Concerning Genealogies / Being Suggestions of Value for All Interested in Family History
Date: 2017-03-29T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Genealogy

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Title: Concerning Genealogies

Author: Frank Allaben

Release date: March 29, 2017 [eBook #54459]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONCERNING GENEALOGIES ***

CONCERNING GENEALOGIES

CONCERNING
GENEALOGIES

BEING SUGGESTIONS OF VALUE FOR ALL
INTERESTED IN FAMILY HISTORY

BY

FRANK ALLABEN

Director of the Genealogical and Biographical Department
of The Grafton Press; Compiler of the Biographical
Volumes of The Memorial History of New York
and of Leslie's History of Greater New York

THE GRAFTON PRESS

70 FIFTH AVENUE   NEW YORK

Copyright 1904 by
The Grafton Press

PREFACE

This little book puts the pleasure of tracing one's ancestry within reach of those who have had no previous practice. It covers every phase of the subject—the sources of information, the methods of research, the compiling, the printing, and the publishing of a genealogy.

Strong emphasis is laid upon the importance of employing the historical method, without which no genealogical work can become authoritative. If we may judge from most of the family histories in print, a vigorous protest against pernicious methods should be lodged with professional genealogists as well as with amateurs.

Special attention is also called to the radically different plans for genealogical works, one tracing the many descendants of a common ancestor, the other tracing the many ancestors of a common descendant. There is a general drift toward the latter, many having discovered the fascination of exploring their direct lines of descent who would not care to trace the collateral branches of a family "tribe." But a detailed plan of work devoted to the exhibit of the many lines of one's own ancestry is here formulated for the first time. This "Grafton Plan," as we have called it,—already carried into execution, and approved by experience,—will appeal to thousands for whom "tribal" genealogies have little interest.

Our little volume also offers something more than a mere theory of how to proceed in genealogical work. It tells of labor-saving notebooks devised for each kind of genealogy, and explains ways in which our own genealogical department is placed at the service of the reader.

Frank Allaben.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER | PAGE
I | Ancestry Hunting | 9
II | The Joys of Research | 19
III | Compiling | 29
IV | The "Clan" Genealogy | 37
V | The "Grafton" Genealogy | 46
VI | The Printing | 56
VII | Publishing | 64

CONCERNING GENEALOGIES

I ANCESTRY HUNTING

Everyone has leisure moments which are apt to hang heavy upon one's hands unless employed in some sort of recreation. One turns to golf and outdoors, another goes forth with gun or rod, a third arms himself with a camera. Many dabble a little in science. Some take to the telescope and star-gazing, while the microscope claims others, who haunt scummy ponds with jars and bottles in search of diatoms, and other denizens of a drop of stagnant water. One goes in for bugs, another for ferns or fungi. Others, of a bookish turn of mind, do their hunting in the dark corners of second-hand bookstores, hoping to stumble upon a first edition or some other treasure.

But it is doubtful if the whole range of hobbies can produce anything half so fascinating as the hunt for one's ancestry. This combines the charm and excitement of every other pastime. What sportsman ever bagged such royal game as a line of his own forebears? What triumph of the rod and reel ever gave the thrill of ecstasy with which we land an elusive ancestor in the genealogical net? If any proof be needed of the fascination of this pursuit, behold the thousands who are taking it up! The nooks and crannies of civilization are their hunting-grounds—any corner where man has left a documentary trace of himself. Behold them, eager enthusiasts, besieging the libraries, poring over tomes of deeds and wills and other documents in State and county archives, searching the quaint and musty volumes of town annals, thumbing dusty pages of baptismal registers, and frequenting churchyards to decipher the fast-fading names and dates on mossgrown tombstones, yellow and stained with age, or cracked and chipped by the frosts and rains of many seasons!

A tidal wave of ancestry-searching has indeed swept over the country. Genealogical and biographical societies have been organized. Periodicals have sprung up which confine themselves exclusively to this subject. Newspapers are devoting departments to it. The so-called patriotic societies and orders have become a host, with branches in nearly every State. They count their members by tens of thousands, their rolls are steadily increasing, and new societies are constantly being organized. There is scarcely an achievement in which our ancestors took part which has not been made the rallying-point of some flourishing society. All these draw life and nourishment from the mighty stream of genealogical research. We must prove that we have had ancestors, and that one or more of them had the distinction celebrated by the particular organization at whose door we knock for admission.

Librarians and the custodians of public records bear witness to this great movement. The libraries have become wonderfully popular, thronged by multitudes who have enrolled themselves in the army of amateur genealogists. So onerous has become the work of handing out historical and genealogical books that in some large libraries such works have been gathered into alcoves which are thrown open to the public, where the ancestry-hunter may help himself.

Formerly such public records as deeds and wills constituted the special preserve of the lawyer. But his monopoly is a thing of the past. The genealogist has invaded this domain and established equal rights. He still leaves to the lawyer the dry searching of titles to property, choosing for himself the pleasanter task of sifting out important data for the biography of an ancestor, or for the proofs of a line of descent.

Old church record books, with their marriage and baptismal registers, have acquired an extraordinary value. In many cases these volumes have been rescued out of dark corners and from beneath accumulations of dust and débris where they had been tossed as ecclesiastical junk. But the pastors and church secretaries who unearthed them, at the instance of inquiring genealogists, have now discovered a profitable occupation for their leisure in transcribing items for correspondents. Indeed, a number of societies are now engaged in collecting these old registers, or in making transcripts for their archives.

What is the subtle attraction which draws these multitudes—the fascination which lures so many into genealogical research? We have hinted that the pursuit of ancestry yields the exhilaration both of the chase and the stillhunt, kindling the suspense of expectation into sudden thrills of discovery, as keen as those when the wary canvas-back flies low over the blind, or a pair of antlers comes crashing through the brush.

But while genealogical research affords all the excitement of the chase, it is followed by no reproach for having taken life, but by the permanent satisfaction peculiar to the benefactor of mankind. The ancestry-hunter does not kill, but brings to life. He revives the memories of the dead, and benefits the world with an honorable contribution to the science of history. For a trophy he does not show a string of fish, nor a few birds and skins to distribute among friends, but a genuine historical work of ever-increasing value, which hands down his name to an appreciative posterity.

We have compared the peculiar delight of establishing a family link, long shrouded in mystery or attended with harassing doubts, to the angler's joy in landing a notable catch. In both cases the issue may long hang in the balance between skilful manipulation and a possible stroke of bad luck, which no skill can guard against. The fish may be reeled in or given his head without a single mistake of judgment. But who can foresee the sharp rock, the hidden snag, which cuts or entangles the line? And so, too, is skill most richly rewarded in searching for ancestors; but what can it avail against the positive wiping out of indispensable records?

We recall one of these genealogical tragedies, which cast its shadow over a remarkable record of successes in tracing a number of interesting lines for a gentleman who could start us off with no more than the names and birth-places of his parents. Two lines remained which pointed back by strong evidence to European connections of the titled class. All that was needed in one case was a clue to show to which of several branches of the family in Great Britain, the first American ancestor belonged. But to this day that clue has eluded every attempt to pick it up by research here or abroad.

Cases which are parallel up to this point are not uncommon. But the tragedy has yet to be told. At the colonial homestead of this ancestor we learned that his personal papers had, indeed, been preserved from generation to generation. Their last owner, a maiden lady, had carefully kept them in an old trunk, which was itself an ancient heirloom. But she had never taken the pains to examine their contents, and only a short time before our investigation brought us upon the scene, these hoary documents, after surviving the vicissitudes of seven generations, had been destroyed in a fire which reduced the old house to ashes!

Who can express the sorrow of it? No finder of Captain Kidd's buried treasure could gloat over Spanish doubloons and glittering gems with half the delight with which we would have contemplated those ancient parchments. How fondly our fingers would have turned the precious pages and smoothed the creases of those yellow papers! But now no hand may touch them, no antiquarian's eye explore nor pen exploit their contents to the world! If our friend had only sought his forebears earlier, and launched us sooner upon the voyage of discovery!

The other line, it is true, had no disappointments for us. It even yielded the discovery and possession of an original parchment pedigree, signed by an official herald of arms, which the ancestor had brought over with him, exhibiting his descent from the many Sir Williams and Sir Johns of an ancient Lincolnshire family extending back nearly to the Conqueror. It also enabled us to confirm the connection through official sources in England, and to prove that the emigrant was the son and heir in the line of primogeniture. For these kind favors, we trust that we were truly thankful. But they could scarcely comfort us for the lost papers which might have carried back another line in the same distinguished fashion.

Thus, genealogy has its griefs as well as its joys—some disappointments among many triumphs. But so it is with life and with everything worth while. Who would care to measure skill with a gamefish if the creature had no chance? Or who would glory in the death of a bull-moose that a look could bowl over? In genealogical research it is the part played by skill and by the unknown quantities which gives to it all the fascination, with none of the risks and evils, of a great game of skill and chance.

Another pleasure is the sensation of original discovery. Would you experience the feelings of a Columbus? Then set forth to explore the unsailed seas and hidden continents of your own or some other person's ancestry! If your own happens to be virgin territory you are one of fortune's favorites, with the ripest joys of life just before you. Nor is it any question of great achievements or high social position enjoyed by the ancestor. The truth is that all ancestors are remarkable persons. In the first place they are our ancestors, and in the second place it is a noteworthy fact, as mysterious as delightful, that every homely feature about them wears a wondrous glamour and dignity. Their homesteads, their property, their church affiliations, their signatures, any little act of barter or sale,—all these items create an absorbing interest as they stand recorded in old archives.

We remember, as if it were yesterday, the peculiar charm of the simplest details in clearing up our family history. The most that parents, aunts and great-uncles could give was a vague tradition of a certain great-great-grandfather, a captain in the Revolution whose chief distinction seemed to have been his success in getting captured by the British and having his silver knee buckles stolen by a Tory. Of course he subsequently escaped, met that Tory, knocked him down, and recaptured the silver buckles.

Turning to the records we were able to identify this energetic patriot without trouble, although in the process he dwindled from a "captain" to a "sergeant," and even held the latter title on a rather uncertain tenure, having been once "reduced." Indeed, his military record ends (shall we confess it?) with the rather compromising word, "deserted." But what of that? This flesh-and-blood progenitor is much more to our liking than any starched and laced dignitary of the imagination. And while history saith not concerning the knee buckles, that he was ready with his fists seems altogether probable in the light of his subsequent career. His title of "captain" was acquired at sea. He commanded a craft in the waters of Long Island, where he met an untimely death—through "foul play," says that old gossip Tradition, whose tongue we dare not trust. Features of mystery still remain, and if we knew all, it is possible that we could lay claim to a picturesque pirate—a most desirable addition to any family line, and especially so if he escaped hanging.

Much as we delighted in this liberty-loving individual, the reader will understand that we thought well to look backward for a more sober character to maintain the family dignity. We found several who filled the rôle of quiet respectability to perfection, and thus reached the emigrant-founder of the line, a gentleman who drew our special affections by the extreme littleness of his greatness and the romantic character of his surroundings. He was of French Huguenot descent, a weaver by trade, and possessed of a "frame for a dwelling house ... twenty foot in length and sixteen foot in bredth," and other realty in the shape of an acre of woodland and an acre of upland "lying in a place called Hog-Neck," bounded by "a cove west" and "ye Goose Creek north." What distinctions! Not every one can boast such a progenitor, a wielder of loom and shuttle on the lordly promontory of Hog-Neck, where the gentle waters of Goose Creek flow into the sea, near the ancient town of Southold.

We could not doubt that such a character had other claims to distinction; and sure enough, the achievement of having loitered in this world for ninety-six and one-half years is carved upon his tombstone in the old cemetery where he rests beside a third wife, who herself attained to ninety-two summers! Peace be to their ashes! We can almost see this famous ancestor, the patriarch of the village, toiling down its long street under the weight of the honor of his many years, responding to the greetings of man, woman and child with a cheery nod and a pleasant French accent. We would not have one single feature changed in order to place him upon a higher pedestal.

His father and grandfather, as we learn from old documents, were elders and leaders in one of the French churches established in England by the Huguenots in the sixteenth century. But the dignity of these men, banished from their native soil by the atrocities of St. Bartholomew's day, can not outshine the quiet glory of the aged weaver of Hog-Neck and Goose Creek, nor even put to shame the restless career of their later descendant of the Revolutionary epoch. In fact, throughout the entire ancestral line we found every progenitor perfect in his place and after his kind. And so has it ever been with the genealogist, and so will it be to the end of time.

We may add that genealogical work is literary work—a fact which adds immensely to its fascination. The genealogist tastes all the delights of authorship, added to those of research and discovery; and it is the purpose of this little volume to bring these pleasures within the reach of all. For is there a reader of books who would not take delight in making one, if he thought himself competent and the labor not too great?

II THE JOYS OF RESEARCH

It will not require much space to indicate the main sources of information in genealogical research. Having decided to trace back our own lines, we naturally turn first to the living members of our family. If we have parents living and accessible,—grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-aunts, cousins, or others who are likely to know more about the family than we do,—let us consult them, personally if we may, by letter if we must. We expect to learn most from the older members of the family, provided that their faculties are unimpaired. Certainly we should make no delay in applying to the aged, before the opportunity passes away forever.

But when we have gathered all the facts and traditions which these sources can contribute, the main work of research begins. Our advice at this point can be given here only in a general way. "The next thing to do" depends upon the peculiar circumstances of each case—upon the known facts, the localities to-which they point, and the character of the resources in each locality. We have devised a plan of rendering assistance in such cases to those who need it which will be explained at the end of this chapter.

In a general way we here refer to the wills, deeds, intestate records, tax and court records on file at the county seats, and to the miscellaneous records, often of great value for genealogical purposes, on file at the State Capitals. The value of church registers has been mentioned. They contain membership rolls, and records of marriages, baptisms and deaths. In many cases the date of birth is given with that of baptism. In New England and many other places, the old town records are exceedingly valuable sources, the births of children being frequently recorded, besides early property transactions, contracts, and much else showing the status of the early settlers in the community.

The records in old family Bibles are often "shortcuts," while other family papers, if old, frequently have a special value. The records on tombstones are a resource apparent to all. The Pension Bureau at Washington has records of the soldiers of the Revolutionary and later wars who drew pensions. Early warrants for the survey of lands are recorded at many State Capitals. A large miscellaneous collection of historical manuscripts, many of them containing genealogical information, will be found in the custody of historical and genealogical societies.

The resources in libraries are almost endless. The genealogical works already published are a host in themselves, to which we must add the genealogies given completely, or in part, in periodicals. The line we are interested in may have appeared in one of them, or may be referred to in their pages. Certain indexes in book form help us to find them, and should be consulted at the outset.

Many States have published their archives, and of town and county histories there are not a few. A number of important church registers can be consulted in print, and even the tombstone inscriptions have, in some cases, been published. The Revolutionary records of most of the States are now accessible in printed form, as are many of the valuable papers held by historical and genealogical societies. In certain libraries can be found a large collection of exceedingly valuable genealogical and heraldic works covering the countries which contributed the bulk of early emigration to the American colonies and States—Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, and Germany. The publishers of this book have arranged a means for placing these and other library sources at the service of those who do not have access to them, or who have not the time or disposition to consult such authorities for themselves. This plan is described at the end of the chapter.

Having learned all that relatives can tell us about our family, we are ready to turn to these other sources. All systems of gathering information are systems of taking notes. Thus the question of proper notebooks presents itself. This matter, however, we relegate to other chapters, in connection with the two plans for genealogical works, for each plan has its suitable notebook. But here we simply remark that the question is all-important. Upon its solution depends our escape from the old task-master, Drudgery, who stands ready to burden the pleasure of our pursuit with pains and toil if we do not circumvent him.

Use plenty of paper, writing on one side only, in a plain hand. Write with pen and ink where possible. A good fountain pen is a handy friend, though some libraries do not permit its use when consulting books. In such cases a lead pencil must be employed. We prefer a moderately soft one, which makes a heavy black mark without tiring the hand by requiring much pressure, and we carry several, well sharpened, with a knife to keep them so.

There is only one right way of making notes, and that is to give the full authority for our facts when we note the facts themselves. This applies to personal information, as well as to that obtained from books and documents. Take the case of the information obtained from our relatives. Was some of it secured by correspondence? If so, the letter itself gives the name and address of the informant, together with the date. This is as it should be. But if it is not certain whether some part of the contents is based upon the personal knowledge of the writer, the statements of another, hearsay, or general tradition, it is well to write again and have the source of the information clearly established. Only so can we rightly judge of its value. If our information was obtained in a conversation, the name and address of the informant should be noted, with the date of the interview. The foundation of his information should also be learned and recorded.

The moment of first hearing the facts, when the joy of discovery and the satisfaction of making progress are upon us, is the psychological moment for making our notes. It is a positive delight while the fever of enthusiasm is high. As our informant begins his story, let us interrupt with the cry of the enthusiast, "I must jot that down!" Out comes our notebook, conveying to our friend a very distinct impression of the importance of being accurate. He collects himself, and proceeds to give his facts and traditions with the greatest care. As we stop him with questions, or take time to write the facts, his memory is stimulated. With skillful questions the genealogical worker can draw out all the information, taking care to cover every point which may come up later.

In consulting books and documents we generally wish to copy in full all important references, and we will initiate the reader into a cunning stratagem of the old campaigner. We often run across a paper or paragraph which we can see at a glance is a "find." We do not read it through, but simply skim over it to make sure of the portion which we desire, and then begin the work—nay, the delightful pastime—of copying it. What a pleasure it is, absorbing the contents, line by line, as we transfer it to our archives! And there is a bit of solid wisdom in this method, for the chance of errors in copying is less when the interest is at fever heat than when the work is done in a mechanical way.

Mistakes in copying are further diminished by placing a card or sheet of paper above the line which we are transcribing,—a device which saves the eyes the strain of finding the place on the page every time we look up from the notebook. Never fail to accompany each extract copied into the notebook with the authority from which it is taken. If from a book, give author, title, date of publication, volume and page. If from a public record or document, give volume and page, with the office or society, the town or city where the original is deposited. Along with extracts from books, it is well to note the library where they were consulted. We may wish to refer to the books again, and are likely to forget in which of the libraries we found them. After making an extract, compare it with the original, to guard against errors in copying.

The true method of genealogical investigation is to follow as far as possible the methods of the lawyer. Not, indeed, that genealogical research has anything to do with the learned quibbles of a legal dry-bones! Far from it. But the genealogist may well proceed as would a lawyer whose case could only be won for his client by demonstrating a line of descent. The value of the legal method lies in the fact that it proceeds, step by step, toward the accumulation of positive proofs. If the demonstration of an ancestral link depends upon recorded wills, the lawyer will obtain certified copies of such wills, to be presented in court as evidence. If the proof lies in a deed, which perhaps demonstrates the relationship of husband and wife, or father and son, a certified copy of the deed is secured. If the family record be found in a Bible, and the book itself cannot be obtained for presentation in court, the record is copied and certified, and the history of the ownership of the book established by personal testimony or affidavits. In the same way extracts from church registers and tombstones are authenticated before a notary public or justice of the peace, and personal testimony is collected in the form of affidavits. Then, even if the originals should be destroyed, the copies are just as valuable as legal proofs.

Every link of the chain is thus established. The lawyer knows that in the attempt to break down his case no cunning in cross-examination will be spared, no expedient of rebuttal left untried. He gathers the testimony of his witnesses, and also collects evidence of the credibility of these witnesses. Judge and jury will not only hear the testimony, but will form a judgment of the reliability of those who give it.

To all who can afford the extra expense, we recommend the literal application of the legal method. To apply it to collateral lines would be difficult and expensive. But it is the true method of demonstrating our direct ancestral lines, and it is especially desirable for the line from which we have inherited our surname. Strictly legal proofs of descent, competent to establish the genealogy in any court of law and to justify its entry as "proved" upon the records in any European college of heraldry, constitute most valuable and interesting family heirlooms.

While the expense of the legal method may deter some from using it, the historical method is within the reach of all. It is the legal method minus the single feature of official certification. In other words, the genealogist's good pen does all the copying, and in lieu of official certification, he gives the place, volume and page where his evidence is to be found in its original form.

A good many people will have the time to investigate personally under either of the methods mentioned here. Many others must have the work of research done for them; and the Genealogical and Biographical Department of The Grafton Press will place the best skill and experience in genealogical work at the service of any one desiring it. Investigation will be taken up from the beginning, or at any stage, and will be carried to the first American ancestor of a line, or continued with a view to establishing the European connections. When the service of this department is desired, all facts of one's ancestry, so far back as known, should be communicated in full.

In the second place, amateurs and others are often in need of practical counsel and a reference to authorities based upon a wider knowledge and experience than they command. Many beginners, having ascertained the information which relatives can give concerning their ancestors, are at a loss as to the next step. A mere general statement of the kind of authorities usually available, such as we have given above, does not meet their need. They desire to be in communication with some one to whom they may feel that they have a right to apply, and to whom they can say, "Such and such is the case: what shall I do next? what and where are the authorities which will help me? how shall I get at them? must I go in person, or is there some other way? and what would you advise in such and such a case?" At any stage in the investigation perplexing difficulties may arise which call for expert counsel, or direction to the proper resources. We have given much thought to devising a thoroughly practical arrangement which will not be burdensome to either party and will afford full liberty of consultation throughout the progress of investigation. Let the difficulties be stated by letter. Correspondence is always preferable to personal consultation. It gives us time to make an investigation, if necessary, in the interest of the inquirer, while our reply is also in written form, which is more convenient for the worker.[1]

Our third form of practical assistance in research work is designed to make known the resources of the New York libraries to those who cannot reach them, or who have not the time to become familiar with their contents. Taking the sum of its library facilities, New York City undoubtedly offers the genealogist the best opportunity on this continent to consult American sources, and is unrivalled in the possession of works on the genealogy and heraldry of mediæval and modern Europe. We refer especially to the genealogical collections of unusual merit in the custody of the New York Public Library (Astor and Lenox Branches), Columbia University, the New York Historical Society, the New York Society Library, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the Holland Society and the Long Island Historical Society.

Our plan for placing these resources at the service of inquirers involves, in the first place, a search for all the references to a given family, the object being to cover everything recognized as bearing upon the line of descent in which the applicant is interested. References, not extracts, will be given; they will show the character of the data found and give the author, title, date, volume and page of the book containing it and the library. When these references have been sent to the applicant, he can consult the authorities for himself, or may arrange for the copying of any items desired, their translation, if they are in a foreign language, or for the making of abstracts.[2]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Any person becomes entitled to the service described above for the period of one year, during which applications for advice may be made, by remittance of a fee of $25 to The Grafton Press, Genealogical and Biographical Department, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City.

[2] A fee of $10 entitles one to the above service—that is, to a report, by the Genealogical and Biographical Department of The Grafton Press, on the references to a single family line in the New York libraries. Additional arrangements can be made for copying, etc. One fee covers the search under a single surname only.

III COMPILING

We will suppose that at last the task of investigation has come to an end. We have run our family lines back as far as our plan contemplated, or as far as we were able to do with a reasonable amount of research. Perhaps most of them go back to the original emigrants, but it may be that in a case or two we have had the good fortune to make connection with an old family stem in Europe. In any case, the work is now done. We have made our discoveries, and scored triumphs not a few. But though the excitement of the chase is over, its pleasures are by no means spent. Is there no story to tell, no tale of our difficulties and exploits? Next to the exhilaration of the hunt itself, what can compare with the mellow joy of going over it with a comrade! Least of all can the "inevitable narrative" be spared in a case of ancestry-hunting. It is the logical issue of the search, and failure to weave our facts into a readable story, after having collected them, is almost unthinkable.

Having piloted the reader safely hitherto, we must now faithfully warn against pernicious ways, even though it should involve criticism of many of the genealogical books which have appeared in print. The truth is that in the great majority of such works we look in vain for the proofs of the statements made. Authorities are not given and we do not find systematic footnotes, nor even ordinary citations of authorities in the text. We have nothing better than our own guess to enable us to decide whether the compiler is giving us the fruit of original research, an extract from another compilation, unsupported tradition, or a mere conjecture.

This is most unfortunate, for a genealogical chain is no stronger than its weakest link. Suppose that we have tested one of the statements in such a book by our own original investigations and find it to be erroneous. How can we feel sure that the next statement may not be equally unreliable? The whole book therefore becomes discredited in our eyes. With genealogists everywhere at work, the errors in such volumes are bound to be discovered, and made public.

Any degree of confidence which we can allow ourselves in such cases depends upon the reputation of the compiler. But no man is infallible, and how can we know that the author's methods were such as to reduce his errors to a minimum? It may be that our own family line has been treated in such a book, that we have personal knowledge of the compiler, and are well satisfied as to his carefulness and accuracy. But can we expect others to have this same faith? How are they to be convinced that our family history is correctly given in a book of mere assertions, backed up by no display of authority?

Can a genealogist claim to be exempt from conditions which the greatest historians impose upon themselves? Does a Gibbons, Macaulay, Guizot, Motley, Prescott or Bancroft expect to withhold the sources of his information and ask to be taken on faith? By giving the authorities for his statements, he proves instead that he has made proper researches, that his work is faithful, and that he can be trusted to draw judicious conclusions. We appreciate the great labor involved in compiling an authoritative work and understand the temptation to compile a book of mere assertions. But we see no honest escape from the obligation to give authorities, nor is escape desirable. For it is a sad fact that some, who support themselves by means of genealogical investigation, manifest no great anxiety to do honest work. They are careless in gathering their facts, and their pretence of having surveyed a field is no assurance that desirable data have not been overlooked or wilfully neglected. In compiling, they are equally slipshod. Their work is always set forth in the unauthoritative manner here condemned, and it is most desirable that others should protect themselves from the outward appearance of a like carelessness by giving their authorities.

The extra work which the giving of authorities is supposed to entail is more fanciful than real. The failure to jot down the authority with each note made in our notebook, to remind us of the actual value of each item and to direct us where to go for its context or for reinspection, is probably a much more substantial cause of extra work. And there is no difficulty in giving our authorities in the manuscript prepared for the press if this work of previous investigation has been properly done. We can appreciate the terror of the situation for one who has failed to note his authorities as he transcribed his extracts. After compiling his manuscript from his notes, must he go over the whole territory covered by his research in order to gather up the missing authorities? Unless he is of heroic mould, he will probably refuse to do so in despair!

Thus the reader can perceive the full importance of doing the work of investigation properly, as insisted upon in the preceding chapter. If he has done so, there is no difficulty in compiling an authoritative work. His note and the authority for it stand side by side, and as he uses the one he can instantly set down the other.

We have spoken of the legal method of investigation, and said that the genealogical investigator is like the lawyer who is getting his evidence together. But this having been done, there remains the preparation of the case for its presentation to the court. The work of the genealogical compiler corresponds to this. As the lawyer's brief compels the favorable decision of the judge, or as the logical presentation of the case convinces the jury, so should the argument of the compiler of family lineage convince the court of public opinion. His should be an historical document which carries its evidence upon its face. But if his method has been careless either in research or presentation, the cross-examination of historical criticism is sure to tear the case to pieces. Although a temporary decision may be given in his favor, another investigator will eventually arise and question some of his unsupported statements. The whole case will thus be appealed, and a new investigation be called for.

It is perfectly true that a strictly legal method cannot be carried out in the printed volume. Original documents can be readily presented to an ordinary judge and jury and by them be carefully inspected. But when we present our case from the printed page, the whole world is the court, our readers the jury, and the printed volume itself both witness and advocate. The original documents, though we may have them in our possession, cannot be placed in the hands of every reader of a book. Therefore in compiling for publication, the historical method takes the place of a strictly legal presentation of the case. This method, as we have already seen, simply leaves out the feature of affidavits and certified documents, and substitutes that of references to the original authorities. It is the legal method adjusted to the conditions of publication.

The reward which flows from this method is easily seen. We cannot hope that our book will be flawless. Mistakes will occur, and it may transpire that some of our witnesses were misinformed. But what of this? If we have followed the historical method, the pointing out of an error in no wise invalidates our book. One witness out of the hundreds we have called may be impeached, but this only affects the single aspect of the case which rested on the testimony of that witness. The rest of the testimony stands unimpaired.

On the other hand, the historical method involves no undue severity in the character of our book. It need not be stiff and solemn and pedantic. If we are gifted with a sprightly style, let us make the most of it. If we see a humorous side of things, let us entertain the reader with it. Even though one of our venerable forebears be the subject of the joke we need not hesitate. Could we appeal to him, undoubtedly he would smile with the rest and urge us to go ahead and make the book as bright and lively as possible.

If we have collected portraits, photographs of old homesteads, tombstones and churches where our ancestors worshipped, ancient documents and other heirlooms, these should be inserted or referred to in the proper places in the manuscript prepared for the printer. A genealogical work embellished with illustrations has its attractiveness increased many fold, and much can be accomplished in this direction without incurring a very great expense.

A truly interesting genealogical work is not a dry compilation of family statistics, but contains striking biographical pen pictures. Let these be made as complete as possible, and the story told with all the interest we can throw into it. We believe that the ideal genealogy is yet to be written, and that it will present facts with the accuracy of a Bancroft, but clothe them with the charm of an Irving. What possibilities there are, and all in connection with a work which will hand down our name, wreathed with the memories of our ancestors, in a common halo of glory!

In view of what has been said it will be suspected that we do not look with much favor upon statistical tomes, with their hieroglyphic abbreviations, disconnected phrases, and other contortions of condensation. This is certainly true. We would abolish all abbreviations in genealogical works if we could, and would have the story told in sentences framed in our mother tongue. We would have the book excellent in matter, pleasing in style and attractive to the eye.

In closing this chapter we may add that the service of the Genealogical and Biographical Department of The Grafton Press is intended to cover every phase of genealogical compilation as well as of genealogical research. The entire work will be undertaken—both the investigation of the family lines and the preparation of the manuscript for the press, or the data accumulated by others will be compiled. Manuscript which has been arranged but is not satisfactory will be rearranged and edited, or entirely rewritten, as desired.[3]

In the chapters which immediately follow, the subject of "compiling" is continued in connection with the two forms into which a genealogical work may be cast. As we shall see, these forms are fundamentally so different in plan that the reader must make his choice between them at the outset. The great point before us in the present chapter is that of compiling so as to make an authoritative work.

FOOTNOTE:

[3] Address, on this subject, The Grafton Press, Genealogical and Biographical Department, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City. Estimates will be given on data or manuscripts submitted.

IV THE "CLAN" GENEALOGY

Our chapter heading is simply a re-christening of the oldest and hitherto the favorite plan of the American genealogist. We might rather call it the American genealogy, for nearly all the genealogical works, which have seen the light, are of this kind.

The plan of most of the existing works is distinctly that of the exhibition of a genealogical tribe or clan. Its purpose is to assemble in one book all the known descendants of a certain ancestor, or only the male descendants who are bearers of the family surname. The head of the clan is generally the first American emigrant, and his family becomes "Family 1" of the book. "Family 2" will depend upon our choice of one of two modifications of the general plan.

Let us suppose that the head of the clan is John Smith, and that he had three children, Mary, John, and Philip, all of whom had families. If our purpose is to exhibit the entire clan, we will make no difference between daughters who marry and give their children the surnames of their husbands, and sons who give their children the surname of the head of the clan. In that case, the family of John Smith being Family 1, that of his oldest child, Mary, will be Family 2, while the families of John and Philip will be 3 and 4 respectively. In the third generation we will go back to Mary's oldest child, who left descendants, who will become the head of Family 5, followed by her other children, who had families, in the order of birth. The children of John will next be given in order of birth, followed by those of Philip, all who had children being treated as heads of families to which a family number is assigned.

But the work of accounting for all the descendants becomes so irksome, in the case of fertile families, which have to be carried through a number of generations, that it is the prevailing custom to shirk the responsibility of this full exhibit. Thus, only the families of sons, and son's sons, are carried down from generation to generation. The daughters, if their descendants bear other surnames, are set aside, although the blood-tie is the same. The tribe itself is not exhibited, but only that part which bears the surname of the common ancestor. This is the modification adopted by the most eminent genealogists.

All forms of the "clan" genealogy unite collateral lines of descent by the sentimental bond of a thin blood-tie, affording an excellent basis for "family reunions." But they are quite unsatisfactory as attempts to exhibit one's ancestry. If we are included in such a book, "The Smith Family," for example, we generally find but one of our many ancestral lines traced. And even if one or two of our Smith progenitors married cousins of the same name, only two or three of the Smith lines will lead down to ourselves.

Such an arrangement does not go far toward showing one's ancestry. Not a few Americans are in the tenth generation from their earliest forefathers on this side of the water. Hundreds of thousands are in the seventh, eighth or ninth generation. Let us reckon the number of our progenitors for ten generations. We had 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, 16 great-great-grandparents, 32 ancestors of the sixth generation, 64 of the seventh, 128 of the eighth, 256 of the ninth, and 512 of the tenth generation.

The number of ancestors for ten generations is thus 1,022. The different surnames represented among them may be as many as the number of ancestors of the earliest generation—i.e., 128 for eight generations, 256 for nine, and 512 for ten generations. The actual number is frequently lessened by the marriage of ancestors who bear the same surname. But the general significance of the numerical argument remains.

Are we a descendant of the first John Smith, in the tenth generation and through a single line? Then the book on "The Smith Family" will only show 18 of our 1,022 ancestors, assuming that the wife of each of our ancestral Smiths is mentioned. If the wives are omitted, only 9 ancestors will be shown. And in the latter case the book shows our link with but one family and surname out of a possible 512. Or, if the book gives the maiden names of the wives of our nine ancestral Smiths, nine other family surnames out of the 512 will receive a bare mention. But none of these lines will be traced.

The reader will now fully appreciate our reference to this kind of book as the "clan" genealogy. It shows the relationships, most of them quite distant, between the collateral branches of a single tribe; but it does not exhibit the many lines of one's ancestry. The kind of book which accomplishes the latter object will come before us in the next chapter.

Nevertheless, the "clan" genealogy has its place. The recognition of tribal relations has become popular, and family organizations, with the occasional function of a "family re-union," are rapidly increasing. Many of these organizations, embracing all the known descendants of a common ancestor, elect regular officers, and in a few cases the whole tribe has a legal status as a corporation.

The tribal genealogy is also favored by many who hope to make a profit by the sale of their book. A fair-sized tribe is considered a promising field for such an enterprise. Among several thousand clansmen a considerable number, it is assumed, will purchase a copy of a book which traces one of their ancestral lines. When the project is well managed and the book properly exploited this hope is often realized very handsomely.

The "clan" genealogy also finds a prominent place in local history. The annals of a town or neighborhood having been given, these are supplemented by monographs on the old families. Beginning with the first settler, his descendants are traced down, each family sketch becoming a "clan" genealogy on a small scale. This feature immensely increases the interest of town histories, and if the tribal genealogy needs any justification, it certainly finds it here.

Finally, there is the undoubted fact stated at the beginning of our chapter, that the "clan" genealogy has pre-empted the field. It is the work everywhere met, the book which is in every mind when a genealogy is thought of.

Special difficulties attend the compiling of this kind of work, and for the overcoming of these we have prepared a special notebook.

It should be remembered that if, instead of counting one man's ancestors, we should reckon one man's descendants, assuming an average, in each family, of three children who become parents, in nine generations some 9,841 descendants would have become parents, each with a wife or husband, making a total of 19,682 to appear in the tribal book, without counting descendants that leave no issue!

After the ninth generation the tribe grows with leaps and bounds that are truly mighty. A single additional generation, the tenth, would add a new crop of no less than 39,366 husbands and wives, making a total of 59,048 tribesmen entitled to a place in the book! And the eleventh generation—but peace! Our little work on the joys of genealogical research shall not be marred by the statistical bore who tries to scare with his wretched arithmetic!

In truth, formidable as the "clan" genealogy sometimes is, at present it seldom takes in ten generations, while our estimate of family increase is perhaps too great. And what genealogist, though he beg and implore information of the later generations, sending out hundreds of eloquent letters, is ever able to make a complete exhibit of a great tribe? Our figures should not terrify, therefore, but simply compel proper appreciation of the problem of the notebook.

How shall the data for a whole tribe be preserved until the day of compilation, and how can we keep it from becoming a jumbled miscellany that will drive us to despair?

The terror of the notebooks first dawned upon us just as we thought we had the matter well in hand. It was our first extensive investigation, and as the ancestral names increased on our research list we found that we must make a choice of methods. Should we search the authorities for one name at a time? Many advise this to avoid confusion, on the principle of choosing the lesser of two evils.

But it is a clumsy method, well nigh intolerable, which leads one to visit certain places and consult certain authorities for data on one name, and then return over pretty much the same ground for the second, the third, and all other names on a long list. We rejected the thought of such a system, determining that as each authority came into our hands we would extract whatever it contained on any of our names.

This settled, another question presented itself. Should we carry a separate notebook for every name investigated? Our list of names was so formidable that such an expedient threatened to transform the genealogist into a genealogical packhorse. Hence we preferred to carry a book or two at a time, to which we committed all our discoveries. Previous historical training had taught us to note the authority with each item, and we made rapid progress with the work. When one notebook was full, another took its place. What could be more simple and expeditious?

But the day came when we sat down to compile. Alas! our sins had found us out! A stack of notebooks lay before us, and through them all were scattered our data for each name, without system or chronological order. Oh, the despair of going through that pile of books, turning down pages and numbering items according to dates, in a desperate attempt to arrange the material for each name so as to compile the facts in a decent order!

In spite of all our care, the wretched books concealed desirable items until our manuscript had passed the proper place of insertion, sardonically calling our attention to the omissions when we were busy with another subject. How we grew to hate those notebooks, and how they tormented us with a plague of re-writing! We had a premonition that they would conceal some things to the very last; and, sure enough, having tortured us during the days of writing, humiliated us in the proof-sheets, and demanded a display of errata as the book went to press, they waited until it was nicely printed, bound and published before making their final disclosures!

To obviate all this trouble, we now have the Grafton Genealogical Notebook, American Form. As the last two words indicate, this notebook embodies the arrangement of the "clan" genealogy used by the most eminent American genealogists and adopted by such organizations as the New England Historic-Genealogical Society and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

This notebook consists of a succession of groups of pages, each group arranged with blanks to receive the data for a whole family. The facts are written in their proper spaces when first ascertained, and when the work of research is finished it will be found that the work of compilation has taken care of itself! In fact, the notebook is self-compiling. The blank spaces are arranged in the order of the statements as they are to appear on the printed page, the connecting words and proper punctuation being printed in the notebook. Having filled in all the spaces which our data requires, we simply draw a pen through the rest, and our book is practically compiled, for its own leaves may be sent to the printer as manuscript! The leaves are perforated so that they may be readily detached, and thus we are saved the labor and the possible errors of recopying.

For example, having written our introductory matter, we detach the leaves from our notebooks, group by group, beginning with the family of the common ancestor, followed by that of his oldest child, who had issue, and so on through all the families and generations in order. In this order, we consecutively number the leaves in blank spaces provided for that purpose, and if the "family" and "individual" numbers have not already been assigned, we note them in the proper spaces.

We may add that this notebook is equally well adapted for tracing all of the descendants of an ancestor, or those of the sons alone. Its use will be understood at a glance by experienced genealogists. Detailed instructions, however, with sample blanks filled out, have been prepared for those desiring them. These instructions completely initiate the amateur into the details of the best form of "clan" genealogy.[4]

FOOTNOTE:

[4] The Grafton Genealogical Notebook, American Form (copyrighted), can be had of The Grafton Press, Genealogical and Biographical Department, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City. Price, per copy, 25 cents; 12 copies for $2.50. The book is 5 1-4 inches wide by 8 1-2 long, and can be carried in the pocket. The instruction pamphlet will be sent to any address upon receipt of 25 cents. It is furnished free, when requested, to every purchaser of 12 copies of the notebook.

V THE "GRAFTON" GENEALOGY

Under this name we introduce a plan of genealogy which we believe is destined to become more popular than the clan genealogy. This is the book for all who are interested in their own ancestral lines more than in the ramifications of a thinly-connected tribe.

It is the plan which permits a full discourse of all that is nearest to the heart. Its preliminary investigations thrill one with discoveries of the deepest personal interest. Its compilation permits all the humors and liberties of literary speech. Its every page and chapter is like a visit to ancestral halls, where the genial shades of forebears seem to gather round as we gaze at their portraits, listen to the old tales, handle the heirlooms and ransack the family papers.

The general idea of this genealogy is simple. It enables one to exhibit as many of one's direct ancestral lines as can be ascertained, or a sufficient number to make an interesting volume.

Where do we begin? With ourselves, James Smith! Next we put down the name of our father, William Smith, and the maiden name of our mother, Mary Jones, and under each name collect all the biographical data possible. In the next generation there are four names. There is our paternal grandparent, William Smith, Sr., still hale and hearty, and his wife, Mary Doe, of sainted memory, whom we remember almost as well as we do the fragrant odor of her inimitable pies and cake!

Then there is our maternal grandfather, Colonel Henry Jones, a soldier and a gentleman if there ever was one, and his young wife, Mary Summers, whom we never saw because she yielded her sweet life in the throes which brought our mother into the world. Have we not often mused over that dear face, gentle and beautiful in the old daguerreotype! Many a tear have we shed over her sad story—in the sentimental days, before the callous cares of this world's business crept into our heart!

The names of all these we put down, gathering the materials for full biographies, and thus we continue with our eight great-grandparents, our sixteen great-great-grandparents, our thirty-two great-great-greats, and so on until we have unraveled the glories of the entire ten generations (if we can boast so many in America), with their 1,022 ancestors and 512 surnames.

The reader may ask, "Is this not as bad as a 'clan' genealogy? How shall we manage all these names and the reams of data?"

The fact is, however, that he who can boast himself to be in the tenth generation in even a single line is fortunate, and must have had an American ancestor contemporary with the Jamestown gentlemen or the Mayflower pilgrims. Undoubtedly many of our lines go back on this side of the Atlantic only four, five or six generations. Such cases subtract materially from our 1,022 possible ancestors and 512 surnames.

And let us suppose that when the Dutch stem of Schermerhorn and the French stem of de Lancey come into view in our family tree, we find Joneses again, and—yes, a little research proves that these Joneses also descended from the emigrant, Stephen Jones, the ancestor of our maternal grandfather, Colonel William Jones. The Jones stock is a fine brand, and three strains are none too many, but their appearance subtracts two more surnames from the theoretical number.

Furthermore, while we may be able to find our way back from generation to generation with almost ridiculous ease in some cases, such luck is usually too good to last. It is a rare vein which yields family connections at every stroke of the genealogical spade, and one such line may have to console us for a number which we mine slowly and painfully, and for some others which yield no results whatever beyond a certain point. In truth, most old American families pan out fairly well, with here and there a golden nugget of peculiar lustre, or a diamond of the first water; but we are seldom troubled by finding more of this wealth than we are able to handle.

In making the investigation, we should aim to collect data for a very full account of each ancestor, with a portrait, autograph, the history of his possessions, photograph of the homestead, his old letters, his Bible and will—in fact, any and all materials which picture clearly his character and affairs. When we have finished collecting, our accumulations are worked up into monographs on each one of the lines traced, each monograph enriched by illustrations and accompanied by an appendix in which we exhibit in full the documents and extracts constituting the proofs of the descent. We recommend that each monograph be introduced by a chart, exhibiting the pedigree from the earliest known progenitor down to the person whose ancestry is the subject of the book. This adds a valuable feature, and makes the whole line clear at a glance. After all the monographs are completed, they should be arranged together for publication in one volume.

If expense is not much of an object, it is especially interesting to prepare for one's own library one copy of the edition printed, sumptuously bound and enriched with original documents, or certified copies of them,—old prints, silhouette portraits and other illustrations gathered solely for that copy. In fact, some people may prefer to limit the edition to this one copy. These ideas may be followed in the Grafton plan of genealogy with brilliant results. A proper method of research, with the necessary means at its disposal, should result in the accumulation of an abundance of interesting illustrative matter for such a book.

The Grafton plan of work calls for a notebook in which the display of the genealogical statistics of a family takes a subordinate place. What is wanted is a notebook in which an indefinite number of pages may be devoted to the data of each ancestor, with some index system which will make all instantly accessible, and some ready means of rearranging the pages. These ends are achieved by a notebook equipped with the Grafton Chart Index, which is quite different from the notebook mentioned in the last chapter.

The Chart Index affords a diagrammatic display of one's ancestry for ten generations—spaces for writing in the names of every one of our 1,022 theoretically possible ancestors, each in his proper place. Each name is located by a Roman numeral, indicating the generation to which it belongs, and by an Arabic figure, indicating its place in that generation. With each name also appears a blank space in brackets, to receive the number of the page of the notebook where the data of that name begins. And at the top of this page in the notebook are written the generation and place numbers of the name in the diagram.

Do we wish to know where to look for the data bearing upon a certain person? We glance at his place in the chart and there find the page reference to his place in the notebook. Or, with our notebook open at a certain place, do we wish to know the ancestral connections of the individual there treated? We glance at the numerals which head his data, and thus learn his place in the chart, which displays at a glance his relations to all the lines and other individuals of our entire ancestry, so far as determined. The body of the notebook is detachable from the cover and chart-index. When its pages are full, another section may be attached, which becomes Section B of one great notebook, this process being repeated as often as desired, the one index covering the whole. If the data on John Smith begins on page 50 of the first section, the page reference in the chart will be A50, or simply 50. If it begins on the same page of the next section, the reference will be to B50, and so on.

The leaves of the notebook are perforated and easily detachable. When the work of investigation is complete, or at any time in the process, the data can be rearranged in any order desired. When the data for one complete line has been gathered, we may wish to arrange it in the order of descent and begin the delightful task of working it up for the printer while other lines are still being investigated.

The Chart Index may be obtained separately. It can be used simply as a chart, to exhibit one's entire ancestry, or may be adjusted as an index to some system of notebooks which the reader already has in hand.[5]

The notebook referred to in our last chapter may be used to advantage in conjunction with the one just described.

For example, John Smith, the first of one of our lines, may have had eight children. While the "Grafton" genealogy will dwell at length only upon that one of the children who is our ancestor,—Stephen Smith, for example,—his seven brothers and sisters will be briefly noticed, although their descendants will not be followed unless it be to call attention to distinguished relatives in some of these collateral lines. Having given the history of the first John Smith in full, we append a condensed account of all his children, other than the one who is our ancestor, after which we take up the latter, Stephen Smith, in full. The notebook devised for the "clan" genealogy will serve admirably for collecting the skeleton of facts desired for these notices of the brothers and sisters of our ancestors.

The research necessary for a "Grafton" genealogy sounds every note in the gamut of joys peculiar to ancestry-hunting, and adds a special appeal to those who wish to join one of the patriotic societies. If the line of our surname fails to yield ancestors who had the foresight to qualify us for membership in a given organization, it may be that another line will give better results. Or if our name is already on the roll, it will be pleasant to be numbered among those who have qualified through more than one ancestor. Who knows what riches lie hidden, patiently awaiting a discoverer, to reward him who systematically carries back all of his family lines?

The "Grafton" genealogy recommends itself to us, even if one of our lines has already appeared in a "clan" genealogy, and that line the one through which we inherit our surname. In Europe, where titles and property are inherited by male children, under the laws of entail and primogeniture, a legal significance attaches to the line of the surname, and to most Americans this line is of special interest. Nevertheless, it often happens that our ancestry along this line is less brilliant than along some of the other lines. In that case we will not do full justice to our surname until we reveal the glory of the sturdy stocks which our ancestors had the good sense to engraft upon our line by marriage.

Our line may appear in its due place in the great tome of the clan, but does it shine with the splendor worthy of our immediate ancestors? Is it not almost hidden from sight among so many other lines? And when we find it, is there anything more than a concise epitome of dry facts under the name of each ancestor?

No doubt the tribe-embracing plan prohibits all else, but is this all we want? Do we not desire a full history of each ancestor, with all the interesting facts, traditions and illustrations which can be brought together? Then let us set to work to gather these, and to make our own line the subject of the first monograph of a Grafton genealogy, which will show all the luxuriant branches of our particular family tree, a happy intertwining of many stocks and surnames, of which we are the final product. Those who work in the hope of realizing a profit from the sales of the printed book should consider the possibilities of the Grafton genealogy. What gives interest to a genealogy? Not the later generations, but the earlier stems and origin of the tree, ascertained through historical research. Instead of presenting one such stem and appealing to a single tribe, why not exploit all the stems of one's ancestry and appeal to as many great tribes of descendants? The prospect certainly seems as favorable for marketing a genealogy which sets forth researches on the origins of many American stems as for the other kind, which only interests descendants of a single stem. But whether the finished work embodies the "clan" or the "Grafton" plan, its sale will principally depend upon the application of proper methods in getting the book before the public. This subject will come before us a little farther on.

We add a word on our right to assume the rôle of godfather toward the plan of genealogy discussed in this chapter. We claim no patent-rights over the bare idea of a work which traces more ancestral lines than one. But where, outside of these pages, will the reader find a recognition of the possibilities of such a work? Where else will he find its plan developed and presented so that its advantages may at once be seen by the ancestry-hunter? The rights of occupation and colonization are certainly ours, although we exercise them with a royal largeness of heart! We have developed this rich territory, only to throw it open to the world. Having ourselves cultivated its fertile fields with pleasing results, and transformed a barren wilderness into a blossoming garden, we now invite our friend, the reader, to step in and take full possession!

FOOTNOTE:

[5] The chart-index and cover (copyrighted), with notebook, can be had for $1.25; 12 copies for $13. Additional sections of the notebook, 25 cents each; 12 copies for $2.50. The chart-index alone, 50 cents per copy; 12 copies for $5.50. Address, The Grafton Press, Genealogical and Biographical Department, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City.

VI THE PRINTING

Whether the offspring of our love and labor be a clan or a Grafton genealogy, we will now suppose it has attained its maturity. It will grow no more. Not alone is the research complete, but our data has been compiled into a book in manuscript form. What next?

We sincerely trust that no genealogical worker who reads these lines has any other thought than that of giving the fruit of his labors to the public. The whole genealogical world protests against any other idea. It is a patriotic duty as well as a moral obligation to put it in print. Having ourselves profited from the printed pages of many a worker, shall we refuse to repay the debt?

We hope better things of every reader of this book, and assume that all his researches are to appear in print as soon as they can be put into proper shape. It matters not whether we have much or little, one page or a thousand, enough copy for a chart, a pamphlet or a volume: it should be printed and published. If we have worked out only a single ancestral line, and have no leisure for further work, or must turn away from such labor for some time to come, let us print what we have collected.

If we commit our manuscript to type, we are quite likely to receive a rich reward. Some one sees our production, gets into communication with us,—being interested along the same lines,—and very soon we find ourselves learning things we long desired to know! Hundreds can tell of such experiences.

Do not hesitate to print because your work is fragmentary or incomplete. Sometimes one strikes a genealogical "snag," and, do what he may, is unable to proceed in the work of investigation. Under these circumstances some genealogists become discouraged, holding back their entire work for years in the hope of solving their perplexities. This is the wrong way. It is much better to print the work in its incomplete form, frankly setting forth the difficulties encountered. This has many times resulted in the solution of the problem. Some one, somewhere, may hold the key, and as soon as our printed page catches his eye he will supply the needed link.

Sometimes two genealogists, unknown to each other, are at work on intersecting lines, which cause them the greatest perplexity, while each has in his hands the precise facts which would solve the other's puzzle. In this situation they may grope on for years without making material progress. If they would only print what they have completed, each would discover the complement of his work in the other, and each could then go on with his task rejoicing.

Printing in itself is another reward. The exultant thrill of actual authorship is only felt when we see our work in black and white on the pages of the printed volume. This is the true goal of literary desire.

But this leads us to warn all that only correct and tasteful printing produces this result. Poor type, incompetent proof-reading and inferior presswork produce that which will be a perpetual eyesore and humiliation. When we have come to the point of printing, we cannot afford to practice an undue economy. It is not even "good business" to do so. People do not like to add inferior specimens of book-making to their libraries, and every publisher knows that the quality of the printing may turn the balance and make or mar the success of a book.

Peculiar difficulties attend the printing of genealogies because of their charts, names and dates. We must have exact work as well as tasteful work, and neither of these things is found everywhere, while still less frequently are they found in combination.

In the first place, we would say, put your manuscript in the hands of careful and responsible parties. It is your treasure, and you cannot afford to entrust it to those who will not provide a safe place for it, and guard and watch over it from beginning to end.

In the second place, choose a printer who is accustomed to genealogical work. This is always preferable. Only thus can we obtain the facilities and the experience our book deserves. When the manuscript is in the hands of printers untrained to the peculiar kind of work needed, one of two results generally follows. The book is inaccurate in matter and slovenly in appearance, or we may have to insist that much of the work be done over. A printer often trains himself at our expense, his bill piling up far above his estimate, while the book comes forth at last with an unmistakably amateurish touch everywhere apparent.

But it is not sufficient to choose a printer accustomed to genealogies. We know of some who have done this kind of work for many years, yet scarcely ever have done it well. Their books are many, but in wretched taste, some of the volumes being a disgrace to the book-maker's art. Genealogy is worthy of better things!

Choose a printer and publisher who has taste and enthusiasm, who is unwilling to resort to cheap material, ordinary type, and careless labor for the sake of a wider margin of profit on his contract. It is not difficult to select the right man. Examine samples of his book-work, and see if all are attractive, the lowest-priced as well as the expensive editions. If he is the right man, a touch of taste and excellence will appear in all his work.

Ascertain, if possible, the character of proof-reading you will receive. The author, of course, will read his own proofs, but even if he is an experienced writer, and has carried several books through the press, he will be saved many a mistake by good proof-reading. It is a peculiar fact that a mistake which our own eye has once passed over in the manuscript is likely to escape our notice many times. But the fresh eye of an expert proof-reader, versed in genealogical work, will detect many of these mistakes, and we will find ourselves deeply indebted to his habit of questioning doubtful points for our reconsideration.

If the reader is not himself an expert genealogist, or is printing his first work, the services of the right kind of proof-reader are still more indispensable. But, in fact, all writers are largely dependent upon the printer and proof-reader for the systematic carrying out of a correct style of punctuation, capitalization and spelling. How satisfying is the book which receives expert attention in all these details!

Finally, choose a printer and publisher who is a book-making genius. The author is dependent upon the printer for the best suggestions for style of book within the limits of cost decided upon. There are masters of the art of making books who, having learned the author's mind as to price, have an ability almost amounting to genius for suggesting the perfect thing within the limit named. They have the character of the work in mind, and they suggest an ideal combination of type, size of page, illustrations, paper, margins and style of cover. Such book-makers are readily recognized by the books they turn out. The author cannot do better than to follow their suggestions.

In a word, let your genealogy appear in the most attractive dress which you feel you can afford, and you ought to feel that you can not afford anything which is unscholarly or unsightly. Do you want a book which will give you pleasure to the end of time, or one which you cannot hand to a friend without an apology? We repeat again the maxim, that the stage of printing is no place for injudicious economy!

Have we any "practical help" to offer in this chapter? Yes, dear reader, if you desire the kind of printer's service herein described, it is offered to you by the publishers of this little book. Let the reader satisfy himself as to the quality of workmanship by examining the books which bear the stamp of The Grafton Press. If these do not tell the story, nothing can. This is the true test in every case.

We may add, however, that the Genealogical Department established in connection with The Grafton Press was organized expressly to bring together the expert co-operation necessary in order to lift every feature of genealogical work to a higher standard of excellence than now generally prevails. The supervision of this department extends to all the genealogical printing done by The Grafton Press.

In submitting manuscripts in order to obtain estimates of cost of printing, a general idea of the style expected should be given. For example, let it be known which of the following three kinds of book is desired:

First, the elaborate volume, made for those for whom the item of expense is not an important consideration. This book is sumptuous, "a thing of beauty and a joy forever." It is printed on fine hand-made paper, with a handsome morocco binding, and illustrations by the very best processes.

Second, the low-priced book, very plain and strictly businesslike. It is as useful as the first, but the cost is kept down to the minimum. Yet, although plain, it is good, and in good taste.

Third, the book which has a place between the other two. Serviceable and of moderate cost, it is made very attractive and will give solid satisfaction during the years to come. This is the book chosen in the great majority of cases.[6]

All-important are the principles laid down in this chapter. Let the reader regard his genealogical work as an offspring to whom he owes all the care of a fond parent. It is a question of proper clothes for the child.

All this having been decided on, another duty confronts the author while his work is in process of transformation from a manuscript to a book. He not only has proofs to read, but also an index to make, or to have made for him. We say nothing of an index of general subjects and places; but an index of names is indispensable in order to make the contents of a genealogical work accessible. If the work is a "clan" genealogy, two indexes are called for, one devoted to persons bearing the common surname, the other devoted to those of other surnames.

For example, in "The Smith Family" we would have one index, in which all the Smiths are arranged alphabetically according to their baptismal names. The generation to which each individual belonged should be shown by a small Arabic figure after his baptismal name. The other index includes all the other persons mentioned in the book, with an alphabetical arrangement of the different surnames. The husbands and children of Smith daughters are found in this index.

The index can be begun as soon as the page-proofs are in hand. Each name, with its page number, is generally written on a separate slip of paper, all the names under one letter being kept together. When all are written, the names under "A" can be rearranged like a card catalog, according to the alphabetical order of the second, third and fourth letters in each name, and when in proper order may be pasted upon sheets for the printer. So we continue through all the letters of the alphabet.

FOOTNOTE:

[6] Address, on all questions of printing, The Grafton Press, Genealogical and Biographical Department, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City. Estimates given on any kind of manuscript, genealogical, historical or biographical, whether for chart, pamphlet or volume. Along with estimates, specimens of type-pages, paper, binding and illustrations will be cheerfully submitted when desired.

VII PUBLISHING

The first copy of our book has come in, crisp and fresh from the binder's. What a delight, what a feast to the eye, as we turn its wholesome pages! None can imagine the joy of this hour—it must be experienced. It never fails us. True, we may be veterans, who have seen many a campaign; nevertheless, each new battle thrills us afresh. Is her fifth babe nothing to the mother, because she has had four children? Just ask her, dear reader! And so is it with the joy of hailing our latest-born, fresh from the press-room and bindery!

But already the reader begins to sigh. "Now, at last," he cries, "I have exhausted the sensations that my book can give!" Friend, speak not so hastily. Have you forgotten the great joy of publishing? the excitement of getting the book before the public? the sweetness of the hearty congratulations of friends and fellow-workers? the delight of reading the press notices and the book reviews? the pleasure of receiving your publisher's smile and handshake as he tells you how well the book is selling? the deep satisfaction of banking the goodly checks which accompany his reports of sales?

The most substantial fruits of our labor are still untasted when our book comes from the press, and in order that these may be enjoyed to the full by the reader we offer him the practical suggestions of this closing chapter. We assume that the garments of his offspring, obtained from the printer, are all that they should be. Otherwise, the pleasures of publishing can never be realized. Neither our friends, nor the reviewer, nor the great public, will enthuse over a shabby book. Why should they?

But the reader of these pages, we trust, will have had his work nicely printed. He is now ready to market his book, and he desires the advice of experience as to ways and means.

First of all, choose a publisher. Have the imprint of a firm of good standing, furnishers of excellent books to the public, upon the title-page of your volume. This will be found to be a great advantage even if the author expects to push and sell his own work.

In the second place, arrange if possible with the publisher to list and handle the book for you, through the book and library trade. Have him put it upon his catalogues, which are regularly furnished to the booksellers. No individual can well attempt to handle this end of the business himself. He does not know how to go about it, and if he did, the necessary machinery of manipulation would be too costly if set up in connection with a single book. But the publisher has this machinery already working in the interest of his other books, and he only needs to take ours on his list in order to give it the benefit of extensive publicity.

Other things being equal, choose a publisher who is located in the great book and literary centre of the country. No doubt the cost of printing and publishing is a trifle more in a large city, where rents are high, than in country or semi-country places. Nevertheless, it is worth while. The prestige which goes with the right place of publication is a satisfaction to the author and a substantial help to his book.

By all means, if possible, commit the printing and the publishing of your book to the same hands. While the book is still in process of making, the plans for bringing it before the public should be arranged. Preliminary announcements can be made, and it can be put into catalogues which it would miss if placed in the hands of a publisher only after the printing had been done. Literary notes, circulars, review slips, and all the paraphernalia of its announcement to the public can thus be prepared, and all be ready for the campaign as soon as the book comes from the press. This is a very important point.

Genealogical works should be committed to publishers who have already had experience along this special line. The sale of genealogical works depends very largely upon a special kind of circularizing which will bring them to the attention of those particularly interested—public librarians, historical and genealogical societies, and special collectors. And whether the book be a "clan" or "Grafton" genealogy, there are many who will be anxious to own it, on account of distant tribal connections, and who can be reached only by the proper methods.

A little judicious advertising may prove a paying investment. For this the author is altogether dependent upon his publisher. He who ignorantly plunges into the luxury of advertising may readily sink a large fortune, without returns, in a very short time. Or the little that he has to invest will all be thrown away. But the experienced publisher is like an old fox that has learned the ways of hounds and hunters and is not easily caught. Such a publisher knows the best mediums, where a modest notice almost always brings good returns, and one cannot do better than to reap the fruits of his experience.

If the reader desires to try his own hand in the work of publishing, we wish him well, and advise him that the only way in which he may hope to realize sales is by carrying out, as well as he can, the regular methods of the publisher.

The truth, however, is that the author cannot expect to do for himself, even in a modest way, much which the experienced publisher does for him. The avenues to the book trade, the book reviewer, and therefore to the general public, are not really open to any of us who are not publishers—as we can soon learn by making the attempt to travel, unpiloted, in these directions.

The only genealogist who may hope for any measure of financial success by his own efforts, is the author of a "clan" genealogy who has systematically gathered the names and addresses of the living representatives of the "tribe" his book exploits. These may be circularized, and appealed to on the ground of family pride and of fair play. The least they can do for a historian who has toiled for their glory is to take a copy of his book.

The plan commonly adopted is to make such works "subscription books" from the beginning. The author fixes a price for his forthcoming volume and as he sends letters for information to living representatives of the tribe, he invites a subscription to his book. But whether these subscriptions have or have not covered the cost of production by the time the book is ready for the printer, why should the author not seek to realize all the additional profits which can be secured through the regular channels, aided by a publisher?

The services of The Grafton Press can be secured as the publishers of any good genealogy, as well as in all the other capacities hitherto mentioned. Probably such a connection would approach as near to the ideal set forth in this chapter as any which it would be possible to make. Added to all the rest, it certainly would secure the hearty co-operation of an experienced firm which pushes the works of genealogists with special zeal and enthusiasm.

The publishing of a "clan" genealogy will be cheerfully assumed at any stage in the production. If desired, the "subscription" feature will be taken in hand, and that as soon as the author begins his work. Or if he has handled this feature during the progress of authorship, every effort will be made to realize the further profits from a proper introduction of the book to the public.

The service rendered may be in the capacity of publishing agents merely, or that of a kind of partnership arrangement in connection with the author's book; and the work in question may be a chart, a pamphlet, a volume, or a work of still larger proportions. The desire is to co-operate so as to give the worker all the fruits of his toil, and secure to him all the profits which the best business methods can realize.[7]

Many readers will be glad to know what the general prospect is for the sale of genealogical works. In the matter of immediate sales, such books are not unlike others: some have a good run and others sell more slowly. Nor can the author or publisher be certain in advance of the fate of a book. The favor of the public is a peculiar thing, and the quality which makes a book popular is frequently beyond the power of analysis or the ken of the prophet.

In the case of "clan" genealogies, much depends upon the size of the "tribe," its financial circumstances, degree of family pride, and proper education in a genealogical direction. The rest depends upon the author and the publisher—upon the employment of the right methods in presenting the claims of the book.

But in general, and in the long run, it is undoubtedly true that there is scarcely another kind of book which enjoys the permanent popularity and marketable character of the genealogical work. Immediately after publication, in the case of many "subscription" genealogies, or in the course of a few years, in most cases, the book is at a premium. It does not get out of date, like books on other subjects, but becomes more desirable as a historical authority and treasure as time passes. There will be a demand for it fifty, seventy-five, or a hundred years hence.

This is what experience has shown. Genealogical works compiled on the principles set forth in this little book, with a permanent historical value which can never be shaken, because they set forth the proofs of their statements, will never lose their marketable value. Property rights in such works by copyright and copyright renewals should be secured by their authors. The demand will last so long as Americans take an interest in the question of their ancestry, and the price will increase as the copies become scarce.

In conclusion we will suppose that the reader has at length tasted all the delights of research, all the excitement of the discovery of ancestors. He has experienced the pleasure of compiling a Grafton genealogy, and the joy of seeing it pass from the manuscript state into that of the printed volume. The triumphs of successful publishing, the delight of reading the reviews and the satisfaction of realizing a fair profit on the sales, have all been his. And now perhaps he sighs as he thinks that nothing remains but the reminiscence of past enjoyment.

But here we offer the reader another suggestion. Would he have all those pleasures and delights once more a reality, and not merely a memory? Then let him begin again at the beginning, and start another genealogy! And when that is finished let him start a third one! What a glorious prospect! Added to all the joy and excitement of each achievement there is also the prospect of a little stream of checks from the sales of each work—two, three, four or five streams instead of one!

FOOTNOTE:

[7] Correspondence is invited with all who have a genealogy, small or pretentious, either in hand, in preparation, or in prospect. Address, The Grafton Press, Genealogical and Biographical Department, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONCERNING GENEALOGIES ***

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Table of Contents

- CONCERNING GENEALOGIES
- PREFACE
- CONTENTS
- I ANCESTRY HUNTING

- II THE JOYS OF RESEARCH

- FOOTNOTES:

- III COMPILING

- FOOTNOTE:

- IV THE "CLAN" GENEALOGY

- FOOTNOTE:

- V THE "GRAFTON" GENEALOGY

- FOOTNOTE:

- VI THE PRINTING

- FOOTNOTE:

- VII PUBLISHING

- FOOTNOTE:

- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE