This one really caught my eye when I read it in Tony Smith's Boothstown website, in the Chaddock section:
| "A pedigree given by Thomas Chaddock to Dugdale (the heraldic officer) on his visitation of 1664 records four descents (generations in a lineage). The family is described as an heraldic family of inferior gentry, connected by marriage with the Tongs of Tong (in Bolton), and with the Chathams of Nurhurst." |
Inferior Gentry? That sounds so substandard these days. Actually though, the first and more historical meaning of inferior is lesser. Secondly the term gentry was reserved to those of the upper class or nobility. So really it described a prominent family, however one well below a stature of royalty.
Not as bad as it all sounds, but definitely something to perk one's attention.
Submitted by Craig Chaddock - 9/3/99