Three Original Documents allowing Joseph Seaton Aspden of Preston to be many ranks in Lancashire, including being appointed one of the Earl’s Deputy Lieutenants, Captain of the Preston Volunteers, and Major in the local Miltia. Each document is signed by Edward Smith-Stanley 13th Earl of Derby. All dated from 1805 to 1819. The three documents came from an Archive of correspondence from the family of Richard Assheton Cross 1st Viscount Cross. Joseph Seaton Aspden was a close friend and fellow lawyer in Preston with William Cross the father of Richard Assheton Cross. Royal Preston Volunteers (RPV), formed in March 1797. Among his officers were Joseph Seaton Aspden and William Cross. The three of them were lawyers and would become the owners of the first three houses built on Winckley Square. The Napoleonic Wars resulted in the raising of voluntary regiments nationwide. Each was formed locally. Members paid a subscription and bought their own equipment. Their primary goal was to defend the locality.