The Widow of a Peer, so long as she remains a Widow, retains the rank she enjoyed whilst married: but, should she contract a second Marriage, her Precedence then is determined either by the rank of her second Husband, or by the rank that was her own by Birth and which she enjoyed before her first Marriage.
The Wife of the Eldest Son of any degree precedes all her Husband’s Sisters, and also all other Ladies having the same degree of rank with them. Thus:—the Wife of the Eldest Son of an Earl takes Precedence of all Daughters of Earls. In actual practice, however, by a principle of Precedence that is accepted and adopted in all families of the same degree amongst themselves, the Sisters in every case have their place immediately after the Wife of their own Eldest Brother.
GENEALOGIES.
Genealogies, the Records of the Descents and Alliances of Families, are necessarily associated with the Armorial Ensigns borne by those Families, and by the several Members and Branches of them. Still, it does not apparently follow, in the same manner, as a matter of necessity, that the study and investigation of Genealogies should be interesting and even attractive, because interest and attractiveness are inseparable from Heraldry. And yet, I do not hesitate to claim for genealogical researches the favourable regard of students of Armory, on the very ground of the interest which they are certain to feel in such researches; and also in confident reliance on that inherent power of attraction, inseparable from the subject itself, that will not fail both to win their favourable regard, and to lead them on from one inquiry to another.
The very act of tracing up some eminent and illustrious personage, from generation to generation of his forefathers, noting down the alliances that have interwoven one thread of a brilliant line with others not less lustrous; or, the reverse of this process, the following the lineage of some worthy of the olden time onward down the stream, observing both the tributaries that flow into the main channel and the streamlets that issue from it—all this, when once it has been systematically undertaken, leads the student through the most picturesque regions of historical romance.
The popular idea of Genealogy may be, that it consists in placing in a formal order of arrangement a series of dry names, connected with dates that (if it be possible) are even more dry. It is not uncommon to dispose of many things precisely in the same way, when an opinion is formed without even the slightest attempt to judge of a question by its true merits—it is so easy to decline the trouble and to avoid the effort attendant on inquiry and investigation, and so pleasant to become the possessor of an “opinion” and “views,” without any outlay in acquiring them. A Map has no value in the estimation of those who ignore Geography: the claims of Archæology are disregarded by all who are content to remain in ignorance even of what it implies: and History itself becomes and continues to be a dead letter, so long as an acquaintance is formed only with the exterior of its volumes. And, in like manner, Genealogy appears under a very different aspect to those who know it only by name, and to lovers of Biography and History who are familiar with its lucid and yet ever suggestive guidance. Without written Genealogies, who can clearly understand the political and historical position of the rival Princes of the red and white Roses; or of Henry VII. and the “last of the Plantagenets”; or of Queens Elizabeth Tudor, Mary Stuart, and Jane Grey? Or who, without similar aid, will follow out the fortunes of the Houses of Beauchamp and Neville and Dudley, and connect them with the existing noble lord of Warwick Castle; or, when reading of the De Clares, the Bohuns, or the Percies, will see at a glance the connection between “Strongbow” and the “red Earl Gilbert,” or will understand the significance of the white swan Badge of the Staffords, or will read at sight the quartered Shield of the Duke of Northumberland, of to-day, and will discern the line that connects the living Earl Percy with the “Hotspur” whose fame was two centuries old when Shakespeare wrote of him? And further, who, that is unable to accomplish such things as these, can appreciate History, can enjoy it and apply its lessons aright?
In arranging a Genealogy the utmost conciseness is essential, all details being left for full description elsewhere. All the members of the same family are placed side by side, on the same level, in their order of seniority; and all are connected by lines with one another and with their parents. Successive generations also, throughout all the branches of any family, or in allied families, have their places on the same levels; and the connecting and distinguishing lines are continued throughout. Examples of Genealogies treated in the most scientific and yet simple manner, easy to be understood, and perfect as models for students, may be obtained in any Part of the Herald and Genealogist, formerly edited by the late Mr. J. G. Nichols, F.S.A., Parliament Street, Westminster. I refer to this excellent Periodical, because it is not possible for me here in the space at my disposal to set forth a really useful example of a Genealogy: and, I must add, because it is most desirable that students of Heraldry should form such an acquaintance with Mr. Nichols, as may be acquired through his works. Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica, now edited by Mr. W. B. Bannerman, is another Periodical, which ought to be in the hands of all Genealogists.
In Genealogies, this mark == denotes alliance by marriage, and it is placed between the names of a husband and wife: and the lines that proceed from this mark, thus,
point out their issue. The initials S. P. (of the Latin words Sine Prole, “without issue”) show where a line or a branch ceases. Other abbreviations and signs in general use will suggest their own signification.