MAULE FAMILY NEWSLETTER

Vol. VI, No. 1

April, 1985

*** BOOK ON BRITISH MAULES AVAILABLE ***

Our cousin John P. Maule of Balerno, Scotland, has just published a book that should be of interest to those who collect Maule materials or who want to read in great detail about one of the British branches of the family. The book, The Maules of Kings Sutton: Their Origin and Descendants, was written by John P. Maule and Peter G. M. Barnes, and is a 70-page soft-bound volume that contains 14 genealogical tables, several maps, and much interesting and thought-provoking text. I recommend it highly.

From John P. Maule: "THE KINGS SUTTON MAULES ANDTHEIR DESCENDANTS is an account of the Kings Sutton branch of the English Maules who have been traced to GEORGE MAULE, born about 1575 but whose parentage has not been positively discovered. The book discusses 2 possible explanations of his origin and traces the background to the history of the Maules (from 1066) and describes the various lines of descent of George Maule's son John (b. 1615) and his family. There are 5 appendices and the final table shows all the male Maules now living with their immediate male relatives."

From me: I am very impressed with John's and Peter's work. They have identified many of the "unconnected Maules of Britain" listed in my 1981 book. They have included more than they had intended when John wrote the preceding description in October of last year. There is a chapter and lists of Maules from the 16th and 17th centuries (more about that in a moment). There is detailed information on the Maules of Northumberland and Berwickshire, a branch descended from the Maules of Scotland. There is discussion of the deMauley family (John's conclusion, that they are a separate family, matches the one I made during the 1970's, but John documents his reasoning in an easy-to-follow manner).

The most intriguing aspect of John's and Peter's book, especially for the descendants of Thomas Maule of Salem, Mass., is the question of Thomas' ancestry. John questions some of the common "folklore" of Maule history (for example, he doubts that Guarin de Maule accompanied William I, and proves almost beyond any doubt, that it is unlikely the Maules received lands in Yorkshire). This opens the door to speculation that more than one Maule came from France. What fuels this idea is that when written records suddenly "spring into existence" in the 15th and 16th centuries, there are Maules (although not very many as compared with other surnames) in many parts of England and Scotland. Are they all related? Probably. The book takes the first significant step towards unraveling these mysteries.

Now the good news: The price is a mere $25 (postage paid by sea mail) or $28 (postage paid by air mail). To order, send your check or international money order to: JOHN P. MAULE, HANNAHFIELD QUARRY HOUSE, 578 LANARK ROAD WEST, BALERNO, MIDLOTHIAN, SCOTLAND, EH14 7BN. Enjoy reading it (I have).

*** THE MAULL FAMILY ***

I have recently made contact with Baldwin Maull, the author of John Maull (1714-1753) of Lewes, Delaware, A Genealogy of his Descendants in All Branches, who has exchanged copies of our respective books with me. Since he published the book in 1941, Mr. Maull has continued his research into the ancestry of John Maull, and has shared that research with me. Ironically, one person in England with whom he discussed the matter is a person who contributed to John P. Maule's book!

It appears that John Maull is a Maule, although no one can prove it. (I have had contact with Maules in Maryland who are descended from John Maull but who spell their name with an "e".) The more I read and think, the more I learn. I suspect someone misinterpreted a handwritten "Maule" by treating a large-looped "e" as an "l". When I researched at the National Archives, I did not pick up Maull entries, which by hindsight I should have done. Similarly, some of the "unconnected Maule entries" in my 1981 book are members of the Maull family. Confusing? Very much so. But that's what makes genealogy so interesting, challenging, and enjoyable for me.

*** CURRENT PLANS ***

So now that I've described what other people have been doing, I should mention what I've been doing. Not as much as I'd like. I haven't had the time to go to libraries, visit, or do research. But I have been setting the groundwork for what I hope will be a productive summer. I have done some research by mail, trying to trace several branches the "disappearance" of which troubles me. Not much luck yet.

I've been trying to write a computer program to index the book and the supplementary information. (For the computer lovers, I have a BASIC program that does it but it is S-L-O-W, so now I'm trying to write a machine language program for the Z-80 microchip.) Yes, I know, I thought I was a lawyer. I am; in fact, that's another reason for the genealogical low-productivity. I have published several articles, and my book (Taxation of Residence Transactions) was published on March 6 by John Wiley & Sons (of interest to lawyers, accountants, and real estate agents among us, and to those who love doing their own taxes.)

My goals for 1985-1986: