AUTHOR'S CONCLUSION AND The genesis of this book was the ordinary hobby, so often indulged in by so many, of looking up ancestors. This pastime leads naturally to research into places and events, inquiry into motives and reactions, and the study of contemporary history. Putting these all together, I have attempted to weave a story of our country beginning with the early settlements up to the present time, as actually lived by these people, who, father to son, were fortunate in being exposed to a good many of the episodes which have gone into the making of this nation. The story, in all its details, as far as I know, is a true one. One of the main objects in presenting this manuscript to the public is because I believe that within its pages the general reader will find many items of intimate Americana which otherwise might never reach the public eye. The sources which have been consulted fall generally into four chief classes. First of all were the several genealogical records of the family: memoirs, journals, diaries, scrap-books and letters. Secondly have been the numerous volumes which treat and describe the several places and the times with which they deal. Thirdly were the generous responses to inquiries directed to persons known to have or believed to possess particular information of special import; and fourthly, the results of direct correspondence with individuals, both relatives and non-relatives, whose cooperation has been most valuable. In the first instance, the early work of Abner Morse; the work of Asa P. Morse; and the revisions of the former by S. Howard Morse in 1903, - have been the essential keystone, if not the very essence of the material for the entire story in the earlier chapters. Mrs. Alexander Sharp, Mr. Frank Morse, Mr. Joseph J. Ryan, Mrs. George Pigman, and Mrs. Carl J. Kohring, - all close relatives have given me ready access to the several old family papers in their possession, and Mrs. Parke Brady, niece of the author, has made it possible to produce the 100 copies of this book in its present form. In the second category of "Material" the author has found the "History of Elizabeth" by Hatfield, and the "History of Newbury" by Coffin, of extreme importance. Clark's "History of the Essex District Medical Society of New Jersey"; the Archives of New Jersey, as well as the Archives of Massachusetts, were indispensable. The multitudinous volumes on English and American history by numerous authors, too numerous to mention, were duly consulted. Thirdly, the author is deeply indebted to Miss Anna M. Capraun of Linden, New Jersey, for her splendid interest and effort in the course of her most detailed research concerning the early New Jersey dwellings. Mrs. Billwiller of the same town, and Mr. Daniel J. Hauenstein of the Standard Oil Co. at Bayway, have been of considerable help in the unraveling of many of the intricate points of the vicinity where so many of the early scenes of this story take place. The late Mr. Marsh of Rahway, Mr. Silvio Broussard and Mr. Edward T. Weeks, Jr., both of New Iberia, have been very helpful in their interest and cooperation towards inquiries. And from New Orleans, Dr. Paul A. McIlhenny, Mr. Stanley C. Arthur, and Major W. D. Shaffer, have sent me much 'key' information. A debt of gratitude is herewith expressed to Mr. H. Russell Morss, Jr., and Mr. John O. Morss of Rahway and Elizabeth, New Jersey, for painstaking effort in the furtherance of this volume. Mrs. Mattie B. Shaw of New Iberia, Mrs. Sarah Morse of York Co., Virginia, Mrs. Ella Morse Blackford of Elizabeth, N. J. and Mr. William Morse of 'The Croft', Swindon, Wilts, England, have sent me most useful data. Mr. Herbert N. Moffett and Mr. L. D. Cook, of the 'Historic American Buildings Survey', and the personnel at the libraries and the Archives at Norwich University, Weslyn, Harvard and Princeton, have supplied much material which otherwise might not have been obtained. Dr. T. J. Wertenbaker of the faculty of Princeton University has given much time and care in the study and interpretation of some of the architecture and background of the early New Jersey dwelling, and the encouragement in the presentation of these findings. While I have spent many odd moments on the assembling of and research for this book during the past fourteen years in which I have been so engaged, much of the basic material had already been obtained by other workers in the genealogical field. To these I give homage. The reader will notice that there is a more or less radical change in the presentation of the first half and the second half of the book. This must be necessary if the many intimate details of the later generations are to be incorporated into the work as a whole. And I have felt that the preservation of so much of these more detailed accounts of travels and adventures should, under all circumstances, be preserved. Now as to the title; for it is customary for manuscripts of this sort to have a title. The selection of an appropriate one is often one of the most difficult parts of a work. "Blood of an Englishman" may be considered too generalized to put on a book which treats, primarily with the life of an American family. Yet, when we consider that it was this very strain in early America, as well as in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the other parts of the world, which have felt so strongly the influence of the English race, we feel quite right in using this title. Despite the influx of other bloods, it is always the English, or at least the British, which seems to predominate in the end. For the English, even with all their faults, and these are many- nevertheless have always retained |