Book Reviews

Book Reviews The Buffington Family in America. A Joint Venture for the Buffington Family. A Source Book for Further Research. Compiled by Clara Dunagan Rhame, Ruth Hollomon Palmer, Ralph Meldrim Buffington [and others]. Edited by Ralph Meldrirn Buffington. (Houston, Texas: Mary B. Webb, 1965. x, 434 p. Illustrations, portraits, facsimiles, maps, tables, index. $10.00.) This volume represents a new trend in family histories. It is specifically intended to be superseded. The descendants of the immigrant Richard Buffington, taxed in Upland (i.e., Chester County) in 1677, and thus one of the earliest English settlers in Pennsylvania, became to numerous that in 1739 when his son, the second Richard Buffington — one of several candidates of being the "firstborn" English child in Pennsylvania — held his eighty-fifth birthday party, the contemporary report says that 115 of his direct descendants were present! As this did not include the descendants of the other twelve children of the immigrant, it is easy to understand why, to date, no systematic attempt has been made to record the whole of this one-family population explosion. Individual lines have been published, some of them wildly incorrect, in histories of collateral families, but this record is the first attempt to piece together the entire picture. The editor has had the active collaboration of two family searchers, and "some 40 cousins" as well as access to much unpublished material of former family authorities. He is quite right in assuming that when the volume reaches the hands of other descendants whom he has not reached, more material will pour into his hands, and a second edition will be needed within a few years. This "planned obsolescence" should be seriously considered by those perfectionists who refuse to venture into print until every line is completely proved, and every middle name correctly spelled, resulting usually in the death of the compiler before publication, and the loss or destruction of his researches. With this in mind it is obvious that there are many gaps and errors in this compilation. Perhaps the most unfortunate lack was that, working in Texas, the compilers were unaware of the material on this family in the files of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania — notably the material in the Cope and Leach collections, though internal evidence shows that workers on some individual lines had used it. The compilers do reprint Cope's Some Annals of the Buffington Family, originally published by the Chester County Historical Society in 1902; this is a boon to those of us who have vainly monitored the booksellers' catalogues for this pamphlet. But the compilers did not infer that Gilbert Cope, himself, received a vast heap of correspondence from unknown cousins after his publication appeared. This omission has been remedied, and Mr. Buffington now is in possession of a microfilm of this material with a view to the coming revision. It is to be hoped that, before the revision is published, some miracle will present a solution to the two major unsolved problems on this family: the parentage of Benjamin Buffington of Lykens Valley, and the very confusing John Buffington family of Washington County, Pa. The illustrations deserve a word of commendation. The maps are very useful, and so are the pictures of English homes of the family. This reviewer was especially charmed with the picture of a delightfully pretty Cherokee Indian cousin. ELIZABETH KIEFFER 303 304 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine The Newlin Family. Ancestors and Descendants of John and Mary Pyle Newlin. By Algie I. Newlin in collaboration with Harvey Newlin. (Greensboro, N. C., 1965. x, 700 p. Illustrations, portraits, map, appendix, index. $17.50.) The title of this extensive work is misleading, since it is chiefly concerned with the descendants of the six children of John Newlin and his wife Mary Pyle. This John Newlin removed from Chester County about 1768 to Orange County, North Carolina, where he died in 1808. He was a great-grandson of the immigrant of 1683, Nicholas Newlin (d. 1699) and his wife Elizabeth Faggots, a grandson of Nathaniel Newlin (d. 1729) and his wife Mary Mendenhall, and a son of John Newlin (d. 1753) and his wife Mary Woodward. These three generations are discussed in only 32 pages (Part I of the volume) of which less than half a page is devoted to Mary Mendenhall's ancestry and only the parentage of Mary Mendenhall is noted. Mary Pyle's ancestry is covered in less than a full page in Part II of the book, which is devoted to the descendants of John and Mary Pyle Newlin. With the exception of the immigrant Nicholas Newlin, none of the ancestral lines are documented, an unfortunate omission, considering the amount of information available on these pioneer Pennsylvania families. The lack of documentation carries through the entire work. Undoubtedly this is because the great mass of information was supplied, as is usual in a work of this sort, by many different people, and was compiled at a distance from the sources. Some recourse has been made to Friends' records in the Philadelphia area for the early generations, but relatively little use was made of estate proceedings or land records relating to them. The only will reproduced of anyone in the first three generations is that of the immigrant Nicholas, though his wife Elizabeth, and his son Nathaniel's second wife Mary both died testate. If Elizabeth Newlin's will had been carefully examined, it would have been noted that her daughter Elizabeth had three daughters by her second husband, and only one by her first. The will of Nathaniel Newlin's second wife clearly shows that she was the daughter of John, not Thomas, Pincher, as is stated on page 19. Apparently in the interest of uniformity, all dates given in this record are in numerals, the month identified by being set in Roman numerals. This reviewer finds it hard to be-. lieve that all the records submitted to the compiler were in this form, or that every one of the hundreds of descendants were Friends, as could be implied by this form of dating. As a result of the transposition of dates, at least one error has been noted, that of the date of probate of the immigrant Nicholas's will. It was proved in June 1699, which at that time, according to Friends' reckonmg, was fourth month, not the sixth month, as given in the text. Criticisms such as the above are mentioned here for the benefit of researchers who might wish to use this work as a source of information and reference. Members of the families represented in this voluminous record may feel them to be of small importance, and no doubt most of them are quite happy to have this record set down as it is. But the form of dating, the total lack of place names in the majority of lines, not to mention the awkward numbering system, which the compiler claims is "very simple," but "must be learned," all detract from its general quality, The numerous individual and family portraits, reproduced from photographs, lend considerable interest to each family section, and the 120-page index greatly facilitates the location of particular individuals. Although this reviewer cannot wholeheartedly commend this work, the problems involved in arranging such a tremendous amount of data are fully appreciated- Mr. Newlin and his collaborator deserve much praise for their in- Book Reviews 30$ dustry and stamina. The record may not be perfect, but at least the data it contains has been preserved for future generations, and this alone is worthy of much applause. It is available from Algie I. Newlin, Box 8345, Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina 27410. HANNAH BENNER ROACH A Baronial Family in Medieval England: The Clares 1217-1314. By Michael Altschul. (Baltimore, Md.: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1965. 299 p. Appendices, bibliography, genealogical charts, index. $7.50.) This excellent work covers the history of the family of Clare from its beginnings in 1015 to the death of the last male representative in 1321, though it concentrates primarily on the four Clare Earls of Gloucester. The author did most of his research in England while studying on a Fulbright grant, and was later assisted by a grant from the Faculty Research Fund at the University of Michigan where he currently is a member of the staff. The book is based on his doctoral dissertation which was completed at Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Altschul has made the best use of the primary sources with which he is quite familiar and entirely at ease. For background he also cites many critical works, historical collections and compiled specialized histories, from which the reader may amplify or extend any portion of the text that he may desire. The book opens with a brief sketch of the dynasty, then follows with extended biographies of the four Earls of Gloucester, with a study of their acts and their influence on historical events. The effects of the partition of the Clare estates after the death of the last Earl are fully explored, and the Involved affairs and activities of the three parceners are followed through the reign of Edward II. A chapter follows covering the cadet lines. The second part of the book discusses the Clare estates, their incomes, organization and administration, and their influence on events. The differences in the laws in England, on the Marches, in Wales and in Ireland are discussed folly and well, while the genealogical tables provide a useful guide to the reader. The text is clear and entirely readable; the voluminous footnotes provide complete documentation. The historical works cited are of uniformly high quality. The only serious complaint is the lack of a truly adequate index. The text is filled with names of feudal barons and knights and provides much information that would be most useful if these references could be located more readily. Mr. Altschul has also missed John G. Hunt's discovery of the surviving daughter of Margaret de Clare and Piers de Gaveston (The American Genealogist, Vol. 35, 100; Vol. 37, 45; Vol. 40, 95). She should be added to both text and to chart Number 4. One also regrets the absence of a separate chapter on Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, whose influence on the senior branch of his family is clearly shown in the text, and some of whose estates came back to the senior branch through the Marshall marriage. However, "Strongbow" died forty years before the title date. WALTER LEE SHEPPARD, JR. 1820 Federal Census for Indiana. Compiled by Willard Heiss. (Indianapolis, Ind.: The Indiana Historical Society, 1966. .1v, 231 p. Map. $10.00.) Sponsored by the Genealogy Section of the Indiana Historical Society, this latest vol- 306 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine ume of Mr. Heiss's compilations will be another welcome addition for genealogical searchers. This Fourth Census of Indiana was transcribed from a microfilm copy of the original in the National Archives on to IBM cards, and arranged alphabetically, thus elimin' ating the need for an index. Following each name is the page of the original record, the county in which the householder lived, then the members of the household broken down as it appears in the original with the additional data included in this census: the number of foreigners, number engaged in agriculture, commerce or manufacturing, and Negroes in each household. On each page the data appears in two columns, each having a subjoined page number of its own. Thus there are 461 columns on 231 pages. Mr. Heiss points out in his preface that information on the townships in which householders lived is not included in this present compilation, since few township boundaries had been permantntly fixed in 1820. Presumably the original contains only scattered township identifications. Also not included are the few marginal notes given by some census takers of the householders' actual occupations or trades. Anyone who has examined original census records can appreciate the difficulty of deciphering names. Mr. Helm makes no claim for entire accuracy; names have been copied as they appear, and no attempt has been made to correct obvious errors. A most helpful map of Indiana in 1820, showing the general border of counties at that time, is superimposed on a modern snap. It is interesting to note that more counties had been established in the southern sector of the state — about 32 — than in the entire rest of the state, then divided into only three counties: Delaware, Randolph and Wabash, encompassing the remaining two-thirds of the state. Mr. Helm's enterprise, and the cooperation of his backers, could well be emulated by other people and other organizations. What he has presented is not solely for genealogical use. Social historians, economic researchers and biographers all will make use of this work. The book is available from the Indiana Historical Society, 140 N. Senate Avenue, Indianapolis. HANNAH BENNER ROACH Guide to the Private Manuscript Collections in the North Carolina State Archives. Prepared by Beth G. Crabtree. (State Department of Archives and History- Raleigh, N. C., 1964. x, 492 p. Index. $1.00.) This book is divided into four parts, the largest, Section A, being a catalogue of the private collections and diaries, of which there are 1175 listings. These range in date from the mid-seventeenth century to the present, though by far the largest portion lie in the nineteenth century. Many of the items are typed copies or photocopies of originals, but there remains a large proportion of original material of which perhaps one in twenty contains some genealogical data. Section B lists 51 microfilm reels of diaries and collections, the originals of which are still in private hands or in other collections. Section C lists 248 account books, the bulk of which are nineteenth century, but there are four or five dating in the last portion of the seventeenth. Section D covers papers relating to World Wars I and II. The catalogue is indispensable to anyone seeking information about the contents of the Archives. It is to be regretted, however, that the very complete index does not list together the genealogical holdings; they must be sought through all the name listings. WALTER LEE SHEPPARD, JE.