HOW TO SAVE EXPENSE IN PEDIGREE-HUNTING
There is no doubt that if any one wishes to expend a small fortune in
record-searching he may find opportunity of doing so; if, on the other
hand, even shillings are an object to him, he can carry on his work for
very little expense.
The English Record Office, with its vast stores of information, is free
to all searchers; so are the British Museum Reading and MSS. Rooms;
also the other great London libraries.
At Somerset House, where so many of the wills are stored, the fees are
one shilling for each document searched. An ardent genealogist might
find that this ran away with a good deal of money; but if his object is
purely literary, as is so often the case with pedigree-hunters, then a
docket can be obtained entitling him to search gratuitously in Somerset
House at stated days and hours, as may be arranged.
The Dublin Record Office is not free to the public, the class of
documents it contains differing from those in the London Office. Irish
wills, as we have seen, are stored there, and the fee for the perusal
of any document is one shilling.
Here again, however, “the literary permit” can be obtained; it is
usually issued for a month at a time, and is renewable. But whether
there or in England, no free search is permitted, unless the required
documents are nearly a century old, and in every instance the search
must be undertaken with a purely _literary_ object in view. If the
pedigree-hunter wishes to make good his claim to property, or has
any other legal project in his mind--well, he must pay for his
investigations.
For the Heralds’ Office, London, and the College of Arms, Dublin, no
literary dockets are issued; neither is the Registry House, Edinburgh,
free to all comers. Half a crown a day is charged at the Registry
of Deeds, Dublin, but this half-crown can cover a great amount of
searching.
Where parochial registries have to be consulted at the parishes
themselves, fixed moderate fees are charged. In some cases these
charges may be modified, or even abolished altogether, in favour of
a literary investigator; but this is a special favour, granted for
special reasons by the rector or curate in charge.
Literary free permits are, however, as we have seen, issued in
connection with most of the great offices where genealogical
information can be gleaned, and by the help of these far the greater
part of the pedigree-hunter’s work can be carried on almost free of
expense.
In certain other instances, where official fees are charged, literary
searchers are often most leniently considered, for in genealogical
matters a good deal depends on the pedigree-hunter himself, and a
system of red tapeism is not everywhere carried out.
For university and school details and entries the registers can often
be consulted absolutely free of cost, so the searcher with the narrow
purse has really little to fear financially when embarking on the
delightful task of pedigree-hunting.