Fifty Ancestors (Classic Reprint): Who Came to New England From 1620 to 1650: Who Came to New England from 1620 to 1650 (Classic Reprint) - Tapa blanda

Excerpt from Fifty Ancestors: Who Came to New England From 1620 to 1650

The Bible with its interminable begat in the Chronicles began the practice of neglecting women's names. In pedigrees of olden times, except in royal families, women seem to have been as unim portant as women in China. The fact that they changed their names at marriage will account for a large loss of their names. Besides, women in ancient times were less obtrusive and cut a smaller figure in the world than many women of the present day.

This is a strenuous age, the age of the bared arm, the hatless head, and the penguin stride; and there is little doubt that women's names will be found on every kind of document that is to be handed down to posterity, especially in regard to property affairs, in which women are becoming adept. An item in the Post runs thus: A perusal of the tax lists is also interesting in that it gives one a good line on those whose property is in their wives' names. So wives' names, now used to ensure a balance on the credit side in case of failure in business, will be of great service to the genealogist of the future, and the missing links will not be so numerous as those recorded here. It is 110ped that these missing links may be dis covered in the future by some persistent hunter of pedigrees.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Fifty Ancestors: Who Came to New England From 1620 to 1650

Many people think a genealogist is "queer," or in a temporarily queer condition when he is ancestry hunting. One says, "Skip genealogy"; another, "Dried dates don't interest me, but I like the dates of the Phœnix dactylifera (date palm)"; another, "Better not go back too far, - you may find a persona non grata." But these little jocosities produce no permanent effect on the genealogist who is hunting like "Japhet in search of a father."

"Looking backward" a little way, say as far as the Pilgrims, is on the whole rather interesting. Along the course two hundred and seventy or eighty years in length one finds many admirable characters; he sees jthat he has considerable more to do in order to live such a life as the forefathers lived; and the view stiffens up his own standard of living. Nothing queer about that. If there is, why, let us have a little more of it.

To some it seems queer to work long and hard on a subject that is not expected to yield any returns whatever in dollars and cents; to perform a costly "labor of love" seems queer; to toil from motives of pure sentiment seems queer; to give away genealogical publications that cost a dollar or more apiece, as one gives away tracts, seems queer. "What are you doing it for?" they ask. But the explanations fail to explain it, because motives of sentiment and labors of love are not to be explained.

Again, it is interesting to find that well-known names, perhaps one's own, were recorded more than six hundred years ago: "Henry Clappe, Co. Oxford, 1273." "Alexander de Clopham, Co. Kent, 1273." "Thomas de Clopton (of Clap town), Co. Norfolk, 1358."

Or, take another familiar family name: "Bourne, Bourn, Burns, Burne, Burn, 'at the burn,' i. e. stream." "Burne, a brook; a northern pronunciation of Bourne, whence Burns, Aburne, &c." In Suffolk Probate Records, Byrne is written for Bourne. "John de la Burn, Co. Oxford, 1273."

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.