Joseph Lemuel Chester - Genealogical Career

Genealogical Career

After the American Civil War had broken out and while he was thinking of returning to America, Chester received a commission from the United States government for a service which he could render in England. In the following year, he obtained free access to Doctors' Commons as a literary inquirer to examine all wills recorded previous to 1700 to make copies. He continued with this position for twenty years collecting materials illustrating the ancestry of American families. In the meantime he made special searches for clients and investigated the English descent of noted Americans. Some of these monographs have been printed by himself or others, but most likely the greater number remain in manuscript in the hands of his clients. Unfortunately, Chester did not live long enough to publish a pedigree of President George Washington, a favorite subject of his for many years; he was unable to satisfy himself as to the actual emigrant whence the American family descended.

In pursuance of his genealogical labors he made extensive extracts from parish registers. At his death, Chester left eighty-seven folio volumes of such extracts each more than four hundred pages with seventy of the volumes carefully indexed. The matriculation register of the University of Oxford, another source of his information, was copied by him between 1866 and 1869. He next made extensive extracts from The Old Marriage Allegations in the Bishop of London's Register, extending from 1598 to 1710. His major work in London was the editing and annotating of The Marriage, Baptismal, and Burial Registers of the Collegiate Church or Abbey of St. Peter, Westminster, dedicated to Queen Victoria. He spent ten years on this book and allowed the Harleian Society to issue it as one of their publications. In recognition of his work, Columbia College of New York City conferred on him the honorary degree of LL.D. in 1877, and on June 22, 1881 the university of Oxford granted him the degree of D.C.L.

Chester was one of the founders of the Harleian Society in 1869, a member of the first council of the Royal Historical Society in 1870 and a member of many other learned societies both in England and in America. He generously spent half his time replying to the inquiries of his numerous correspondents.

Chester's literary executor, George Edward Cokayne, Norroy King of Arms, sold the manuscript of the Matriculations at the University of Oxford for £1,500, and five volumes of Marriage Allegations in the Bishop of London's Register, &c., for £500 to Leonard Lawrie Hartley. When Hartley died, these manuscripts were purchased (1885) by Mr. Quaritch. The Matriculations were printed in eight volumes (1891) and the Marriages in one volume (1887) under the editorship of Joseph Foster. The Harleian Society also printed the Marriages from a duplicate copy of Chester's manuscript in 1887.