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