mary Magdalen or one of the in the City of Canterbury in and near a certain Lane there called St. Michael's Lane / Lot 1 / Nutt Canterbury". The first entry in this abstract is dated June 2, 1545 and the last is dated February 17, 1836. At the bottom of the fourteenth page is written: "I have it in command to transmit to you a Copy of these Schedules and to inform you that my Lords are pleased to approve of the Council selling by private Contract the several Reversions enumerated therein to the respective occupiers of the premises at the sums set opposite to each, together with the Costs of Conveyance -- I am Sir, Your obed[ient] Servant, A. Y. Spearman, The Major of Canterbury, The formal mode of proof of the Board to the Sale will be by making 3 of their Lordships parties to the Deed of Conveyance.

Box 3, Folder 1

Elizabeth Hall and Edmund Goodall Marriage Settlement 1779 June 8

Scope and Content Note

Folder contains the marriage documents of Elizabeth Hall and Edmund Goodall. These consist of two pieces of parchment, roughly 70cm high and 81 cm wide, each of which has pricking along left and right sides with faint ruling, marginal double-line ruling in red ink, a pasted-on stamp on reverse (follicle-) side, and a pasted-on dark blue blindstamped paper on front (flesh-) side that has been also attached to parchment with a small metallic strip. The two documents are bound at their bottom edges by four blue ribbons woven through cuts in the parchment onto which are affixed red wax seals, as well as as at their two bottom corners with narrow strips of parchment woven through cuts and tied.

The first document begins: "The proper money of the said Goodall may become vested in the said John Jarman and John Lacock Story and the survivor of them and the executors administrators same after the rate of four pounds and ten shillings in the hundred by the year on the eighth day of December next ensuing the day of the date of those presents. And it is hereby declared and agreed to be the true Intent and meaning of these presents and of all the partys [sic] hereto and the said John Jarman and John Lacock Story do hereby respectively acknowledge and declare that the said sum of five hundred pounds secured to be paid to them their executors until the solemnization of the said intended marriage shall be had and solemnized..."

The second document, which uses a calligraphic script for its first line and which has a patent top edge and moderate soiling on the side edges, begins: "This Indenture of three parts made this eighth day of June...1799 Between Edmund Goodall of the Town of Nottingham Grazier of the first part Elizabeth Hall of Normanton in the parish of Plumptree in the County of Nottingham spinster of the second part and John Jarman of the Town of Nottingham [hosier?] and John Lacock Story of the town of Nottingham Gentleman of the third part. Whereas a Marriage by the permission of God is intended shortly to be had and solemnized between the said Edmund Goodall and the said Elizabeth Hall / Now this Indenture witnesseth that in consideration of the said intended marriage....". The reverse (follicle-) side of the second document contains the label "Mr. Edmund Goodall & Miss E[lizabeth] Hall to Trustees Marriage Settlement 8 June 1779" as well as the following note: "Memorandum = by an Indenture dated the 3rd day of June 1872 the within mentioned heriditaments and premises were granted and conveyed by Edmund Barton Goodall Louisa May Goodall Ellen Charlotte Goodall Robert Grainshaw Frederick Bates Goodall and the said Robert Grainshaw and Georgiana Agnes his wife to [?] Gedling Bradley, Bernard Bradley and Alfred Bradley of the Town and County of...Nottingham and the same Indenture contained a covenant for production to the said Micah Gelding Bradley, Bernard Bradley, and Alfred Bradley of the within written Indenture."