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THE GREEN BAG

bishop's son. But for the present purpose it is not necessary to examine at length the difficulty whether the Archbishop's sons or the Treasurer's sons were the Virginia adventurers. All four were members. Either two form a strong link between the Inn arid the Virginia Company. In the first party of settlers who sailed in 1606 there was a Thomas Sandys who may be identified with the fourth son of the Archbishop born in 1568 and admitted to the Inn in 1588. To the evidence of the intimate associa tion between the Middle Temple and two of the most prominent men in the govern ment of the colony may be added the fact that the Ferrars, who were equally well known in the administration of the Company, had some connection with the Inn. Erasmus and William were both members and the latter was called to the bar. They are believed to have died before the date of the available records of the Company. But Thomas Collett who was nephew of Nicholas Ferrar and is generally understood to have been assistant secretary lived to be one of the " ancient " members of the Inn. He • was admitted in 1619, called to the bar Nov. 24, 1626, was made a bencher Nov. 5, 1652, and an entry shows that he was alive in 1663. Richard Tomlyns, George Thorpe, and William Tracy, are names familiar in the administration of the Company and may probably be identified with contem porary Middle Templars. . Unfortunately the early records of the Company cannot be traced, but from 1619 to 1624 they are available and have been admirably edited by Miss Kingsbury under the direction of the Librarian of Congress. They furnish further evidence of the connec tion between the Middle Temple and the Company. With the exception of a passing reference to Lincoln's Inn no other Inn of Court receives mention in the minutes. On Nov. 3, 1619, the Court of the Virginia Company chose for their counsel Sir Laurence Hyde and Mr. Christopher Brooke. The latter was a member of Lincoln's Inn,

but the former belonged to the Middle Temple, having been Treasurer in 1616. He was admitted to the Council of the Company in 1623. Among the members of the Committee appointed in 1620 to protect the rights of the Company was Nicholas Hyde, no doubt Sir Laurence's nephew, afterwards Judge and Treasurer of the Inn. It was formerly the custom for families to show an allegiance to one Inn of Court much in the same way as they do now to a particular public shool, and the name of Hyde appears upon the registers even more often than Sandys. Lord Pagett was an active member of the Company and also a Middle Templar. Successive members of the family, occupied a chamber over the Middle Temple Gate. On July 7, 1620, the Council, upon the suggestion of Sir Edwin Sandys, appointed committees to deal with the various matters requiring attention in the government of the colony. The first committee was "for the compylinge into a bodie the politique lawes and magistracie of England necessarie or fitt for that Plantation." It consisted of Sir Thomas Roe, Mr. Christopher Brooke, Mr. Selden, Mr. Edw. Herbert and Mr. Philip Jermyn. Sir Thomas Roe was a member of the Middle Temple and had been recommended by the King for the office of Treasurer of the Company. Mr. Philip Jermyn who became a member of the Council in 1622 was a barrister of the Inn and held the office of Reader in 1629. Two Committees of the company of which he was a member were instructed to meet at his Chambers in the Temple. Under date Nov. 14, 1621, is an entry in the records which may be transcribed :— "Mr. Churchill Moone of the Middle Temple in London, gentleman, having eighte shares of land in Virginia allowed by the auditors did upon request passe them over with approbacion of this Court in manner following viz. he assigned 4 of them unto Mr. Charles Cratford of the Middle Temple in London Esquire, also he assigned two