86 PREROGATIVE COURT RECORDS

He may have been preceded by pther clerks, but the commissions
of the early clerks were not often recorded and it is difficult to
trace them. The commission issued by Governor Charles Calvert to
John Blomfield on May 5, 1669, as "Chief Clerk of the Secretaries
Office of the Provincial Court and Council and of the Custody and
keeping of the lesser Seal Records" was the first such commission
to be recorded. The accompanying instructions empowered him to
sign letters of administration, probate wills and sign warrants to
appraisers.²⁰

After the offices of Secretary and Commissary General were sepa-
rated in 1673, each officer had his own clerk or clerks. As long as
Philip Calvert was Commissary General, his clerk did little more
than record the proceedings of the Court and the instruments, filed
with it. But after Calverts death, the duties of the clerk increased
steadily and he was frequently referred to as the Register of the
Prerogative Court. For example, in 1685 the proceedings, of the
Court reveal that James Cullen "was appointed by the Judges to
be -Register of this Court & Clerke of the Office for probat of
wills ....."²¹ The title varied considerably in subsequent appoint-
ments, but the version most commonly used was "Chief Clerk and
Register of the Prerogative Court".

By 1700, the Register had acquired a deputy and was performing
most of the routine work of the Court. The commissaries or judges
held court at least every two months. While in session, they heard
disputes and reviewed the work done by the Register since the last
session. A typical court term, as found in the proceedings of the
Prerogative Court, began with the style of court which gave the
date, place and names of the commissaries present. This was fol-
lowed by court orders, citations, attachments, etc. Then the docket
of cases was heard and decided or continued as in any other court.
Finally, the judges passed on accounts which had been allowed by
the Register and adjourned until the next term. Between terms of
court it is evident that the Prerogative Office remained open con-
tinuously, for there are almost daily entries in the proceedings.
The entries consist largely of returns of the Deputy Commissaries
for the various counties, but there are also entries regarding instru-
ments which were brought directly to the office.

²⁰ Ibid., V, 49-52.

²¹ Testamentary Proceedings 13, 197.