Although several histories exist of the two main branches of the legal profession - barristers and solicitors - there is no publication written specifically for family historians that reviews the records (particularly law courts' records) in which a genealogist may obtain information about an ancestor who was a lawyer. This book fills that gap.
Some researchers will know that an ancestor was a lawyer. In other cases, and ancestor's career as a lawyer may be revealed in documents such as civil registration records, census returns, parish registers or wills. The fact that an ancestor was a lawyer may make research much easier, as lawyers tended to come from prosperous families. The proportion of lawyers who left wills was therefore much greater than in the population generally.
A researcher whose ancestor was a lawyer also has the advantage of many records that are peculiar to the legal profession. For example, there are published lists of lawyers dating from the later 18th century to the present day. There are also records of lawyers being admitted to practise the law, and some law firm have deposited their records at local archives.
This volume describes the records of lawyers in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland (and of English lawyers in India). The authors hope that it will help its readers to discover more about the lives of their ancestors who were in the legal profession.
Contents:
List of Illustrations
The Authors
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Glossary and Abbreviations
A. The Legal Profession in England and Wales: A General History
B. Lawyers: Their Societies, Institutions and Records
1. Judges
2. Barristers
3. Lincoln's Inn
4. The Middle Temple
5. The Inner Temple
6. Gray's Inn
7. Serjeants' Inn
8. Queen's (or King's) Counsel and the Law Officers
9. Attorneys and Solicitors
10. The Inns of Chancery
11. Doctors of Law and Advocates
12. Proctors
13. Conveyancers and Special Pleaders
14. Notaries and Scriveners
15. Court Officials
16. Lawyers Employed by Government, Commercial and Other Organisations
17. Members of Parliament
18. Clerks of the Peace
19. Clerks of Livery Companies of the City of London
20. Vestry Clerks
21. Stewards of Manors
22. Coroners
C. Some Other Publishers Records of Lawyers
1. Law Lists
2. Biographical Dictionaries
3. Directories
4. Registers of Schools and Universities
5. Business Histories
6. Military Service and Rolls of Honour
D. Records of the Courts
1. The Court of Common Please
2. The Court of King's Bench
3. The Court of Chancery
4. The Court of Exchequer
5. The High Court of Admiralty
6. The Court of Bankruptcy and the Court for Insolvent Debtors
7. The Court of Star Chamber
8. The Court of Requests
9. The Court of Wards and Liveries
10. The Palatinate Courts of Durham
11. The Palatinate Courts of Chester
12. The Court of the Duchy of Lancaster
14. The Court of the King's Palace
15. The Mayor's and City of London Court
16. County Courts
17. The High Court of Justice and Court of Appeal
18. The Criminal Courts
19. Courts of the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex
20. The Ecclesiastical Courts
21. Other Local Courts
22. The House of Lords and the Privy Council
E. Miscellaneous Sources
1. Newspapers and Journals
2. Bankrupt Lawyers
3. Family Histories, Biographies and Diaries
4. Dictionaries of the Peerage an Landed Gentry
5. Published Law Reports
6. Freedom and Burgess Records
7. Poll Books
8. Local Histories
9. Freemasons
10. Jewish Lawyers
11. Record Officers
F. Lawyers in Wales, Ireland and Scotland
1. Lawyers in Wales
2. Lawyers in Ireland
3. Lawyers in Scotland
G. English Lawyers Overseas
1. The Law Lists
2. Lawyers in India
Appendix 1. Useful Addresses and Websites
Endnotes
Subject Index
Sources and Resources Index
Nominal Index
