Recent Books

RECENT BOOKS. G S P THE EARLY GENERATIONS or THE DU PONT AND ALLIED FAMILIES. By H[enry] A . du Pont, author of " THE STORY OF THE HUGUENOTS. " Published by the National Americana Society of New York City, 1923. 2 volumes, Pp, -j- x, 1 -408 ; 409-802, -(- vi ; frontispiece portrait ; facsimile in colors of Du Pont coat of arms ; 29 genealogical charts. 8° . This is an unusually significant production by reason of its author 's genius for accuracy , the rich mines of information he has opened up in French soil, as shown by his citations from original records of municipalities, courts of justice and churches, and his method of utilizing the data thus obtained to the highest advantage. The first authenticated ancestors of the particular branch of the Du Pont family, here treated of , - were three brothers, Charles, Johan and Pierre du Pont living in Rouen, France, during the sixteenth century. From the second of these, jEHAN . du PONT, 1538 -1604, comes the widely known American family, the du PONT de NEMOURS branch. Allied with this are the families : BRI£RE, GUERRY, NAGEREL, AUBER - HALLEUR, DU BUSC ( 2 charts ) , MONTCHANIN ( 6 charts ) , LE PLASTRIER ( 3 charts ) , COSSART ( 5 charts ) , TOUSTAIN, PUCHOT ( 2 charts ) , F£R£, LE PELLETIER DE MARTAINVILLE, LE D£E DE ROCCOURT, THOURY DE LA CORDERIE, FANEUIL, BIGOT, BOULAINVILLIER and DUMONT DE BOSTAQUET. Not a little interest centers in five letters written by ABRAHAM du PONT, the immigrant ancestor and progenitor of the senior American, or South Carolina, branch of the family. Written from South Carolina, between 1699 and 1717, and herein printed for the first time, they are of intrinsic value, not only as family documents, but, as historical accounts of conditions prevailing among the Carolina settlers during the Indian disturbances of that period. A cognate publication with this, has said of Colonel du Pont 's splendid contribution of genealogical annals set into the frame of contemporaneous history : “ This work has been written, not only in the belief that it would be of special interest to the living descendants of the sturdy Huguenots therein mentioned, but, in the confident hope that, to those who may come after, the story of their forefathers will be both an inspiration and an incentive towards higher and better things. were, from father to “ The bearers of the du PONT name son, men of marked integrity, energy and good sense, allied to great firmness of purpose. Among their most striking characteristics were the courage and fortitude which they displayed under long years of persecution, as well as the persistency with which they clung to their religious convictions, irrespective of worldly advantages, these having been the prominent factors in shaping the early destinies of this family. " EPES SARGENT OF GLOUCESTER AND HIS DESCENDANTS. Arranged by Emma Worcester Sargent, With Biographical Notes by Charles Sprague Sargent. Riverside Press, 1923. Pp. 323 -J- xxj; supp. 68 + xxv, por. 32, with title -page inset reproduction of the family arms used as a book plate, engraved by Paul Revere. Limited edition of 500 numbered pageB , Royal octavo. ( 95 ) 1924 Copyright The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania PGM Vol IX Recent Books. 96 Literary excellence, genealogical exactitude, unusual wealth of family portraiture, together with perfection of print and paper, make this volume a delight to sight and touch The strong, scholarly, and really brilliant memorial to the Sargent name, has been made possible by the love of family and public spirit of Winthrop Sargent of Haver ford, Pennsylvania, assisted by Dr Samuel Worcester from 1912 to 1918, and after his decease, by Mrs Paul Dana, until her death in 1922, when the work of completion fell upon its generous patron The supplement of sixty eigbt pages, compiled by Julia Mehitable Johnson, is set apart to a list of the publications of the descendants of Epes Sargent, shipping merchant of Gloucester, Massachusetts, colonel of militia before the Revolution, justice of the general sessions court for thirty or more years, and whose descendants took to arms, arts and the making of books as grace* fully as their ancestor ’s ships did to water It is a rare example of the expansion of an American family in the higher fields of thought and action . . . . - . . THE STRASSBURGER FAMILY AND ALLIED FAMILIES OP PENNSYLVANIA, Being the Ancestry of Jacob Andrew Strassburger, Esquire of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, by his son , Ralph Beaver Strassburger * Gwynedd Valley, Pa. Printed for private circulation, 1922. Pp. 520 ; por, 2 ; illus. 190. Royal octavo. One hundred and seventy six pages, of this comprehensive addition to m ir P I - G S the history and genealogy of American families of German extraction, are devoted to the descendants of Johann Ulrich Strassburger, who was born about 1690, probably in the province of Alsace Loraine, France, in or near Strassburg. At the time of his first marriage, 26 February, 1715, in Ober Ingelheim, a village of the Bavarian Palatinate, he was called of Ober Diehaek, a village on the Rhine, some miles northeast of Bingen. After marriage, Johann Ulrich Strassburger made his home at Ober Ingleheim, where, on its ancient church records are to be found his two marriages, and the births of his ten children, and, where his name and some of his descendants are still to be found It was his eldest son, Johann Andrew Strassburger, who, with his two children, settled in Pennsylvania and perpetuated his surname in Berks, Bueks, Chester, Montgomery, Lehigh and adjoining counties. The Allied Families, treated of in extenso in the remaining well printed pages, are: Yeager, Schneider, Stout, Hartzell Kern , Sehwenk, Baur, Landis, Markley, Dotterer, Shoemaker, Kolb, Ziegler, Clemens and Lederach An abund ance of illustrative footnote references to source books, and a copious index, all add to the interest and value of the publication. . m , - . ABRAHAM CLARK , SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. Compiled, edited and annotated by Ann Clark Hart [ Mrs. Jerome Hart ], San Francisco, California, 1923 Pp. 176 -}- xv ; por 1; ills 3 ; 8° Many are the queries that come to the librarian and genealogist con cerning the family of Abraham Clark of New Jersey, one of the fifty six patriots, who, in 1776, made the present United States possible To them in particular, as to the public in general, will Mrs Hart !s clear-cut pen sketch of the signer and his family be invaluable. The son of Judge Thomas Clark of the borough of Elizabeth, New Jersey, by his first wife, probably Hannah , daughter of Samuel Winans, Abraham Clark was . . . 1924 Copyright The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania . . . PGM Vol IX Recent Books. 97 born. 15 February, 1726; died 13 September, 1794, and waa buried in the Presbyterian Church at Rahway, New Jersey, where an appropriate stone recounts some of his service to his country By his wife, Sarah, daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth Hatfield, whom he married in, or about, 1749, he had the following children : 1, Aaron 2. Thomas 3 Abraham, died young, 4 Hannah , 5 Andrew 6 Cavalier, died young 7 Sarah 8 Elizabeth, died in girlhood. 9. Abigail. 10. Abraham, 1767 1854. The volume is well indexed and will be of great assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . - - TORTOLA, A QUAKER EXPERIMENT OP LONG AGO IN THE TROPICS. By Charles F Jenkins. Issued as SUPPLEMENT NO. 13 to THE JOURNAL OP THE FRIENDS ' HISTORICAL SOCIETY, London, 1923 Pp 106 j- vii ; map 1; ills 7 ; 8° ; paper This valuable contribution to eighteenth century history of Friends bears a very visible impress of scholarly feeling, and is, at once, both history and literature Tortola, “ The Land of the Turtle Dove, J f the largest of the Virgin Islands in the hurricane swept Caribbean, waa owned first by the Dutch, then successively by the English, French and Dutch, becoming finally a permanent British possession In 1741, it claimed the attention of the Philadelphia Meeting of Friends by an almost Macedonian appeal, for instruction in Meeting organization and matters of discipline, from the then governor of the Island, John Pickering, who had been led to embrace the principles of Friends, and whose letter told of the feeble Meeting which had sprung to life in that religiously infertile soil. Thomas Chalkley, of blessed memory, Whittier ’s “ Gentlest of skippers, rare sea saint," answered the call at once Upwards of two weeks only he labored on the Island, rewarded by a great outpouring of grace, and then, succumbed, a victim to the climate. Nothing daunted, John Estaugh, and John Cadwallader who had travelled much in the ministry, went, in the following year, 1742, to the newly established Meeting Here, they too shortly finished their earthly course and lay, one on each side of their former co-laborer, in the Governor 's grave yard at Tortola, far from home and loved ones Other representatives of the Philadelphia Meeting followed, both women and men, but, at best, the experiment in the Tropics was short lived Little more than a gener ation, a period of forty-five years, covers the birth, the activity, the decline and the death of this obscure and interesting episode in Quaker history The vivid story takes the ordinary reader into the open spaces of reality, and into a time when the call of duty brought serenity of spirit and content with, if not extent of, life, to him who affirmatively answered. The copious footnotes open vistas of source material. The Appendices give tabulated data, births, marriages, deaths, and other lists, from the Minutes and Records of the Meeting, as well as reprints from original and inaccessible documents The Bibliography is rich in illustrative printed works. These, together with the generous index, will afford refreshment to the student of history and genealogy The original Minutes and Records of Tortola Monthly Meeting are preserved among Friends Archives, at Third and Arch Streets, under care of the Phila delphia Yearly Meeting . . . . . . - . S P - . G . - . . - - . . . . 1924 Copyright The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania - PGM Vol IX Recent Books. 98 . THE OLD MAIN LINE. By J [ ohn ] W. Townsend Privately printed, 1922 Pp 114 ; frontispiece a locomotive of the sixties ; 8° ; paper The present publication is an expansion of a pamphlet printed anonymously in 1919 The author knows well his setting, and peoples his pages with those who lived in the Haverford Bryn Mawr district of the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Bailroad, more than a half century ago It has plenty of local color and side light into our “ manners and customs, 7 ’ as Caesar would say, and is, throughout, mellowly reminiscent of “ Things that were and are not, and are and were not ; and friends that were and some are, while most are not, ** Its good index of “ Old Main Line Residents ’’ adds much to the present searcher ’s personal pleasure, and will help those who come later to bits of local history not elsewhere found . . . , . - , . . . THE WISTAR HOUSE AND ITS NEIGHBORS. By Mrs. James Large, 1923 Pp 10, 8°, paper An address delivered at a special meeting of The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania held at the Wistar House, through the courtesy of The Colonial Lames of America, Chapter ii, Philadelphia, Thursday, April 12, 1923, and printed, upon request, by the Associate Committee of Women of The Genealogical Society The narrative of this home of a most useful citizen, Dr Caspar Wistar, is here deftly told by one who knows and loves this part of old Philadelphia It has the atmosphere of the old days and ways, and of the people who lived therein One catches, almost, the fragrance of the branching clusters of the Wistaria, and the echoing conversational murmur of that goodly company of savants who met at the long-ago Saturday evening parties, sometimes in the good Doctor ’s fair garden, when Philadelphia was the foremost city, the capitol of the young nation Mrs Large ’s sketches of the WiBtar House neighbors have “ the spirit of place ’’ and make a direct appeal to the reader, because the drawing is true to form . M P . . . . S . . . G . THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA. The Wickereham Press, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1923, Pp 194, Seal of the Society on frontis page. 8° These pages contain the Charter and Certificate of Incorporation, 1896 ; Constitution and By-Laws ; lists of Officers, Councillors and Committees, 1898 to 1923 ; Deceased Members ; Publications of the Society ; and the present membership with charts of descent from the qualifying pro positus It is a unique Year Book, with much highly specialized in formation . . * . - . CATALOGUE OP AN EXHIBITION OP PORTRAITS BY CHARLES WILSON PEAXJE AND JAMES PEALE AND REMBRANDT FEALE. The Pennsylvania Academy of Pine Arte, Philadelphia , 1923 Pp 239 ; por 117 ; plan 1; 8° ; paper The Academy management, in its presentation of the Peale Exhibition, places the Philadelphia public greatly in its debt, as it had already done by the Sully Exhibition of 1922 The Peale Catalogue, like that of the Sully, quite apart from its original purpose of an index to the Exhibition and exhibitors, is a valuable handbook for the biographer and genealogist. . . . . . 1924 Copyright The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania PGM Vol IX 99 Recent Books. Enriched with portraits, which add immensely in conveying an idea of personality and individuality to the necessarily brief records of the subjects of the canvasses, it will be of great aid to the searcher in character determination Art and live wires have, it is thought, little in common , but The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, in its projection of two such memorable loan exhibitions, in two succeeding years, has demon strated its right to be considered not only a live wire organization, but, second to none in its devotion to art, which , in America more than else where, perhaps, is largely a history of its life . - S . HISTORY OF THE PENN CLUB . By Charles J. Cohen. Privately printed. Press of The John C. Winston Company, Philadelphia, 1924. Pp. 397 ; illus. 7 ; por. 274 ; 8°. This account of the activities of The Penn Club, together with the accumulation of familiar portraits of the men and women guests of honor at the Club’s receptions, from 1875 to 1923, inclusive, was arranged by Mr Cohen, and contributed by him to his fellow members, in com memoration of the approaching half century anniversary of this unique organization The history of the Penn Club is the history -of its fifty years of hospitality. Whether * ( doing deeds of hospitality ’* is a way to heaven may be left to the poets, but, it is the Penn Club ’s way of bringing a bit of heaven to earth, to some of those who have made good on life ’s highway The brief biographic sketches under the two hundred and seventy four portraits, are intended to Berve but as indexes to the subject It is the portraits themselves that, speak aloud the story of achievement in each man and woman ’s respective sphere, and, vindicate the selection No more gracious courtesy could have been extended by the generous author ; none that could so fully radiate over the coming years the light of other days . - . S . P . - - . . . . G THE REDEMPTION OF THE LOWER SCHUYLKILL. The River as it Was. The River as It Is The River as It Should Be. By Johh Frederick Lewis Press of Enterprise Publishing Company, Burlington, New Jersey, for The City Parks Association, Philadelphia, 1924. Pp. 171 J 6 ; ills 72 ; 8° An Address, by Mr Lewis, on the occasion of a reception to the Honor able W. Freeland Kendrick, Mayor of Philadelphia, and Mrs Kendrick, by The City Parks Association of Philadelphia, at the Hall of The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, was the inspiration of this well presented volume The author ’s intimate knowledge of the subject, handled with the technic of a master, more than justified the publication, amplification and illustration of his address, that it might carry, to every citizen of the City beloved , the gospel of regeneration and redemption of this once stately river There is a richness of lore, ancient and modern, in these pages The artist, poet and historian have alike been drawn upon to furnish evidence of the River ’s past glories, its present desecration, and the hope of its future restoration The Schuylkill, in its beauty, was Philadelphia ’s heritage from the past, and, Mr Lewis does well to cry aloud to the present generation, to so keep “ true faith with those who lie asleep ” that, the River in continued beauty shall be preserved and protected for those who will follow after. . . -- . . . . . . 1924 Copyright The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania . 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