They are a series of letters written by Andrew Mitchell died 1851 in Monmouth and his son Samuel Mitchell and his cousin Frank Mitchell. Most of the letters are written about 1869 . They are trying to trace their pedigree because they think they are descendents and possibly lawful heirs to the enormous wealth - upwards of 1 million pounds in 1839 left by Jane Innes of Stow in Scotland (to rhyme with cow).

This was quite a fortune and there was a great deal of skulduggery that went on. There were a number of court hearings and Samuel and Frank seem to have obtained quite a bit of information. And some of it I have been able to verify on your website. A number of people are mentioned , many of them living in The Forest of Dean. I have now been able to find them, some on Ancestry but also on your site, particularly the marriages as it is so often difficult to find the mother's maiden name, unlike in Scotland where they were keen to preserve it.

But one of the most informative about people was the Summons that Mrs. Mary Fisher or Fredericks and others served against Alexander Mitchell on May 21st 1850 . Mary Fisher is daughter of Mrs. Ann Innes, or Fisher, deceased - spouse of the deceased Thomas Fisher residing in the parish of Goodrich. The case went before the vice chancellor, Sir R. T. Kindersley on Friday May 27th 1857 . My grandmother had copies of the report in The Borders Advertiser and we have also found the details in The Times.

My grandmother was Gladys Theresa Mitchell nee Clark and she married George Herbert Mitchell in 1900. One can go on forever .

In addition the man who made all the money was George Innes said to be the wealthiest commoner in Scotland. He was a banker in The Royal Bank of Scotland as was his son Gilbert. When Gilbert died he left all his money and land to his sister, Jane. But Gilbert Innes never married though he was "famous of his amours" which left 67 children! The BBC did a programme a few weeks ago about him.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8457825.stm

The others involved in the summons were
Mrs. Ann Hall or Edmonds from Monmouth
Mrs. Susannah Hall or Teague woodman
Mrs. Eleanor Hall or Davies farmer Llanarth

I just feel that some of this information which I have turned up needs to be more widely known.

Elizabeth Potter