To do this, he will look through any Prerogative or Diocesan Indexes connected with Blankshire, and then go through all wills of Greys of Larchfield before 1790; and, if he is not acquainted with the names of Thomas’ brothers and sisters (which might probably be needed to fully identify Thomas himself), and he has not full details of his later family history, he will also consult those of succeeding dates. In fact, under any circumstances, he should certainly, at one time or another, look through every will connected with the family in that district.
If he discovers wills of Greys of Larchfield of the required date, one of them will probably reveal Thomas’ parentage. Should he not find such wills, or should they not reveal what he is looking for, he might search for other wills of the name in the County of Blankshire, and afterwards for wills in other countries, for in pedigree-hunting no will which is possibly connected with the family should be ignored.
When all such wills proved in the Prerogative and Diocesan Courts have been looked up, some degree of new information—probably a large amount—will almost certainly have been acquired by the expenditure of more or less time and trouble, as the case may be.
Here again, if the family name is an uncommon one, it would probably take less time to trace the ancestry than if the name was Jones or Smith, and here again the variations in the old spelling should be remembered.
Also, it must not be forgotten that an individual sometimes adopts an entirely different surname. This may not very frequently occur, but the possible contingency should not be ignored.
An old Statute, 4 Edward IV., enacted that all Irishmen who lived within the English pale (Dublin, Kildare, etc.) should adopt an English surname, to be derived from the name of an office, trade, place, or colour.
It may also be noted that a very uncommon Christian name is often a great help to the searcher, as, if he comes across this uncommon name in connection with the required surname, the chances are that he is on the right track, and has discovered a new twig emanating from the family tree.
Having searched through wills of the required surname (unless he has been most singularly unfortunate), the pedigree-hunter, besides having discovered new ancestors, will have come across many relations of the family bearing other surnames. The wills of the most likely of these should be consulted in the same way, as they may reveal much.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Published by Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, E.C.