in
England."

The conflicting accounts and confusion in the history of the Tradescants,
have no doubt arisen from the three, "grandsire, father, and son," having
been all named John; consequently, for the sake of perspicuity, I shall
adopt the plan of our worthy editor, and designate the Tradescant who first
settled in England, No. 1.; his son, who published the _Musaeum
Tradescantianum_, No. 2.; and the son of the latter, who "died in his
spring," No. 3. Now, to prove that it was the youngest of the Tradescants,
No. 3., who died in 1652, we have only to refer to the preface of the
_Musaeum Tradescantianum_, which was published in 1656. There we find that
Tradescant No. 2. says that--

"About three years agoe (by the perswasion of some friends) I was
resolved to take a catalogue of those rarities and curiosities, which
my father had sedulously collected, and myself with continued diligence
have augmented and hitherto preserved together."

He then proceeds to account for the delay in the publication of the work in
these words:

"Presently thereupon my _onely son_ died, one of my friends fell sick,"
&c.

Again, in Ashmole's _Diary_ we find the following entry:

"_Sept._ 11th, 1652. Young John Tredescant died."

And, further on, Ashmole states that

"He was buried by his grandfather, in Lambeth Churchyard."

The word _by_, in the quotation, meaning, _by the side of_, _close by_ his
grandfather. The burial register of Lambeth parish gives the date of the
interment, Sept. 16, 1652. Ashmole's _Diary_, as quoted by DR. RIMBAULT,
and the burial register also, give the date of the death of Tradescant No.
2., who survived his son ten years: the family then became extinct.

Ashmole, who became acquainted with the Tradescants in 1650, never mentions
the grandfather (No. 1.), nor is his name to be found in the burial
registry; and consequently the date of his death, as far as I have read,
has always been set down as uncertain. There are other parish records,
however, than burial registers; and I was well repaid for my search by
finding, in the Churchwardens' Accounts of St. Mary's, Lambeth, the
following entries:

"1634. June 1. Received for burial of Jane, wife of John Tradeskin,
12s."

"1637-8. Item. John Tradeskin; ye gret bell and black cloth, 5s. 4d."

This last entry, in all probability, marks the date of the death of the
first Tradescant. Assuming that it does,