distant States, had settled as well as to gain a knowledge of the personal appearance and habits of the heads of the early families. On returning to my own home I arranged and classified my notes, the first written basis of this book, and instituted an extensive correspondence at once, directing my attention especially to the acquisition of genealogical information of the descendants of my own ancestor direct, having no object beyond an attempt to make out a tabular pedigree, to be framed and kept in my house. Failing to trace by correspondence several branches broken from the parent stock, I found it necessary to advertise freely in the newspapers in several States, hoping thereby to find the "lost Joseph." In answer to these published inquiries I received many communications from persons bearing our surname, whose families I could not then connect with my own. Letters of this class continued to accumulate as I extended the circle of my investigations, and I was soon aware that our clan had become so numerous that my original plan would be impracticable; hence, knowing by this time that there were in the United States several branches bearing our surname, that were descended from as many distinct ancestors, I abandoned my first plan and adopted one of a broader scope, namely, that of compiling a genealogy of all the American families, the orthography of whose names seemed to point to a common derivation. Having fully matured my new plan, I multiplied my queries by correspondence, circulars, and advertisements in historical magazines and newspapers. My mind was now fully enlisted in the work of research, and I decided to "leave no stone unturned" under which there was the least hope of finding a link of our family chain that would add to the interest of my proposed "book of chronicles."

Some families had early removed to the far west, others to Vermont and Massachusetts, and a few to the eastern section of Maine. More than seventy years had elapsed since any communication had passed between the New England and western families, and their address, in consequence of change of names in new States, and removals, had been lost, and a long time passed before any information concerning our western friends could be obtained. At length, however, my advertisement reached them, and with the most inexpressible gladness they reported themselves. I shall always remember with emotions of pleasure the satisfaction I experienced when I read the first letter from a representative of the family in Ohio, whither they had emigrated in the year 1800. I made haste to acquaint my aged grandfather with the fact that several of his own cousins, with whom he spent many pleasant days in his childhood, were still living, and that they remembered him well. On hearing the intelligence the dear old man was overcome with emotion and wept for joy. The communications that followed were filled with touching reminiscences of the days when the several families were living neighbors in New England.

During the years I was collecting the records of my own family connection, great confusion was occasioned in consequence of the local mingling of the families that were offshoots of different original stocks. Many descendants of my ancestor had moved to the eastern part of Maine, and were soon living alongside of families named Ridley, who had come from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, a few years previously; and having assumed that all were originally from one ancestry, the Ridlon family soon changed their name to Ridley; this mutation of the surname, supplemented by the frequent correspondence of ages and Christian names between members of the two families, made it very difficult to properly classify their records. The same embarrassment attended my researches in the western and southern States. Many of my advertisements were copied from western to southern newspapers, and I soon found myself in

possession of numerous pedigrees from a prolific family in Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia, of whom I previously had no knowledge; these used the same surname as many of my own kindred, but were evidently descended from another stock. These southern families were wealthy, highly respectable, and well allied by marriage with many of the most eminent families in the southern States; they were deeply interested in my undertaking, and were as anxious to have their genealogy incorporated into my book as I was to publish my own; hence, to give general satisfaction, I again enlarged my plan, and encompassed within the circle of my inquiries the history and genealogy of every family in America known by our surname, not only in the United States, but in all the British North American Provinces.

Thus my undertaking assumed broader proportions from time to time, as I prosecuted my work of gathering records from the several American branches of the connection, until I had canvassed the ground quite thoroughly. In comparing my records in order to arrange them for composition, I was not willing to put the work to press without making a reasonable effort to learn how these numerous families, descended from ancestors widely removed from each other in their settlements in America, were related to each other in the old country; to learn, if possible, whether or not they all sprung from one common stock, and where their progenitors lived. But the work appeared of too great a magnitude, and as turned my mental vision toward foreign lands, with an intense desire to trace the family line across the seas, insurmountable obstacles seemed to arise before me; but while contemplating the subject there was another favorable turn by the wheel of fortune, a book fell into my hands, in which I found the name and address of one of the family in England. I immediately forwarded a letter to that gentleman, which resulted in the establishment of a correspondence with several representative heads of families in England and Scotland, which has been uninterruptedly continued ever since, hardly a week having passed for eight years, in which letters were not crossing the ocean, to and from this country.

As data of a very interesting character reached me from Great Britain, I continued to amplify my plans and extend the limits of my search. My interest grew with every new accession to my historical materials. I saw that my work, if published as it then was, must present a fragmentary and disconnected appearance; there would be confusion, uncertainty, and dissatisfaction in the mind of every reader of such a book; and after much consideration and weighing of the probabilities of success, I set my mind toward the consummation of a work so great, that, had I known its magnitude at the time, it would never have been undertaken by one of so limited means as I have been confined to during all the years of my investigation. But there was no limit to the range of my examination commenced at that time, short of a history of the family reaching back to the earliest ancestor of whom any account could be found, and covering the centuries during a period of a thousand years. I also enlarged the character of my inquiries, seeking to procure not only genealogical but biographical materials for my work. My correspondence had made me aware that the family, from its earliest history, had been ornamented by many distinguished men; that representatives of the old sept had filled important civil and military stations, and hence it was desirable to preserve in a family memorial a comprehensive account of their lives and services.

Anticipating discouragement from those who could not quite appreciate my ambition and family pride, and wishing to evade the taunts and appellations that are usually pronounced upon an enthusiastic antiquary, I kept my new

project to myself for a considerable time; but so many calls were made by members of our family in America, for the results of my original venture, that a confession of my latest plans was my only apology for what seemed to others an unnecessary delay on my part. "At my first answer no man stood with me." To my relatives and acquaintances my undertaking was "a castle in the air," my "head was turned," and my "whole time was being wasted." To a less determined mind the work would have seemed too much for one to accomplish, but being confident from my previous success that I should not fail, I asked my friends and correspondents to have patience, and, life being spared, I would produce what had been promised. But, as I had anticipated, many were unwilling to be identified with what appeared to be a "wild goose chase," and at my solicitations for aid would ask, "What will all your labor amount to?" "What will your book be good for if completed?" "How many years will it take to finish the work?" etc., etc. Having become better acquainted with the value of such a book than I was when my relatives "made light of it" and manifested so much indifference and stupidity, I shall now set forth some of the valuable qualities found in a book of this class.

To me the fact that no attempt had ever been made to preserve in permanent form our family history, seemed a sufficient inducement to justify me in making very reasonable effort to procure the materials necessary for such a book as would be of interest to the rising generation. Like all historians, I soon learned that traditionary information, when transmitted by aged people from generation to generation, becomes exaggerated and modified, and that if those who may bear our family name in years to come would possess anything like a correct knowledge of their progenitors, it must be handed down to them by some accurate and enduring medium. The advanced state of civilization seems to demand that every one, as he goes forth to mingle with his fellow-men and assume the responsibilities of his generation, shall become possessed of a fund of information sufficient to qualify him to converse intelligently and instructively with those into whose society he must be constantly thrown; he should be acquainted with the constitution and history of his country, and the principles of government. If, then, the history of the origin, growth, and prosperity of nations be considered a subject worthy of study, why should it be thought unimportant to know something of the inner circle, of the parts and constituent elements that compose the nations and governments of the world? Certainly it is a worthy motive to wish to know the history of those family predecessors in whose veins flowed the same blood that now animates our own frames; those ancestors who have cut away the forests to hew out homes for themselves and their children; the fathers and mothers to whom we are indebted for the names we bear. But, strange as it may appear, there are hundreds of New England families that have no traditionary knowledge of their ancestors; they do not know whether they were derived from the Celts or Scandinavians; they cannot tell the names of their grandparents. There is no excuse for such ignorance and stupidity, nor is it to be commended as having any claims to respect. Such a state of indifference respecting family history may have been "winked at" in colonial times, when the advantages of education were so meagre that few learned to write, but it is now unnecessary and inexcusable.

A well-arranged book of this class has value from several considerations, among them the following which must commend themselves to all intelligent readers: First, from the interest we are supposed to possess in the names we bear. Whose interest is not involved in the family name by which they are identified? If

a member of the family whose name we bear is honored, our own respect is gratified, and we instinctively feel our family pride rising within us; and, on the other hand, when one of our kindred becomes the subject of disgrace, we afterwards feel chagrined, and acknowledge our relationship with embarrassing feelings. That sentiment of pride in a family name by which a dístinguished and worthy ancestry was known, is both natural and commendable, and should be cherished as sacred. In a good family history the virtues of our ancestors and kinspeople are recorded, and in reading of these we are inspired to noble ambition in the emulation of their examples, and in trying to perpetuate in our families the characteristics for which our fathers were deservedly esteemed while living, and lamented when gone; indeed, all thoughtful persons feel inseparably identified with those who bear their names, and have an honest desire to preserve the prestige of those families as a patrimony for the rising generation.

Such a history has value, secondly, because of the respect we have for our departed friends. Universal custom has caused all respectable families to feel it a moral obligation to erect some monument to mark the places where their dead are buried; it is a filial and sacred duty to thus preserve the names of our parents, to record their ages and the times in which they lived, in such enduring form. Such monuments have a beneficial influence on the living, and are protected by the most stringent laws; but a comprehensive family history is a monument more enduring than the sculptured marble, which is worn away by the "tooth of time"; a monument of little cost, upon which may be inscribed the names, ages, marriages, and deaths of our entire family connection. Another valuable feature of such a work is the collection of portraits embraced within its pages, and handed down to gratify the desire of the rising generation to mark the resemblance between the several branches of our tribe. In consequence of removals from State to State, local monuments erected by loving hands, are often far away from the friends who would gladly visit them to read again the epitaphs recorded there; but a family memorial in book form may be carried with us and kept always ready for reference; this may be entailed in our families from generation to generation, until so long as there remains one to bear our name they may possess an authentic and chronological history, from the most remote period to the present time.

A book of this character has value, thirdly, because it serves as a medium to satisfy the natural desire to be remembered when our work of life is finished. Few persons whose lives have been useful in this world are willing to be forgotten; and yet those in the more humble and obscure walks of life must resign themselves to the probability that in a few years at most, unless their names are recorded on the page of history, they will be lost to memory. There exists in every heart a fond desire to be remembered by kindred and friends, and when separated from them for a short time there is great pleasure experienced in hearing from them by letters, and in knowing

"They look for us their homes to share,

And joyful greetings "wait us there."

A good family memorial has value, fourthly, from its relation to local and general history, for which it preserves many valuable data of a character that would otherwise be irrecoverably lost. A work of this class contains descriptions of the lands and homes where our forefathers once lived, and toiled, and died; extracts of wills, deeds, inventories, and journals are here preserved, thus handing forward to other generations a knowledge of original owners of lands, the

comparative value of real estate from time to time since the settlement of our country, the means used to procure a subsistence, the growth of the popular institutions, and the advance of civilization. Such a history enables us to know of the difficulties encountered and the struggles passed through by the pioneers in securing permanent settlements and titles to their lands, since made productive, beautiful, and valuable by their persevering toils, and thus fostering a love for the unimpaired preservation and possession of the homesteads of our departed sires, as a patrimony worthy of our attachment and respect.

In recording the history and genealogy of our own immediate families, we necessarily incorporate into the fabric, in marriage records, names from other families, thus conserving the links belonging to other numerous genealogical chains, which would have been lost in the visionary traditions of fleeting generations; by such means we form a repository to be consulted by antiquaries and historians who may follow us. We also preserve the original spelling of names of places and individuals, giving their derivation and marking the mutations that have occurred from generation to generation. Fac-similes of autographs engraved for such a book show the comparative improvement in chirography; dates of removals indicate the westward movement of the tide of civilization; biographical notices illustrate the advancement in science and art, improvement in business facilities and educational advantages; and the whole work embodies almost every element of history from a very remote date to the present, — valuable for preservation and interesting to the general reader.

Having given my reasons for undertaking the compilation of this work, the circumstances that served to enlarge its scope, and explained its value, I shall now comprehensively describe some of the means employed for gaining information and collecting the data now embodied in it; but in doing this, for want of space, I must pass unmentioned hundreds of measures, - legitimate enough, but original with me, - resorted to by me during my investigations.

To many of my correspondents it will be unnecessary to say that I have been a very inquisitive man, indeed every successful antiquary must possess this faculty of asking questions, which is acquired by great application and experience in historical research. One must not only be able to ask for what he wants in a concise way, but he must present his interrogations in a form that causes the one questioned to feel under an obligation to respond. To awaken an interest in my undertaking with those who were at first indifferent, and to stimulate them to action in the premises, has demanded tact and ingenuity, and there are many so obstinate, and some so extremely discreet, that all the skill of correspondence has failed to draw them out. Experience soon taught me that I must not ask too much in my first communication; a long list of questions, involving genealogical data relating to several generations, seemed too much to be undertaken, and the letter would be put aside; then the success of the effort to procure the records would depend upon the way in which the second letter of request was composed. In my initiatory inquiry I would usually state, truthfully, of course, - that I had in my possession an account of some branches of this family, and that I could not properly arrange the records for composition without a statement respecting other families; then I would ask for the names of grandparents, parents, uncles, or as the case might be. Supposing this was all I wanted, my requests were, in most instances, granted. To save expense, believing that every family ought to help bear the burden of my undertaking, I did not enclose return postage in my first communication; but, if I did not receive an immediate reply, I reminded the person previously addressed, of my wishes, enclosing a stamp, which almost