PREFACE I have endeavoured in this little book to give the amateur pedigree-hunter the benefit of what I have personally found to be the most valuable documents to search, and full instructions as to where he can consult them, also the various steps to be taken in tracing a pedigree, without unduly crowding his attention with names and classes of documents which he may need to consult. I have, however, added most of these in a later part of the book, so that sufficient information should be obtainable within its pages to meet the requirements of the average genealogical searcher in the British Isles. H. A. C. CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE INTRODUCTORY 1 I. FIRST STEPS IN PEDIGREE-HUNTING 3 II. WILL-SEARCHING 8 III. PUBLISHED SOURCES OF INFORMATION 13 IV. MISCELLANEOUS MS. DOCUMENTS OF VALUE TO THE SEARCHER 19 V. HOW TO MAKE A FAMILY TREE 24 VI. ADDITIONAL NOTES ON PEDIGREE-HUNTING IN LONDON 27 VII. THE PEDIGREE-HUNTER IN IRELAND 33 VIII. THE PEDIGREE-HUNTER IN SCOTLAND AND THE PROVINCES 38 IX. THE WILL-SEARCHER IN ENGLAND 45 X. AN ADDITIONAL LIST OF PUBLICATIONS WHICH MAY BE USEFUL WHEN TRACING A PEDIGREE 48 XI. THE PAINS AND PLEASURES OF PEDIGREE-HUNTING 52 XII. HOW TO SAVE EXPENSE IN PEDIGREE-HUNTING 56 XIII. LAST WORDS 59 INDEX 65 HOW TO TRACE A PEDIGREE INTRODUCTORY Various authorities have derived the word “pedigree” very differently, and it is impossible to say anything definite as to its origin. One of the most picturesque and possibly the most probable derivation is from _pied de grue_--crane’s foot. Evidently this was intended as a word-picture, the claws dividing from a bird’s foot being suggestive of the different branches issuing from the parent stem in a pedigree. When speaking of stems and branches, our thoughts are naturally directed to trees--hence, of course, the expression a “family tree.” Many nations have preserved the records of family genealogy in their national archives; indeed, all have done this more or less, and all honour to those who have been keenest in the matter, for a nation is composed of families, and family or individual history or biography helps to make the history of that nation, while heredity perhaps more than environment tends to explain the complex character with which each individual member of it is endowed.