February, 1626-7, he came to bishop Bridgeman at the palace in Chester, and shewed him an acquittance of the parson of Wigan's bailiff, one Hatton, in 37th of Henry VIII., wherein the said Hatton acknowledged the receipt of 40s. due at Michaelmas for the tithe of corn, hay, and straw of Ince, from the said Mr. Gerard's great-grandfather;[1] he also shewed him an inventory of his grandfather's wherein (among his debts) there was set down 40s. due and unpaid to the parson of Wigan for Ince tithe, and some other acquittances in parson Fleetwood's and parson Massie's time;[2] whereupon bishop Bridgeman appears to have consented to accept the prescription of £4 yearly, which has ever since been paid for the Ince corn tithe.
With respect to the corn tithe of Upholland and Dalton, there is the following interesting memorandum in bishop Bridgeman's Wigan Leger of Sunday, 12th May, 1620: "This day Peter Marsh, Mayor of Wigan, brought to me at Wigan Hall, a copy of an acknowledgment which Edward, Earl of Derby, made to parson Stanly confessing under his hand and seal the tith corn of Holland and Dalton to be the parson's of Wigan in right Mr. Edward Stanly of Bickerstath, Esq.,[3] sent me word by diverse
- ↑ Mr. Gerard's great-grandfather, Miles Gerard of the Ince, was the son of Thomas, and grandson of William Gerard of the Ince, gent; the first-mentioned Miles Gerard died in 1568, and was succeeded by his son William, living in 1567, whose son Miles Gerard was the father of this Thomas Gerard, lord of the manor of Ince in bishop Bridgeman's time. Miles Gerard of Ince, gent., was a juror at a Wigan inquest on 21st March, 1613-14; he was buried at Wigan on 9th April, 1618 (Wigan Register, fol. 199). He seems to have been hardly treated and largely [[wikt:mulct|]]ed as a popish recusant, and tried to escape from his difficulties by making over his property to his only son, Thomas Gerard, who was 22 years of age in 1613 (St. George's Visitation of Lancashire), and who appears as a juror at a Wigan inquest as Thomas Gerard of Ince, gentleman, on 6th April, 1616. This Thomas Gerard was the last of his family who lived at Ince Hall. He got into pecuniary difficulties and sold the manor of Ince about the year 1637 to Richard Gerard, Esq., second son of Sir Thomas Gerard of Bryn, knight (Hadfield MS., No. 15, in Salt Lib., Stafford). Thomas Gerard had an only daughter Ann, who became the wife of John Gerard, Esq., third son of Sir Thomas Gerard of Bryn, but died without issue (MS. pedigree penes Herman Walmesley, Esq., of Wigan).
- ↑ Wigan Leger, fol. 120.
- ↑ Edward Stanley of Bickerstaffe, co. Lancaster, Esq., was created a baronet in 1627. His great-great-grandson Sir Edward, the fifth baronet, succeeded, on failure of the male issue of the elder line, to the earldom of Derby, and from him the present Earl of Derby is descended.
