Hi Don, There is possibly a connection to Skelton Castle (That's Skelton-in-Cleveland to distinguish it from all the other Skeltons). When I was growing up in the village of Skelton-in-Cleveland the "lord of the manor" was Mrs Ringrose-Wharton. I was led to believe that the estate was in the Wharton family. There is an excellent website on the history of the village at: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bandl.danby/Index.html You might find Philip mentioned there if there is, indeed, a connection with this village. regards, Peter Appleton My Family Tree website: http:/www.tribalpages.com/tribes/pappleton3 -----Original Message----- From: Don Coulson [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 26 February 2006 16:22 To: [email protected] Subject: [NYorks] The will of Philip, Lord Wharton, 1696 Hi Everyone, I have in my possession a Holy Bible presented in 1913 to my Aunt. The front cover is printed in gold as follows:- By the will of PHILIP, LORD WHARTON,1696. ______ Presented 1913. Inside the cover is printed the following:- "The memory of the just is blessed." Prov. x. 7. PHILIP, LORD WHARTON, Died February 4, 1696, aged 83, and by his will left to his Trustees certain estates in Yorkshire, the proceeds of which are to be devoted each year to the distribution of Bibles and other books. By the terms of the will the 1st, 15th, 25th, 37th, 101st, 113th, and 145th Psalms should be learnt, if possible by the recipient. This book is given by direction of present Trustees to-- ........................ of the Parish of ...................... 1913 I also have a similar Book of Common Prayer presented to the same Aunt in 1914. Has anyone else come across these books and does anyone know anything about this Philip, Lord Wharton? Don, born in Yorkshire, North Riding, now in Stafford, UK. ==== ENG-NORTH-YORKS Mailing List ==== Hoaxes and Urban Legends on the Internet http://www.snopes.com/ <A HREF="http://www.snopes.com/">Snopes.com</a> ============================== Find your ancestors in the Birth, Marriage and Death Records. New content added every business day. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13964/rd.ashx