Page:A transcript of the first volume, 1538-1636, of the parish register of Chesham in the county of Buckingham.djvu/18

 Before leaving the subject of surnames, it may be noticed that the memory of not a few families, especially of the yeoman and agricultural classes, who long ago ceased to be personally represented in the district, has been perpetuated in the local nomenclature. Among the names of farms, houses, woods, and fields, those of former owners and occupiers are of frequent occurrence; and a comparison of the early names in the Register with those in the ordnance-plans or the titheterrier throws light upon some obscure forms, and suggests local associations which have long been forgotten.

Appendix VII. contains the Christian names that are found in this volume of the Register. The list is much more comprehensive than might be expected, since an out-of-the-way country district, where the inhabitants mostly marry among themselves, is not generally productive of variety of praenominal forms. Some of the names are very unusual, if not unique. Most of those that are common now seem to have been common three hundred years ago. It may be noted, however, that "Charles" does not occur before 1611, and that only four persons of this name are mentioned. There is one instance of the use of two Christian names together.

At the beginning and end of the early volumes of the parish registers, or inserted among the ordinary contents, are often found incidental notes of various matters that concerned the respective parishes or the parishioners. The propriety of using the registers as depositories for memoranda on many subjects of local interest was, indeed, officially recognized. Dr. White Kennett, Bishop of Peterborough from 1718 to 1728, said, in charging his clergy at his first visitation, with respect to the keeping of registers:—"One thing more I would intimate to you, that you are not only obliged to enter the day and year of every christening, wedding or burial, but it is left to your discretion to enter down any notable incident of times and seasons, especially relating to your own parish, and the neighbourhood of it, such as storms and lightning, contagion, and mortality, drought, scarcity, plenty, longevity, robbery, murders, or the like casualties. If such memorable things were fairly entered, your parish registers would become chronicles of many strange occurrences that would not otherwise be known, and would be of great use and service for posterity to know." Many of the old registers contain notes of the matters mentioned by the Bishop. In the same way were also put on record:—visitations of bishops and archdeacons; confirmations; presentation, institution and induction of clerks; penances imposed; the names of persons excommunicated; licences granted to eat flesh in Lent; inventories of church goods; assignments of burial-places in the church or churchyard; collections, or "gatherings," on briefs or otherwise for charitable purposes; notable facts about persons baptized, married or buried; and, occasionally, punishments suffered for offences such as vagrancy, and breach of the law as to burial in wool. Events of national importance, too, were sometimes noticed. Entries of a different character related to benefactions to the church or parish. Wills and deeds by which endowments were given for charitable purposes, or for the preaching of memorial sermons, or for the observance of periodical customs, and the like, were frequently copied into the registers.