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Excerpt from History of the Families of Skeet, Somerscales, Widdrington, Wilby, Murray, Blake, Grimshaw, and Others A number of old papers connected with the families of Skeet, Somerscales, Widdrington, Wilby, and Murray came into my possession some years ago; much of the information contained in them was scrappy and disjointed, but upon going carefully through them I recognized that with further additions from the College of Arms, Somerset House, and the Public Record Office, complete histories might he written. Having decided to commence the Work, I received the greatest kindness and assistance from members of the different families, and from genealogists, both amateur and professional. I take this opportunity of expressing my deep gratitude to all who have aided me. Ambrose Lee, Esq., York Herald, designed and prepared the blocks for printing, which sufficiently speak for themselves. My Publishers, by their courteous and ready aid in difficulties, have rendered the completion of my task an easy and pleasant one. I have as far as possible followed Burke's system in setting out the families, with a key pedigree at the commencement of each. A Roman numeral is placed in front of the head of each generation of each branch of a family. The name of the King or Queen precedes in most cases the Roman numeral to give a rough historical idea of the period. Each branch is in turn worked out to a finish, then a return is made to the parent stock for a fresh one. For example, the descendants of Henry, 4th son of Richard Skete, do not come in until p. 49. Allied families are completed in their proper place, and although their insertion seem to somewhat interfere with the continuity of the original family, it was considered better than leaving them for Appendices. Much can be learnt from Family Histories as to social conditions in different centuries. Most of the old nobility were wiped out by the Wars of the Roses. Under the Tudors a new aristocracy arose, pledged to support their masters in the change of religion and the spoiling of the Religious Institutions. The great Civil War was disastrous to many a gentle house; we shall see how the families of Skeet, Skyfield, Sandes, and Westbrook, from being landed gentry, sunk after the rise of the Commonwealth to the rank of yeomen, a class who were almost exterminated by the heavy taxation of the eighteenth century. The Wilbys are an interesting example of a ruined yeoman family, after a century of industry in London, regaining their place amongst the small landed gentry. The account of the romantic house of Widdrington is that of an ancient Feudal family, ultimately ruined by their devotion to their old faith and dynasty. It has been my endeavour to insert as far as possible only proven facts, and to let them speak for themselves, with the intention of preserving the histories of the several families. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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