VICARS, Sir Arthur. Ed. by. Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ireland 1536-1810. 

Dublin: Edward Ponsonby, 1897. Royal octavo. pp. ix, 512. Reddish brown cloth over bevelled boards, title in gilt on spine, gilt armorial device on upper cover. Spine evenly faded. Top edge gilt. A very good copy of the rare first edition.

The first index to prerogative wills was compiled by Sir William Betham, Ulster King of Arms, under the auspices of the Irish Record Commission. Betham superintended the work of indexing and at the same time performed the mammoth task of compiling a genealogical abstract of each record down to 1800 (approximately 37,000). In the 1890’s his eventual successor Sir Arthur Vicars revised Betham’s index bringing it up to 1810 and first published his results in 1897. A quarter of a century later virtually all Irish wills were destroyed in the Four Courts in 1922, thus making this index an invaluable and important source for genealogical research. Arthur Vicars is mostly remembered for being in charge of the “Irish Crown Jewels”, chiefly regalia relating to the Order of St Patrick which was stolen from his office in 1907. After an enquiry he was dismissed from office and went to live at Kilmorna House in County Kerry. “On 14 April 1921 Kilmorna House was surrounded by an armed group of men, who ordered the occupants to leave and then set fire to the house. Vicars was taken into the garden by three of the men and shot dead.” - Oxford DNB.

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