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Inheritance Disputes and Chancery Proceedings
By Sherry Irvine, MSC CG FSA Scot In 2005 Origins Network added the Inheritance Disputes Index to the datasets within British Origins (www.britishorigins.com). Now another finding aid for records of the Court of Chancery is available, an index to Chancery Proceedings, Charles I. Both were prepared by Peter Coldham. Not so many years ago, before access to Internet databases, genealogists came to the more difficult resources later, usually a point in time when research experience and a knotty problem came together. Now, with online databases, we have access to records such as Chancery Proceedings at any time, sometimes before we understand what they are. Add to Your Knowledge Cases in the Court of Chancery, if they proceeded beyond the opening stages to the gathering of evidence and a judgment, generated a variety of records. It is useful to know which of these records is referenced by the British Origins indexes and where they come in the court process. In addition, the various documents associated with a case are in different TNA classes, some of these classes have overlapping dates and the name or title of individual cases could change along the way. Knowing how the records came to be collected and stored is useful when following through the documents associated with a case. I suggest you read the background information accompanying the British Origins indexes and then move on to Family Feuds, An Introduction to Chancery Proceedings (Susan Moore, FFHS Publications, 2003) and the free guides to Chancery records found at the National Archives (TNA) website. It is also worthwhile to check the section in Ancestral Trails (Mark Herber, 2005). Some Essential Background Equity means what the word suggests, finding a fair solution. The Court of Chancery was one of several courts that had their beginnings before 1500, responding to the need for common folk to seek redress for perceived injustices. Of first significance to genealogists is the fact that, from the beginning, everything was recorded in English. Secondly, equity courts were unlike other courts; they were not based on common law and were not courts where action was initiated by the Crown. A plaintiff initiated a case through a bill of complaint or petition. The defendant submitted an answer and then evidence was collected from witnesses prior to trial by statements known as depositions; people did not have to appear in person at a trial. Town depositions were made in London and country depositions at courts elsewhere. If there was a final conclusion this would be in the form of decrees or written opinions. There are therefore, three types of materials, the opening stages or proceedings (complaints and answers and any rejoinders), followed by the gathered evidence and finally the decision of the court. The Origins Network Indexes The value of Chancery records has long been recognized but manual indexers faced problems such as the intensive labor required to prepare them. Most finding aids were indexed by one name only, a plaintiff; to find the names of listed defendants necessitated reading through the index. Using the British Origins indexes (www.britishorigins.com) it is possible to search through names of plaintiffs and defendants easily, using a single surname or two together. In total there are nearly 110,000 cases referenced in these two databases; 26,000 inheritance disputes and all 82,000 Chancery cases between 1825 and 1849. Results are displayed in tabular fashion. For the Inheritance Disputes Index this includes name of the deceased person (the testator), the location (county and usually place as well), case description expressed as one name for each of the opposing sides in the case (e.g., Smith vs Jones), date the proceedings began, and the TNA reference. The index to C2/Charles I provides the surnames of the plaintiff and defendant and one or more references, depending on how many documents are involved. Most cases have one or two, and a very few have four or more. Distance Can Be a Problem I live in Canada and many of you reading this are also outside the UK or certainly outside of London. All of us who use these indexes and find a result are interested in taking research further. There are two parts to this, getting more details about cases identified in the Origins databases and exploring other Chancery records. The Origins Network offers an abstract service to take care of the first point; further information about this can be found in the database information. It is worth pointing out that those of you researching common names face a greater challenge but the abstract service provides further details to help you sort out multiple results to a search. For exploring other cases in Chancery not covered by the British Origins resources visit the TNA website. The Equity Pleadings Database covers some of class C6 and the main online catalogue incorporates the names of first plaintiff and first defendant from several other classes within Chancery records. Less accessible are printed indexes and calendars; some may be in a library near you or accessible through LDS family history centres. Refer to the publications mentioned earlier in this article as well as the appropriate online library catalogue. Conclusion The overall date range spanned by these two indexes to Chancery proceedings is 1574 to 1714. Resources can be scarce in this time period and the potential value of the records is high. Combine these reasons with a readily accessible finding aid and there is no doubt that the indexes should be consulted.
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