Preface.

My father spent a great deal of his time after he retired from the Army in investigating the history of the various branches of the Pemberton family, and succeeded in collecting a large amount of material, and it was his wish that this should be made available for future investigators by publication. His scheme was that the Charts should be accompanied by biographical and other notes on the different individuals, together with proofs and authorities for statements and suppositions, and therefore the information on the Charts was reduced to a minimum. He died in December 1914, and it was impossible for me during the war to do anything towards fulfilling his wish, but during the last two years I have endeavoured to assimilate the information he had gleaned, to bring it up to date and in some cases to add to it, but in the midst of a busy life I have had to forego any extensive original research, and think it best to issue now the necessarily incomplete result. The cost of printing, however, makes it impossible to publish the whole work at the present time and so, acting on expert advice, I am publishing the Pedigrees separately as a first volume, hoping that the interest of the various families may justify the issue of the Notes on the Pedigrees as a second volume in the near future. I have added short introductions to most of the Charts, noting the chief cases where assumptions have been made, but fuller details and also acknowledgments of help received are reserved for the future. There is still need for much further research in some of the branches, especially Lancashire, Cheshire, London and Suffolk, and as more Parish Registers and early documents are printed it should become possible to link up most, if not all, of the branches with the original Lancashire stock.

Robert Pemberton

Engatestone Rectory, Essex.

January 1, 1923