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MSS 88-1

The Papers of Solicitors J. M. Shugar and A. W. Vaisey, 1850 (1875-1900) - 1914

Overview

Legal papers (1832-1914) from the probate and property law practice of English solicitors John Merritt Shugar and Arthur William Vaisey, 1850-1914. Includes conveyances, enfranchisements, indentures, title abstracts, wills and related correspondence. The papers concern client transactions in the village of Tring and the towns of Berkhamstead and Hemel Hempstead in western Hertfordshire.

Dates
1832-1914 [Inclusive]
Extents
6 Cubic Feet (11 archival boxes)

Scope & Contents

This collection contains papers from the legal practice of J.M. Shugar and A.W. Vaisey, solicitors. Their firm was located in Tring, Hertfordshire, in south central England. The collection documents work from 1850 to 1914, although these papers relate mostly to the period 1875-1900.

The Shugar and Vaisey practice was mainly property and probate law. The bulk of the material in this collection consists of conveyances, enfranchisements, indentures, title abstracts, wills, and related correspondence. The papers relate to Tring, Tring Manor (of which Vaisey was steward), Pendley Manor (of which Shugar was steward), and area towns such as Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead.

The papers (approximately 6 linear feet in 11 boxes) are arranged alphabetically by the names of the principals involved in a particular matter. The collection was acquired in bundles with little or no descriptive information, so the titles on folders were assigned after perusal of the documents in each bundle. A glance at the alphabetical listing below reveals the major idiosyncrasy of this collection: the bulk of the material relates to persons or institutions whose names begin with the letters A through D. Thus it appears that a considerable amount of other material has either been lost or exists elsewhere.

It is worth mentioning that the folder in Box 2, titled: "Bedford v. Berkhampstead Rural District Council: Records and Leases" includes a draft claim on behalf of Rebecca Bedford. This was drawn on the back of an unrelated but useful document, the voters list for western Hertfordshire in 1893, which provides addresses for voters, many of whom appear elsewhere in the records. Vaisey himself is among those listed. Researchers will notice the various spellings of Berkhamsted given in the documents; apparently, its spelling was not yet standardized.

Collection Description

  •  
    Biographical / Historical

    Arthur William Vaisey (1851-1939 V) was the son of Thomas & Emma Vaisey and was born at Stratton, Gloucestershire. He studied law and married 22 year old Esther Bevir (1850-1925 V), daughter of William Laurence Bevir (a solicitor), at Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, in 1876. As a recently qualified solicitor, he was looking for a suitable practice and moved to Tring, where the town's respected lawyer, John Shugar, had recently died. They had 2 sons and seven daughters, all born in Tring. The 1878 Hertfordshire directory records "Shugar, Vaisey and Vorse, solicitors, High Street, Tring" with Arthur living at 4 Park Street. By 1882, he had built a house, Holly Field, in the fashionable Grove area of Tring. He had an office in the High Street, and the 1890 directory describes him as "solicitor & commissioner for taking oaths & clerk to the local board & vestry clerk."

    By 1912, he had taken his son Roland on as a partner and the directory entry reads "Vaisey Arthur William, solicitor & commissioner for taking oaths (firm A W Vaisey & Son), clerk to the Urban District Council, vestry clerk & clerk to the Guardians of Berkhamsted Union, to Berkhamsted District Council & to the Tring Urban Local Education Sub-committee, Western Road & 207 High Street, Great Berkhamsted." By 1922, he had another partner, and the entry read "Vaisey Arthur William, solicitor & commissioner for taking oaths (firm A W Vaisey & Turner), clerk to the Tring Urban District Council, vestry clerk & clerk to the Berkhamsted Guardians & Rural District Council District Council & to the Tring Urban Local Education Sub-committee, Western Road & 213 High Street, Berkhamsted."

    His wife Ester died in 1925, and he died in 1939 and was buried in Tring Cemetery.

  •  
    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Marsha Trimble writes on September 10, 1999: "The director of the library bought [the collection] in 1988 from an antiquarian book dealer, but unfortunately [she] has no record of the purchase."

fileEstate of Henry Adams: Correspondence, Notes and Records , 1850-82MSS 88-1, Box 1
fileJoseph Ashby: Correspondence regarding Cheddington Parish Council , 1895MSS 88-1, Box 1
fileEstate of George Bailey: Correspondence and Records, 1868-70MSS 88-1, Box 1
fileEstate of Richard Bailey: Correspondence and Records, 1869-70, 1901MSS 88-1, Box 1
fileBaines to Tompkins: Correspondence and Records, 1897MSS 88-1, Box 1
fileJames Ball: Abstract of Title , 1858MSS 88-1, Box 1
fileEstate of Benjamin Barber: Correspondence and Records , 1891-2MSS 88-1, Box 1
fileBarclay to Harrovian Odd Fellows: Correspondence and Records , 1889MSS 88-1, Box 1
fileDr. John Barnes: Correspondence , 1873, 1886MSS 88-1, Box 1
fileDevise of Thomas and Ann Barnes: Abstracts of Deed and Title, 1867-8MSS 88-1, Box 2
fileBarnes to Hobbs: Correspondence and Records, 1874MSS 88-1, Box 2
fileBarrett and Tring Cooperative Society: Correspondence and Records , 1898, 1914MSS 88-1, Box 2
fileEstate of William Batchelor: Correspondence and Records , 1897MSS 88-1, Box 2
fileBates' Solicitors to Brackley's Trustees: Correspondence , 1878-9MSS 88-1, Box 2
fileBedford v. Berkhamsted Rural District Council: Records and Leases , 1896MSS 88-1, Box 2
fileBedford v. Berkhamsted Sanitary Authority: Records, Briefs and Correspondence , 1896MSS 88-1, Box 2
fileBellingham and Webb: Correspondence , 1878MSS 88-1, Box 2
fileBerkhamsted Drainage: Correspondence and Records, 1896MSS 88-1, Box 2
fileBerkhampstead Gas Light Company at the suit of Carter: Correspondence and Records, 1873-74MSS 88-1, Box 3
fileBerkhampstead Rural District Council and John Nelson: Leases and Charges , 1896MSS 88-1, Box 3
fileBerkshire Perpetual Benefit Building Society , 1889-90MSS 88-1, Box 3
fileBerkshire Perpetual Benefit Building Society to Chandler: Correspondence, Sales Bill and Records , 1890MSS 88-1, Box 3
fileDaniel Bishop to Vaisey: Draft Charge , 1879MSS 88-1, Box 3
fileMortgage of Joseph Bishop: Correspondence , 1878-79MSS 88-1, Box 3
fileBland to Tomkins: Correspondence, Records and Receipt , 1871-72MSS 88-1, Box 3
fileBland to Tomkins: Records and Sales Bill , 1871-72MSS 88-1, Box 3
fileEstate of John Bly: Account Statements and Probate Affadavit , 1880-82MSS 88-1, Box 3
fileEstate of John Bly: Creditors, n.d.MSS 88-1, Box 3
fileEstate of William Bly: Newspaper Creditor Notices, 1890MSS 88-1, Box 3
fileEstate of Thomas Boultwood: Correspondence and Records , 1872-88MSS 88-1, Box 3
fileJames Brackley: Abstract of Title , 1871MSS 88-1, Box 3
fileEstate of James Brackley: Will, Correspondence and Records , 1880, 1882, 1885-86MSS 88-1, Box 3
fileEstate of Major General G.F.C. Bray: Correspondence and Records , 1883-84MSS 88-1, Box 4
fileEstate of Joseph Brinklow: Records and Notes, 1864-65MSS 88-1, Box 4
fileBrodrick to Rothschild: Correspondence and Records , 1875-77MSS 88-1, Box 4
fileAgnes Brown: Correspondence , 1856, 1889, 1894MSS 88-1, Box 4
fileArthur MacDonald Brown: Surveying Accounts , 1896MSS 88-1, Box 4
fileTrust of James and Katherine Brown: Correspondence and Records, 1886, 1889-92MSS 88-1, Box 4
fileEstate of Lord Brownlow: Correspondence and Records , 1891-92MSS 88-1, Box 4
fileEstate of Earl Brownlow: Easement Proposal , 1894MSS 88-1, Box 4
fileEstate of John Bushell: Will, Receipts, Correspondence and Records , 1881, 1883-84MSS 88-1, Box 4
fileEstate of John Bushell: Correspondence, 1883-1884MSS 88-1, Box 4
fileEstate of Thomas Butcher: Correspondence, Will and Records , 1899-1901MSS 88-1, Box 4
fileEstate of John Butterworth: Correspondence and Records, 1886-87, 1889MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileEstate of James Candy: Correspondence and Friend's Will Executed by Candy, 1874-1875MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileEstate of James Cantello: Correspondence and Records , 1899-1900MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileCarden to Jarvis: Correspondence and Confirmation of Lease, 1875MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileMatthew Carpenter Conveyance: Abstract and Legal Bill, 1837MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileLord Carrington's Trustees and Williams, Brown: Correspondence, Records and Notes, 1871-71MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileChaplin to Williams: Conveyance, Draft and Map of Brooksby Estate , 1890MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileEstate of Charles Chennells: Correspondence and Inland Revenue Documents , 1873-74MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileEstate of Mary Ann Choules: Will and Records , 1882-1884MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileEstate of William Clark: Will , 1869MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileEstate of John Clement: Records and Notes , 1865-66, 1868MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileClements' Trustees to Butcher: Correspondence and Records , 1888-89MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileEstate of William Coker: Will, Inland Revenue Affidavit and Correspondence , 1885MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileCoker to Baker's Trustees: Surrender and Notes , 1896MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileEstate of William Collier: Will and Records , 1897MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileEstate of Alfred Compigne: Correspondence, Will, Records and Notes , 1890-97MSS 88-1, Box 5
fileEstate of William Coote: Correspondence, Maps and Records, 1883-1903MSS 88-1, Box 6
fileCorkett to Shugar and Corkett to Dunstable Building Society: Correspondence and Records, 1870-1872MSS 88-1, Box 6
fileEstates of David and Rachel Corkett: Correspondence, Notes and Records , 1896-97MSS 88-1, Box 6
fileEstate of James Cosier: Correspondence and Records , 1895MSS 88-1, Box 6
fileCoventry Manor Lease: Correspondence and Draft Affidavit , 1907MSS 88-1, Box 6
fileH.R.G. Crawford: Correspondence and Notes , 1884-1888MSS 88-1, Box 6
fileEstate of Harriett Martha Crosswell: Correspondence, Records and Notes , 1892MSS 88-1, Box 6
fileEstate of Joseph Crosswell: Correspondence, Will and Records, 1888MSS 88-1, Box 6
fileEstate of Charles Cyster: Records and Will , 1890MSS 88-1, Box 6
fileDaniell to Planet: Correspondence and Records, 1857, 1864-65MSS 88-1, Box 6
fileEstate of Hannah Dickman: Records, 1894-95MSS 88-1, Box 6
fileElliman to Nicholson and Nicholson to Carr: Surrender , 1875MSS 88-1, Box 6
fileEstate of Jane Emery: Records, 1899MSS 88-1, Box 6
fileDavid Evans Property Sale and Enfranchisement: Correspondence , 1887-88MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileField's Trustees to Williams: Correspondence and Records , 1835, 1860, 1868, 1870MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileFirmstone v. Avery: Copy of Settlement, 1873MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileWilliam Foskett: Abstract of Title , 1856MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileEstate of John Fulks: Correspondence and Records , 1869-1881MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileGale and Koker and Row, Baker: Surrender , 1882-83MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileGalsworthy and Williams: Sales Agreement , 1866MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileGalsworthy to Baron Rothschild: Correspondence and Briefs , 1874MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileGalsworthy to Baron Rothschild: Records, 1874MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileGeorge v. Carter: Correspondence and Records , 1884MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileGibbs to Williams: Draft Conveyance , 1864MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileGower to Barnes: Records , 1890MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileGreat Tring Manor: Correspondence and Enfranchisement , 1883-84, 1888, 1889MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileGregory's Trustees and Williams: Correspondence, Requisitions and Abstract of Title, 1877MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileEstate of Sir George Grey: Correspondence and Records , 1892MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileH.J. Grey's Enfranchisement: Records , 1892MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileGrey's Enfranchisement: Declaration as to Title [re: Joseph G. Williams] , 1892MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileEstate Auction of Mrs. M.A. Griffin: Sales Information and Map , 1889-90MSS 88-1, Box 7
fileHampden Farm: Correspondence, 1871MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileHartley to Watney and Thomas: Correspondence and Indenture , 1898MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileEstate of William Hazell: Will , 1855MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileHoward v. Kay: Correspondence and Briefs, 1870-71MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileIsles and Cook: Correspondence and Records , 1895-96MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileEstate of William Kay: Records, 1866-67MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileLethbridge to Williams: Draft Conveyance, 1856MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileLong Marston Farm Auction: Sales Bill and Map, 1856MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileLovell to Cook: Correspondence and Records , 1877MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileMaslerman, Galsworthy & Pemberton and Thomas & Anne Barnes: Indre , 1867MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileEstate of Charles Meacher: Will, Abstract and Correspondence , 1873MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileMerrick v. Close: Correspondence, Will and Records , 1886-88, 1900MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileMiscellaneous Correspondence and Records , 1850-1900, n.d.MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileMorgan to Moulder: Surrender, 1873MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileNelson v. Rural Sanitary Authority: Correspondence, Claim and Brief, 1895MSS 88-1. Box 8
fileNelson v. Berkhampstead Rural Sanitary Authority: Record and Brief , 1896MSS 88-1, Box 9
fileNicholson and Bass: Records , 1890MSS 88-1, Box 9
fileNorth to Cooper: Correspondence, Records and Sales Bill , 1884MSS 88-1, Box 9
fileSarah Northwood and Northwood v. Turney: Correspondence and Records , 1859-65MSS 88-1, Box 9
fileOnward Building Society to Eeles: Conveyance, 1889MSS 88-1, Box 9
fileEstate of Alice Osborn: Correspondence and Records , 1892MSS 88-1, Box 9
filePemberton v. Barnes: Records , 1869, 1896MSS 88-1, Box 9
filePemberton v. Watkins: Surrender, 1871MSS 88-1, Box 9
fileEstate of the Earl of Powis: Records , 1891-92MSS 88-1, Box 9
fileLord Rokeby to Lodge: Correspondence and Opinion , 1832, n.d.MSS 88-1, Box 9
fileLord Rothschild to Glover: Draft Deed of Enfranchisement , 1882MSS 88-1, Box 9
fileLord Rothschild to Burgess and Ginger to Burgess: Correspondence, Records , 1894-95MSS 88-1, Box 9
fileSmith, Dorrien and Seltman: Correspondence and Records , 1888-99MSS 88-1, Box 9
fileSmith v. Berkhampstead Rural Sanitary Authority: Copies of Claim and Correspondence , 1895MSS 88-1, Box 9
fileSmith v. Berkhampstead Rural Sanitary Authority: Briefs, Leases, etc. , 1896MSS 88-1, Box 9
fileThompson to Watts: Correspondence and Conditional Surrender , 1898MSS 88-1, Box 10
fileEstate of Henry Tomkins: Sales Bill and Records, 1839, 1857MSS 88-1, Box 10
fileTring Baptist Chapel Trustees: Correspondence and Records , 1894-95MSS 88-1, Box 10
fileTring Leaseholds: Correspondence, 1867MSS 88-1, Box 10
fileTring Rectory Estate: Correspondence and Records , 1866-67MSS 88-1, Box 10
fileTring Rectory Estate Exchange: Correspondence, 1867-68MSS 88-1, Box 10
fileTring Rectory Leaseholds: Correspondence , 1866-67MSS 88-1, Box 10
fileTurney and Turney: Records , 1882MSS 88-1, Box 10
fileVickors v. Putnam: Correspondence, Will of Thomas Bailey and Miscellaneous , 1873-74MSS 88-1, Box 10
fileEstate of Edmund Fearnley Whittingstall: Abstract of Title , 1856MSS 88-1, Box 10
fileWhittingstall's Devisees to Rev. James Williams (Long Marston Farm): Correspondence, Map and Records , 1856-58MSS 88-1, Box 10
fileE.F. Whittingstall's Devise to Rev. James Williams: Records, Worksheets and Sales Bill , 1856, 1858MSS 88-1, Box 10
fileEstate of E.F. Whittingstall: Abstract of Title , 1856MSS 88-1, Box 10
fileRev. James Williams Enfranchisement Awards: Records, Correspondence and Legal Bills, 1864-65MSS 88-1, Box 11
fileRev. James Williams Enfranchisement Awards: Correspondence and Records, 1864-65MSS 88-1, Box 11
fileWilliams to Christ Church College: Records and Plot , 1867-68MSS 88-1, Box 11
fileWilliams to Crawley: Draft Deed of Enfranchisement , 1878MSS 88-1, Box 11
fileWilliams and Evans: Records , 1876, 1888MSS 88-1, Box 11
fileWilliams to Evans: Records and Draft , 1888MSS 88-1, Box 11
fileWilliams to Evans: Records, 1888MSS 88-1, Box 11
fileWilliamson's Trustees to Williams: Records, Map and Sales Bill , 1878MSS 88-1, Box 11
fileWilson to Edwards and Williams: Correspondence and Records, 1863, 1875, 1881MSS 88-1, Box 11
fileWinter and Cooper: Correspondence and Articles of Clerkship for an aspiring attorney and solicitor , 1870MSS 88-1, Box 11
English