<<One thing you do notice in studying slightly later manorial/local records is that certain families retained a grip on the low level legal affairs of the village. For instance, the Brangwins in Haddenmham were the writers of wills through several generations, and hired themselves out to do the same for other places, within (so far) a ten mile radius. And one local schoolmaster, 1810ish, was responsible for a very complicated legal fiddle/scheme which regained the ownership for a friend and cousin of his of a property which had been legally and properly sold by his maternal aunt when he was a small boy.>> I once read somewhere that in the late 19th or early 20th century, when barristers out on circuit at the provincial courts gathered for a convivial professional dinner, one of the toasts was always 'To the village schoolmasters, whose attempts to write wills bring us so much of our work!' Matt

>affairs of the village. For instance, the Brangwins in Haddenmham were >the writers of wills through several generations, and hired themselves >out to do the same for other places, within (so far) a ten mile radius. >And one local schoolmaster, 1810ish, was responsible for a very >complicated legal fiddle/scheme which regained the ownership for a >friend and cousin of his of a property which had been legally and >properly sold by his maternal aunt when he was a small boy.>> > > >I once read somewhere that in the late 19th or early 20th century, when >barristers out on circuit at the provincial courts gathered for a convivial >professional dinner, one of the toasts was always 'To the village schoolmasters, >whose attempts to write wills bring us so much of our work! You couldn't fault a Brangwin will - they'd been at it for generations and could cope with any situation. The one which went astray was that drawn for himself by an 'utter barrister'. Or, for that matter, William Clarson Cox, who got his cousin 'back' family properties. It was the personal interest, i think... -- Eve McLaughlin Author of the McLaughlin Guides for family historians Secretary Bucks Genealogical Society