From roots-in@bl-12.rootsweb.com Mon Dec 30 11:09:18 1996 Received: from bl-4.rootsweb.com (root@bl-4.rootsweb.com [204.212.38.29]) by bl-12.rootsweb.com (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id LAA32032; Mon, 30 Dec 1996 11:09:18 -0800 Received: from bl-12.rootsweb.com (roots-in@bl-12.rootsweb.com [204.212.38.28]) by bl-4.rootsweb.com (8.6.12/8.6.9) with ESMTP id LAA28650 for ; Mon, 30 Dec 1996 11:10:53 -0800 Received: (from roots-in@localhost) by bl-12.rootsweb.com (8.7.5/8.7.3) id LAA32024 for roots-approved@rootsweb.com; Mon, 30 Dec 1996 11:09:16 -0800 Received: from bl-12.rootsweb.com (slist@bl-12.rootsweb.com [204.212.38.28]) by bl-4.rootsweb.com (8.6.12/8.6.9) with ESMTP id KAA27718 for ; Mon, 30 Dec 1996 10:44:25 -0800 Received: (from slist@localhost) by bl-12.rootsweb.com (8.7.5/8.7.3) id KAA28175 for roots-in@rootsweb.com; Mon, 30 Dec 1996 10:42:47 -0800 X-Envelope-From: glvi@worldnet.att.net Mon Dec 30 10:42:45 1996 Received: from bl-4.rootsweb.com (root@bl-4.rootsweb.com [204.212.38.29]) by bl-12.rootsweb.com (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id KAA28166 for ; Mon, 30 Dec 1996 10:42:45 -0800 Received: from mtigwc01.worldnet.att.net (mailhost.worldnet.att.net [204.127.129.3]) by bl-4.rootsweb.com (8.6.12/8.6.9) with ESMTP id KAA27710 for ; Mon, 30 Dec 1996 10:44:21 -0800 Received: from worldnet.worldnet.att.net ([207.147.233.124]) by mtigwc01.worldnet.att.net (post.office MTA v2.0 0613 ) with SMTP id AAA12567; Mon, 30 Dec 1996 18:41:38 +0000 Message-ID: <32C80AA0.172E@worldnet.att.net> Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 10:32:00 -0800 From: Glen Vinton X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.01E (Win95; U) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com CC: glvi@worldnet.att.net Subject: Edited Copy: 1850s Genealogist Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Sender: roots-in@rootsweb.com P R E F A C E . _____ =20 "The sacred tie of FAMILY, reaching backward and forward, binds the=20 generations of men together, and draws out the plaintive music of our=20 being from the solemn alternation of cradle and grave."=97 EDWARD EVERETT. =20 "AMONG all the motives which operate on the human mind, few exert more=20 influence than those drawn from histories. If the intellectual, social=20 and moral condition of nations rich in historical recollections be=20 compared with that of a people chiefly or wholly destitute of them, the=20 difference will be found to be vast and striking. The strength of=20 England and the United States is fed continually by memories of Cressy=20 and Agincourt---of Bunker Hill and Saratoga; while long centuries of=20 darkness and of bondage have enfeebled the Chinese and the Irish. What is thus true of nations, is true also of families. There=20 is not an intelligent, public-spirited, virtuous man, anywhere to be=20 found, who can safely deny that his motives to virtue and patriotism are=20 strongly reinforced by the consideration=97if such were the fact=97that h= is=20 ancestors were brave and upright men. We believe with Webster, that=20 "there is a moral and philosophical respect for our ancestors, which=20 elevates the character, and improves the heart." Burke truly said,=20 "Those only deserve to be remembered by posterity, who treasure up the=20 history of their ancestors," A distinguished American clergyman, now=20 living, has observed, "There are riches of moral power in such an=20 ancestry as ours." The history of a nation being nothing else than the collective=20 history of the families that compose that nation, it is easy to see that=20 sufficient reasons exist why families should have their histories=20 written. They are thus connected with the great transactions of the=20 past, and posterity are enabled to discover what their ancestors had to=20 do with the successive portions of the nation=92s history=85 The result I here offer to my kindred, and to all who may feel=20 an interest in researches of this nature. I undertook this=20 investigation at first solely for my own satisfaction: to supply a=20 personal want long felt, without knowing how it could be met,--a want=20 which I now suppose to be common to men of thoughtful and inquisitive=20 minds. But finding myself successful beyond my expectation, and =20 rapidly becoming acquainted with different branches of the family=20 previously unknown; finding myself in a field of inquiry continually=20 extending, and observing also that many others were interested in the=20 same subject,--I was led to believe it my duty to proceed with the=20 investigation, to collect all the facts within my reach, and to place=20 them in the possession of such as might desire the information. The=20 reader will understand, therefore, that this volume was undertaken, and=20 has been carried forward, amidst many difficulties, to its completion,=20 under a solemn conviction of DUTY, both to the dead and to the living. =20 To the Compiler, it did not seem right that the memory of the dead=20 should perish in their graves; and that they who had done and suffered=20 so much for their posterity should be forgotten on the earth. On the=20 other hand, it did not seem right to withhold the information, obtained=20 with so much pains-taking, from their surviving descendants. The writer is aware that some persons do not highly appreciate=20 researches of this nature. This want of appreciation may arise form=20 some early prejudice. It may arise form a misconception of the whole=20 matter. It may arise form too intense a contact of the mind with the=20 PRESENT, excluding almost wholly the influence of the PAST, and even of=20 the FUTURE. It is surely no credit to any man to be reckless of that=20 Past, form whose womb the Present has sprung, and without which the=20 Present cannot be interpreted=85 Reverence for one=92s ancestors is not only a natural instinct,=20 but has ever been regarded as essential to a sound and virtuous=20 character. The ancient Romans preserved with great care the effigies of=20 their progenitors, and carried them in their funeral processions. With=20 what power does Cicero appeal to this cherished sentiment in his most=20 impassioned orations! =20 The labors of the genealogist may be slighted by men intent=20 mainly on the acquisition of wealth or the pursuit of pleasure: but if=20 George Washington, in the midst of his duties as President of the United=20 States, in 1792, found time to collect and write out the Genealogy of=20 his family: if Benjamin Franklin, when in England, undertook a journey=20 for the express purpose of ascertaining his lineage and connections: if=20 both the elder and the younger Adams thought it worth while to trace=20 back the history of their family even in the minutest particulars; --the=20 Compiler of the present volume may deem himself justified in the labor=20 he has now brought to a close. He will be obliged to individuals who will supply any additional=20 information, or correct any errors into which he has fallen. JOHN A. VINTON. SOUTH BOSTON, FEB. 5, 1858