Stacey Grimaldi was an English lawyer and antiquary.

Life

Stacey Grimaldi was descended from the house of Grimaldi

House of Grimaldi

The House of Grimaldi is associated with the history of the Republic of Genoa and of the Principality of Monaco.-History:The Grimaldi family descends from Grimaldo, a Genoese statesman at the time of the early Crusades. He might have been a son of Otto Canella, a consul of the Republic of Genoa in...

: he was the great-grandson of Alexander Grimaldi of Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

, who quitted that city after its bombardment by Louis XIV in 1684, and whose father of the same name had been doge of Genoa

Doge of Genoa

The Republic of Genoa, in what is now northern Italy, was technically a communal republic in the early Middle Ages, although it was actually an oligarchy ruled by a small group of merchant families, from whom were selected the Doges of Genoa.- History :...

 in 1671. He was born in the parish of St. James, Westminster

St James's Church, Piccadilly

St James’s Church, Piccadilly is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, UK. It was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren....

, on 18 October 1790, and was the second son of William Grimaldi

William Grimaldi

-Life:Born in the parish of St Leonard's, Shoreditch, on 26 August 1751, he was son of Alexander Grimaldi and Esther Barton his wife, and great-grandson of Alessandro Maria Grimaldi, the heir and representative of the Genoese family of Grimaldi, who had settled in England after the bombardment of...

, miniature-painter, of Albemarle Street, London, by his wife Frances, daughter of Louis Barker of Rochester. Upon the death of his elder brother in 1835 the title of Marquis Grimaldi of Genoa and the claims on the family possessions in Genoa and Monaco

Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

 became vested in him.

For upwards of forty years he practised as a solicitor in Copthall Court in the city of London. He was eminent as a 'record lawyer,' and was engaged in several important record trials and peerage cases. In 1824 he was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries

Society of Antiquaries of London

The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...

. In 1834 he was appointed to deliver lectures on the public records at the Law Institution, and in 1853 an auditor of the Incorporated Law Society. He was a frequent contributor to the Gentleman's Magazine from 1813 to 1861. He resided for many years at Maze Hill

Maze Hill

Maze Hill is an area in Greenwich and Blackheath, in south-east London, lying to the east of Greenwich Park, and west of the Westcombe Park area of Blackheath. It is part of the London Borough of Greenwich, and takes its name from the main thoroughfare, Maze Hill...

, Greenwich; latterly at Herndon House

Herndon House

The Herndon House, later known as the International Hotel and then the Union Pacific Headquarters, was an early hotel located at Ninth and Farnam Streets in present-day Downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1858 by Omaha pioneer Dr. George L. Miller along with several associates, it was financed by...

, Eastry, Kent, where he died on 28 March 1863. In 1825 he married Mary Ann, daughter of Thomas George Knapp of Haberdashers' Hall and Norwood, Surrey. By her he left six sons and three daughters.

Works

• The Toilet; a book for Young Ladies, consisting of a series of double plates, illustrated with approriate poetry, London, 1822: 3rd edit., 1823.
• A Suit of Armour for Youth, London, 1824, 12mo; a series of engravings of body-armour, copied from real examples and designs illustrating historical anecdotes.
• A Synopsis of the History of England, from the Conquest to the Present Time, London, 1825, 12mo; 2nd edit., revised and enlarged by his son, the Rev. Alexander Beaufort Grimaldi, M.A., of Caius College, Cambridge, London, 1871, 8vo.
• Origines Genealogicæ ; or, the Sources whence English Genealogies may be traced, from the Conquest to the Present Time, accompanied by Specimens of Antient Records, Rolls, and Manuscripts, with proofs of their Genealogical Utility. Published expressly for the assistance of Claimants to Hereditary Titles, Honours, or Estates, London, 1828, 4to.
• The Genealogy of the Family of Grimaldi of Genoa and of England, shewing their relationship to the Grimaldis, Princes of Monaco, London, 1834. A copy, with manuscript additions by the author, in the British Museum has the note: 'The principality of Monaco is now [1834] claimed from the reigning Prince of Monaco by the Marquess Luigi Grimaldi della Pietra, on the ground that it is a male fief, and ought not to have descended to heirs female ; and this pedigree has been compiled to show at Genoa and Turin that the Grimaldis of England are the oldest branch, and have prior claims.'
• Lectures on the Sources from which Pedigrees may be traced, [London, 1835], 8vo.
• Miscellaneous Writings, prose and poetry, from printed and manuscript sources, 1874-1881, 4 pts., edited by Alexander Beaufort Grimaldi. The longest treatise in this multifarious collection, of which only one hundred copies were printed for private circulation, is entitled 'Nomenclatura, or a Discourse upon Names. Containing Remarks on some in the Hebrew, Grecian, Roman, and British tongues; together with a Dictionary comprising more than 3,000 Names, with their derivation and meaning.'