But it is doubtful if the whole range of hobbies can produce anything half so fascinating as the hunt for one's ancestry8. 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 ecstasy9 with which we land an elusive10 ancestor in the genealogical net? If any proof be needed of the fascination11 of this pursuit, behold12 the thousands who are taking it up! The nooks and[Pg 10] crannies of civilization are their hunting-grounds—any corner where man has left a documentary trace of himself. Behold them, eager enthusiasts13, besieging14 the libraries, poring over tomes of deeds and wills and other documents in State and county archives, searching the quaint15 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 patriotic16 societies and orders have become a host, with branches in nearly every State. They count their members by tens of thousands, their rolls are steadily18 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 nourishment19 from the mighty20 stream of genealogical research. We must prove that we have had ancestors, and that one or more of them had the distinction celebrated21 by the particular organization at whose door we knock for admission.
Librarians and the custodians22 of public records[Pg 11] bear witness to this great movement. The libraries have become wonderfully popular, thronged23 by multitudes who have enrolled24 themselves in the army of amateur genealogists. So onerous26 has become the work of handing out historical and genealogical books that in some large libraries such works have been gathered into alcoves27 which are thrown open to the public, where the ancestry-hunter may help himself.
Formerly29 such public records as deeds and wills constituted the special preserve of the lawyer. But his monopoly is a thing of the past. The genealogist25 has invaded this domain30 and established equal rights. He still leaves to the lawyer the dry searching of titles to property, choosing for himself the pleasanter task of sifting31 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 pastors32 and church secretaries who unearthed33 them, at the instance of inquiring genealogists, have now discovered a profitable occupation for their leisure in transcribing34 items for correspondents. Indeed, a number of societies are now engaged in collecting these old registers, or in making transcripts36 for their archives.
What is the subtle attraction which draws these multitudes—the fascination which lures37 so many into[Pg 12] genealogical research? We have hinted that the pursuit of ancestry yields the exhilaration both of the chase and the stillhunt, kindling38 the suspense39 of expectation into sudden thrills of discovery, as keen as those when the wary40 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 peculiar41 to the benefactor42 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 trophy43 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 appreciative44 posterity45.
We have compared the peculiar delight of establishing a family link, long shrouded46 in mystery or attended with harassing47 doubts, to the angler's joy in landing a notable catch. In both cases the issue may long hang in the balance between skilful48 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 judgment49. But who can foresee the sharp rock, the hidden snag, which cuts or entangles50 the line? And so, too, is skill most richly rewarded in searching for[Pg 13] 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 remarkable51 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 pointed52 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 eluded53 every attempt to pick it up by research here or abroad.
Cases which are parallel up to this point are not uncommon54. 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 maiden55 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 investigation57 brought us upon the scene, these hoary58 documents, after surviving the vicissitudes59 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 gems60 with half the[Pg 14] delight with which we would have contemplated61 those ancient parchments. How fondly our fingers would have turned the precious pages and smoothed the creases62 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 herald63 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 Conqueror64. It also enabled us to confirm the connection through official sources in England, and to prove that the emigrant65 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 distinguished66 fashion.
Thus, genealogy67 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[Pg 15] 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 virgin68 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 delightful69, that every homely70 feature about them wears a wondrous71 glamour72 and dignity. Their homesteads, their property, their church affiliations73, their signatures, any little act of barter74 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 buckles75 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[Pg 16] this energetic patriot17 without trouble, although in the process he dwindled76 from a "captain" to a "sergeant," and even held the latter title on a rather uncertain tenure77, having been once "reduced." Indeed, his military record ends (shall we confess it?) with the rather compromising word, "deserted78." But what of that? This flesh-and-blood progenitor79 is much more to our liking80 than any starched81 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 "foul82 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 picturesque83 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 r?le 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 weaver84 by trade, and possessed85 of a "frame[Pg 17] for a dwelling86 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 cove28 west" and "ye Goose Creek87 north." What distinctions! Not every one can boast such a progenitor, a wielder88 of loom56 and shuttle on the lordly promontory89 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 cemetery90 where he rests beside a third wife, who herself attained91 to ninety-two summers! Peace be to their ashes! We can almost see this famous ancestor, the patriarch of the village, toiling92 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, banished93 from their native soil by the atrocities94 of St. Bartholomew's day, can not outshine[Pg 18] the quiet glory of the aged35 weaver of Hog-Neck and Goose Creek, nor even put to shame the restless career of their later descendant of the Revolutionary epoch95. 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 labor96 not too great?
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1
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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dabble
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| v.涉足，浅赏 | |
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denizens
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| n.居民，住户( denizen的名词复数 ) | |
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stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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bugs
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| adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误 | |
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fungi
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| n.真菌，霉菌 | |
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second-hand
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| adj.用过的，旧的，二手的 | |
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ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
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fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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enthusiasts
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| n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 ) | |
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besieging
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的现在分词 ) | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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nourishment
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| n.食物，营养品；营养情况 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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custodians
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| n.看守人，保管人( custodian的名词复数 ) | |
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thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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enrolled
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| adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
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genealogist
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| 系谱学者 | |
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onerous
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| adj.繁重的 | |
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alcoves
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| n.凹室( alcove的名词复数 )；（花园）凉亭；僻静处；壁龛 | |
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cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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sifting
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| n.筛，过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审 | |
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pastors
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| n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 ) | |
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unearthed
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| 出土的（考古） | |
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transcribing
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| （用不同的录音手段）转录( transcribe的现在分词 )； 改编（乐曲）（以适应他种乐器或声部）； 抄写； 用音标标出（声音） | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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transcripts
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| n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本 | |
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lures
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| 吸引力，魅力（lure的复数形式） | |
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kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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benefactor
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| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
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trophy
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| n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品 | |
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appreciative
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| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
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posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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harassing
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| v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人） | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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entangles
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| v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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eluded
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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loom
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| n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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vicissitudes
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| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
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gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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creases
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的第三人称单数 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹 | |
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herald
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| vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎 | |
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conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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emigrant
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| adj.移居的，移民的；n.移居外国的人，移民 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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genealogy
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| n.家系，宗谱 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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glamour
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| n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住 | |
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affiliations
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| n.联系( affiliation的名词复数 )；附属机构；亲和性；接纳 | |
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barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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buckles
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| 搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 ) | |
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dwindled
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| v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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tenure
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| n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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progenitor
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| n.祖先，先驱 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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starched
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| adj.浆硬的，硬挺的，拘泥刻板的v.把（衣服、床单等）浆一浆( starch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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83
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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84
weaver
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| n.织布工；编织者 | |
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85
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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86
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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87
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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wielder
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| 行使者 | |
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89
promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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90
cemetery
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| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
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91
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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92
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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93
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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94
atrocities
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| n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪 | |
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95
epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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96
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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