Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 7.djvu/358

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NOTES AND QUERIES. p* s. VH. MAY 4, woi.

of Rathfarnham (she was living in 1Q75), he was father of Thomas, cr. in 1693 Lord Coningsby. I shall be obliged for any further information respecting this M.P., and especi- ally for the date of his death.

W. D. PINK. Lowton, Newton-le- Willows, Lancashire.

JOHN MORICE, F.S. A. This antiquary com- piled an extra-illustrated copy of Clutter- buck's * History of Hertfordshire ' in an ex- ceedingly sumptuous manner, at a cost, it is said, of some two thousand pounds or more. It was sold at the Hartley sale for four hundred and eighty guineas. I have not been able to discover any account whatever of this wealthy grangerizer ; even his place of residence, date of birth and death, seem to be generally unknown, nor does he appear to have written at all upon archaeological matters. Any material for a short biography will be welcome. W. B. GERISH.

Bishop's Stortford.

" CALLARDS." The editor of the ' English Dialect Dictionary' may be glad to have a note that this word exists in Georgia, U.S. In^ 'Who's Who' for 1901 the author of ' Uncle Remus ' tells us his recreations are " thinking of things and tending his roses. Lives in the suburb of west end, where he has had a com- fortable home built to a verandah, on a five-acre lot full of birds, flowers, children, and callards." What is the etymology of the word 1

Q. V.

" FIRE-FANGED." I have cut from the New lork Times 'Saturday Review' this notice of " fire-fanged " :

" An adjective still in use in New England, ' fire tanged, has a certain force and vigour about it VY hen there comes about the overfermentation of a pile of manure or of hay, and there is heat engen dered, it is said to be 'fire-fanged.' Both 'to fire put and ' fire-fanged' and their derivations are to be found in the 'Century Dictionary,' and attention is called to their former usage by quotations. I might be worth while finding out whether 'tire fanged' still serves its purpose in rural England." Could your readers inform me whether "fire fanged " is in use in England ?

ARTHUR ATWATER.

13o, Lexington Avenue, New York.

[" Fire-fanged " is, of course, in the ' H.E.I).,' but appears to be obsolete. Mr. Sidney Lee had ai article entitled '"Fire out" in Literary English in the Athenceum for 19 January, but did' not touch on "fire-fanged."]

APOSTLE SPOONS. What is the earliest date of Apostle spoons, i.e., small teaspoons with handles terminating in figures of the twelve Apostles? Did the fancy originate in Holland ? In a list of plate at Raglan

Castle, 1639 (vide MSS. of Duke of Beaufort), there appear (beside " 1 voydinge skimmer, 1 skillet, 2 counter- boxes, 10 Skinker pots, 7 tankards, wherof one is whopt, 1 Pelican salt," &c.) "two dozen and two Postle spoons. E. LEGA-WEEKES.

[You might consult ' The Spoon,' by Habakuk O. Westman, 1845. Much information as to spoons appears in 4 th S. vi.]

GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH IN AMERICA.

(9 th S. vii. 244.)

As I am an American genealogist of long experience, I read MR. YEATMAN'S state- ments with interest. What he says as to the registries of probate and of deeds is of general application, and applies also to court records. With the careless custody of the original documents it is remarkable that so few have disappeared, but the loss has been sufficiently serious. The very large collection of documents constituting the Massachusetts State archives is now protected by certain necessary restrictions, but all the archives, including those at Washington, have suffered from theft and mutilation in the past. What MR. YEATMAN says as to the registers of " vital statistics " is of more local application. In New England, for example, the town clerks have been required by law from an early period to record births, marriages, and deaths ; also during many years the inten- tions of marriage, sometimes called " publica- tions." The older records are far from com- plete, particularly as to deaths. In the .New England cities the clerk's office is usually open six hours, or more, each day ; and in the towns, if the would-be searcher can find the town clerk, the latter will almost invariably escort him to the office, which is either in the town building or at the clerk's residence, where the records may be examined in- definitely, appointments being made from day to day, without charge and with liberty to copy. The clerk may stay with the searcher or he may not. I am frequently requested by the clerk to inform him when I have done for the day, and he goes about his Customary occupations. The same facts apply to our church and parish clerks, whose records are often of great value. I don't like to visit small towns in the winter because the 1 town buildings are not heated. The older volumes are seldom indexed. The New Eng- land records are the most satisfactory of any in the United States. In the newer states there is but little to attract the antiquary,