USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Proceedings of the Worcester Society of Antiquity, 1877, Volume I-5 > Part 3
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I would have liked much to have discussed this theory at length, thus giving a juster account of it, but it is not possible to do so in the brief space allotted to this essay. Indeed, to treat of the subject worthily would require the whole of a separate paper, and therefore I will not attempt a further review of it here.
It has been my endeavor to show in these pages that the remains found in various parts of the continent attest that there once lived here a race of men far advanced in the arts of civilized life ; that that race can be traced back to a very distant epoch ; and that its origin is not to be ascribed to any of the sources which it has been the custom of most writers on this subject to point out. I am deeply sensible that these questions have been treated of very inadequately in this essay, but I trust that the lack of skill shown here will be the means of inciting other and abler investigators to research in this direction.
In closing, I desire to express my obligation to Hon. John D. Baldwin, whose work on "Ancient America " has greatly assisted in the preparation of this paper.
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At a special meeting held June 9th, 1876, the Society voted not to accept the invitation to join in the public procession at the Centennial celebration on the Fourth of July, as many of its members were already engaged for duty on that day.
At the regular meeting held Sept. 12th, 1876, the following paper on "Genealogy" was read by Ellery B. Crane:
Mr. President, and Members of The Worcester Society of Antiquity -Genealogy, the history of the descent of a person or family from an ancestor, is to me a subject of particular interest; and out of my limited study of family histories has grown a desire to know something of the records of the past concerning the different races who have inhabited the earth, and particularly that ancient and unknown people who have left behind them on this American con- tinent (as Mr. Baldwin tells us) " such lasting monuments of a cer- tain degree of civilization." The very able and interesting essay read by Mr. C. R. Johnson at our meeting held on the evening of June 6th of the present year gave us much information concerning this ancient race ; yet it left us, as no doubt it left him, thirsting after more knowledge relating to that antique people.
This same mental thirst for additional facts, either in the direc- tion of the history of races or of families, stimulated now and then by a fresh, invigorating draught of information brought. to light through the exploration of some old musty, time-worn town or church record, or it may be from the writings of some ancient English, French or Spanish traveller, or perchance it may be from a personal examination of the old ruins themselves, is perhaps one cause of the interest taken in ancient history, whether of men or nations. Yet from the remotest ages there has always existed among civilized people (and to some extent among the uncivilized) a desire to trace one's lineage and perpetuate its knowledge; it seems, therefore, a principle of our nature. One of our prominent genealogists has said that among all the motives which operate on the human mind few exert more influence than those drawn from history. If the intellectual, social and moral condition of nations
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rich in historical recollections be compared with that of a people chiefly or wholly destitute of them, the difference will be found to be vast aund striking. The strength of England and the United States is fed continually by memories of Cressy and Agincourt, of Bunker Hill and Saratoga, while long centuries of darkness and bondage have enfeebled the Chinese and the Irish. What is true of nations is also true of families. There is scarcely to be found an intelligent, public-spirited, virtuous man who can safely deny that his motives to virtue and patriotism are not strongly rein- forced by the consideration (if such were the fact) that his ances- tors were brave and upright men. With Webster, let us believe that there is a moral and philosophical respect for one's ancestors which elevates the character and improves the heart. Burke truly said, "Those only deserve to be remembered by posterity who treasure up the history of their ancestors."
Our American ancestry is certainly rich in moral strength. What we are to-day depends, to a very great extent, upon what our ancestors were before us. We are moulded largely after them. Let no man place dishonor on his ancestry, but rather let it be his solemn duty to erer hold it in high regard. How grand the accom- plishment for a person to be able to consider what his forefathers were; what they did one, two or three hundred years ago ; what part they took in matters of Church or State-for there is no family without its ideal man. The history of a nation is largely made up of incidents of heroism or patriotism performed by its people, and really it is no more nor less than a collective history of the families composing that nation. Thus we see that by the writing of family memorials we are able to perpetuate the nation's history, and at the same time connect those families with the great transactions of the past, enabling posterity to detect what their ancestors had to do with the successive portions of the nation's life.
The publication of these pedigrees, and the holding of family meetings, or reunions as they are sometimes called, has a salutary effect ; it tends to bring members of the family together and to bind them more closely in bonds of fraternal love and esteem. I have been a witness to good results from these family gatherings, and have taken great pleasure in bringing face to face relatives
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who might never have seen each other had it not been for the family reunion, and doubtless would never have known of each other if the family history had not been written. I have met per- sons who came hundreds of miles to attend a meeting of this kind, hoping that there perhaps they might be able to see, or at least gain some knowledge concerning a relative whose whereabouts for years had been unknown to them, and in almost every instance success crowned their effort.
All persons that have given much attention to family histories have become deeply impressed with the varied relationships run- ning through the different families-how they are, as it were, woven together by marriage, one family with another. The effect is really peculiar. The descendants of families who were neigh- bors and intimate friends two hundred years ago find themselves to-day husband and wife. The rapidity with which they multiply seems almost incredible. In two hundred years, from one pro- genitor, the Rawson family increased to over seven thousand per- sons, including the intermarriages.
To many persons genealogy is an uninteresting subjeet, and slow to attract their attention ; but, nevertheless, it has its ardent supporters, and not a few persons are to be found laboring stu- diously within this branch of historical record. They are doing a splendid work for posterity, who, in the coming ages, will rise up and call them blessed. My little experience has proven that the middle-aged persons and those past the prime of life are the most ready to take interest and render assistance in this kind of work. The younger people have so much to turn their minds in other channels, that not until they have taken upon themselves the more serious part of life and mastered many of its weighty problems, so that they begin to realize what this life means, that we should not live for mere self-then there comes the interest to be felt in others, and genealogical subjects are more readily taken up. Educated, thoughtful, representative men are always found ready to give their attention to this theme, so far as circumstances will admit. A man must, indeed, entertain a very low estimate for ancestral worth, and show very little regard for those noble patri- archs who spent their lives in improving and perfecting the insti - tutions which are to be so much enjoyed by every successive gene-
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ration, if he is not willing, either with his time or money, to encourage the publication of family pedigrees, and the influence arising from such unwillingness cannot work for good upon the minds of his children or those that come after them.
Among the first questions that press themselves upon the mind of the genealogist for solution, these are perhaps the most promi- nent : Who were our first progenitors ? From whence did they come? When did they arrive in this country ? What was their condition in the old country ? When, where and how did they live? What were their occupations ? What their characteristics. physical, moral? What position in society did they sustain ? What (if any) were the principal incidents of their lives? These and many more must arise. But how and where can the answers be obtained? Those who have had the most experience are the best prepared to point out the way of solution. I do not claim to have had sufficient practical acquaintance with the subject to be able to dictate largely to others, but perhaps I can, in a general way, make some suggestions and give some hints that will prove of service to those of you who may enter upon this interesting yet mysterious, and sometimes almost fruitless, voyage.
The answer to the first question, Who was our first progenitor ? and perhaps to some of the others that follow, may be found in tradition. Many persons are able to tell you they are descended from Baronet or Sir Knight So-and-So, General Brown or Capt. Smith, who, years gone by, served his country with distinction and renown ; but about anything intermediate between that period and the record of their own family, they know nothing and care little. But this man, so proud of his nobility as to cherish and pass down to his children the name of their progenitor, renders valuable ser- vice in furnishing the family genealogist with the key-note to a melody which may gladden the hearts of thousands of their fellow kin. After personal inquiries among the eldest surviving members of the family, should tradition fail to furnish the coveted solution, then search for the family records, and trace them back to the fountain head. "Hotten's List of Emigrants to America" may perhaps give the name and time of arrival in this country. This book of Hotten's gives the names of a large number of persons who went from Great Britain to the American plantations from
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the year 1600 to 1700, with their ages, locations, where they for- merly lived in the mother country, and names of the ships in which they embarked, taken from manuscript records preserved in the Public Records Office, London, by John C. Hotten, and published in 1874.
It is very difficult to obtain satisfactory accounts of their con- dition in the mother country, and also where and how they lived, without visiting the old localities and examining the records that may be found there.
Histories of nearly if not all the counties in England have been published, some of them, I am told, entering largely into family pedigrees, and they are very much needed by American genealo- gists, in order that the connecting links between the old English stock and the early settlers of the New England colonies may be better adjusted and understood. At the present time very few of these county histories are to be found in the United States. But Congress has taken the matter in hand, and an order has been passed to have them purchased for our National Library, where they may be consulted. Indexes to some of these histories are to be found in some American libraries, but they are by no means common. I anticipate that the wants of many persons who are anxious to find records of their ancestry in England will be grati- fied when a complete set of English county histories shall have become the property and in the possession of a public library on this side of the water.
There are some standard books for genealogieal reference to be found at the Antiquarian Library of our city, such as the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, numbering some thirty volumes; Dr. Savage's Genealogieal Dictionary ; Henry Bond's family memorials and genealogies of the families and descendants of the early settlers of Watertown, Mass .; Genea- logieal Notes, by Goodwin ; Genealogieal Register of the First Settlers of New England, by John Farmer; Vinton Memorials, by John A. Vinton ; Littell's First Settlers of the Passaic Valley ; also a very long list of county and town histories. The public owe a debt for the use of the library of the American Antiquarian Society that they never can well repay. There are by actual count 200 county and town histories containing genealogical notices
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of the early settlers, some of them quite extended, and many, if not the greater part of them, can be found in our Antiquarian Library.
Daniel S. Durrie, Librarian of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, has published an alphabetic index to American geneal- ogies and pedigrees. You will find in this index, under the name sought for, a reference given to numerous histories and works of other kinds, where perhaps the desired information may be found. There also has been prepared a catalogue of family histories by William II. Whittemore. The first edition appeared in 1862, under the title, " Handbook of American Genealogy ;" the second in 1868, under the present title, "American Genealogist," which was again republished in 1875. From this catalogue reference can be had to all the American family genealogies that had been published up to the month of June, 1875.
In addition to the works already mentioned for reference, there are the numerous family histories, of which a large number can be examined at this Antiquarian Library. When unable to satisfy your desire from these family, town and county histories, then the original manuscript records of towns and church societies, where any member or your family has been a resident, must be carefully examined for births, deaths, marriages, etc. It is well to look over the probate records and registry of deeds to see what can be found there; also the inscriptions on head-stones in our old burial grounds. If all the records upon the ancient tomb-stones, marking the final resting places of our forefathers, could be transcribed before they are forever lost, it would save to posterity a valuable register, and the pen of the future genealogist would render homage to the transcriber. Already many of those pristine monuments that were standing over the dust of those once noble sires have become weakened by the decay of ages, and wherever the slab is found on the sacred spot the characters have become so obliterated by the collection of lichen and rust as to place them almost beyond recognition. A few records of this kind can be found in the Ilis- torical and Genealogical Register, but it is a source of mueli regret that more of them have not been preserved.
In searching records made in the early days of our colonial set- tlements, a peculiarity about the dates may be noticed. Our Puri-
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tan forefathers began their year with March for the first month, and the succeeding months were represented by successive num- bers. This was called the Old Style legal year in England, and in use previous to the year 1752.
At the present time the town and city records of births, deaths and marriages are kept with such systematic thoroughness throughout New England, and particularly in the State of Massa- chusetts, that the future collector of family pedigrees will have comparatively an easy task from the present time forward, so long as the same system of registration shall be continued.
The practice adopted by many of our colleges, of keeping a record of the lives of their sons and perpetuating the prominent points in their history, will exert a good influence over them, and, in the future, prove a very valuable reference for the family gene- alogist.
To obtain records of a more recent date, it will be necessary, so far as possible, to have the names and the post-office address of all persons bearing the same patronymic, to gain which it will be found profitable to consult all the town, city, county and State directories, reference books of the mercantile agencies, and all other books that you can find access to, out of which you would be quite sure of acquiring a good list. In the meantime circulars could be printed, with blank spaces, to send to each person on your list, that they may fill out the blanks and return them; and it is very important that these circulars be so formed that the manner of filling up the blanks will be readily understood by those to whom they are sent, and when properly filled the information will be complete and comprehensive. Caution should be given against writing obscurely, for it sometimes happens that records not clearly written in the original manuscript cause serious errors in the printed page, impairing its value and producing dissatisfac- tion in the family where the inaccuracy occurs.
A work of this kind requires much time for preparation. It never should be hurried through. Success depends on its thor- oughness and accuracy. Discouragements in various forms will present themselves, but with a firm determination to conquer any obstacle that stands in your way, success will at last be the reward for your labor.
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Genealogical subjects did not occupy the minds of the early set- tlers of our New England colonies to any great extent. They were more thoughtful for the safety and welfare of their families, the enjoyment of their religious liberty, and the success of their settlements, than the publication of independent family histories. They rather preferred making their record in one grand colonial history, where each family might be represented by their self-sac- rifice and devotion of life for liberty and true patriotism.
The earliest genealogy, in a distinct form, published in the United States is believed to be that of Mr. Sammuel Stebbins and Ilannah, his wife, from the year 1707 to the time of its publica- tion in Hartford, Ct., in 1771, containing 24 pages, and printed by Ebenezer Watson. | But one other (that of the Chauncey family, in 1787,) was published previous to 1806. From 1806 to the year 1850, 44 years, about 79 were published; within the next 10 years 63 genealogies were printed ; and in the 10 years succeeding 1870, 242 came from the printer's hands; during the five years previous to 1875 (at which time my record ceases) 135 were issued, showing that there has been steadily developed a growing interest in this kind of work; and I anticipate that the number of genealogical publications for the five years ending in 1880 will far outrank that of the same period of five years preceding it.
As to the arrangement of matter for publication, style to be adopted, etc., there are almost as many different modes as there are books, for each compiler in the past seems to have carried out a peculiar arrangement of his own, many of them being rather difficult to comprehend. But of late a certain state of perfection has been attained by some of our best compilers, and their diction has been imitated by others, always, however, subject to some slight change to meet certain requirements that the work might present. The more clear and plain the style, the more readily it will be understood and appreciated. I prefer the method of arranging each generation in regular order by itself, and one gene- ration after the other, with consecutive numbers prefixed and suf- fixed for reference, both forward and back, to the several names when they occur-as parent or child. The value of such records it is hardly possible to estimate, and the various connections and relationships that are developed by working out these family his-
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tories gives satisfaction to many a restless desire. In collecting material for the Rawson family memorial, persons were found who had lost all knowledge of some brother, uncle or cousin, who, through the working of some unforeseen change of events, had passed beyond reach of each other. In almost every instance, the persons themselves or their children were brought into communi- cation with each other again.
If your patience will allow me, I would like to cite one instance which will perhaps better illustrate my meaning of the value to be placed on such pedigrees. Some of you may recall an article that appeared in the Worcester Daily Spy, some months ago, relating to a Mr. Rawson, surgeon in the United States navy during the war of 1812. The close of that war found him in the port of Buenos Ayres, South America. IIe went into one of the interior provinces of what is now called the Argentine Republic, and set- tled in the city of Mendoza, capital of the province of Mendoza. Here he married a Spanish lady and became the father of two sons. In January, 1847, he died, after having devoted nearly thirty years of his life for the advancement of the best interests of the community where he lived and the education of his children. The eldest of them became an artist of some note in his own coun- try, and died in 1871. The other son, Dr. Guillermo Rawson, now 55 years of age, is a graduate of both the University and Medical College of Buenos Ayres ; was Minister Secretary of the Interior under General Mitre, receiving his appointment in 1862, and at present filling several posts of honor and trust, such as Senator in the Argentine Congress, Professor of Public Hygiene in the Medical Faculty of Buenos Ayres, Chairman of the Board of Consulting Physicians of the Sanitary Institute in that city, and also delegate to the International Medical Congress, which has just closed its session at Philadelphia. All the old family letters and papers belonging to the senior Dr. Rawson had been destroyed by fire before the sons were of sufficient age to remember their contents, and at their father's death all knowledge of their ancestry was lost ; so that this educated, thinking man found himself with- ont information concerning his progenitors beyond his own father, except he remembered that his father came from New England, and for the past ten or twelve years, through his own efforts as
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well as those of his friends, he had been trying to connect himself with some branch of the family here, but all to no purpose, and the matter had been dropped. But last Fall it was my privilege to find the connecting link, and I at once apprised him of the fact, at Buenos Ayres. The expression of joy and satisfaction that came in return from him in his letter to me, fully repaid me for the trouble I had taken in his behalf. This connection, doubtless, never would have been revealed had it not been for the republica- tion of the Rawson memorial. It was the direct means of bring- ing about this happy result.
This centennial year will offer a rich harvest for the genealo- gist, as well as the historian. It has already awakened fresh interest in historical matters relating to our country, and genealogy must receive its share of attention.
A committee, consisting of Ellery B. Crane, Albert A. Lovell and Franklin P. Rice, was appointed to copy the inscriptions on the tombstones in Mechanic street and other old burial grounds in and about the city. At the meeting held November 11th, 1876, the above named committee made a partial report, stating that they have copied and arranged alphabetically more than 300 inscriptions, and that they propose to add short biographical sketches in a large number of ยท cases. A final and complete report will not be made for some time to come.
At the close of 1876, we find that there is an in- creased interest being manifested on the part of our members and others in the advancement of the ob- jects of the society, giving promise of a successful work in the years before us.
With abundant hope of future successes we finish the record of the year with a good measure of pre- paration for the labors and pleasures that await us.
C
PROCEEDINGS
FOR THE YEAR 1877.
The annual meeting was held at the residence of Samuel E. Staples, No. 1 Lincoln Place, Jan. 2d, 1877.
The revised Constitution, presented at the last regular meeting in 1876, was read by the Secretary and adopted.
The President then made a few congratulatory remarks relating to the progress of the Society dur- ing the past two years, stating that he deemed it unnecessary to make any formal address, as the entire ground would be covered by the annual reports of the several officers.
The Reports of the Secretary, Treasurer and Libra- rian were read and placed on file.
SECRETARY'S REPORT.
To the Officers and Members of The Worcester Society of Anti- quity :
The Secretary, in reviewing the history and proceedings of the Society during the past two years, will not attempt any elabora- tion, but confine himself to a simple narration of facts, regretting that this duty should have fallen upon him for its performance, rather than upon another better qualified.
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