Description: Great Durnford Manor is one of the largest and most sought-after properties described in the Hungerford Deed. In the division of lands, it was awarded to Elizabeth Macie, James Smithson’s mother. Despite battling for years to obtain the manor, Macie sold it to an acquaintance within four years instead of keeping it in the family to pass on to her sons.1 The parish of Durnford
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_10581,size=200,left]Vicarious research is one of the great joys of the reference desk at the Smithsonian Institution Archives. From our front-row (well, only-row) seat outside the reading room, we catch tantalizing glimpses of our patrons’ manifold research topics.The reference team fields around 6,000 queries per year. Ask us what people have been