In 1895 I published a genealogy of the Armstrong family, my father's people. As soon as that book had been distributed to the patrons, I began to collect information concerning the history of the Lundy family, my mother's people.

It is a matter of record that Richard Lundy (son of Sylvester Lundy of the town of Axminster in the county of Devon), came from England in 1676; settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in 1682; married Jane Lyon in 1691, and became the Founder of the Lundy Family in America.

Observe the wide range of this genealogy; it is not limited to individuals bearing the Lundy name, but includes, so far as my researches have been successful, every person who has in his veins any of the blood of said Richard Lundy the Founder, no matter what that person's surname now is and no matter through how many different surnames that person's Lundy relationship is derived.

Items have been culled from every possible source, from old letters, family Bibles, tombstones, mortgages, deeds for land, last wills and testaments, minutes of Friends' meetings, local histories, and colonial documents; and the items thus gleaned have been systematized and combined with the information which has been so kindly furnished by numerous correspondents.

To the genealogical material indicated above, I have it in mind to add as an appendix two articles of a historical character:-one on the early Quakers, and the other on Benjamin Lundy.

But all the problems of the Lundy kinship have not been solved; there are lost lines and missing households still, a fact not to be wondered at when we consider the long interval of time since the birth of

the first American-born Lundy, the loss of written records, and the frequent migrations to distant regions in search of new homes.

I have tried to arouse an interest in this subject and to gather all the accessible material; and I am glad to say that in almost every line of descent some individuals have been found able and willing to furnish statistics; I appreciate their kindness and I thank them for it.

My hope is that the publication of the Lundy book will render future investigation much more effective by revealing to all inquirers the exact points at which authentic information is most needed.

This circular may fall into the hands of some persons within the circle of kinship who have not yet furnished data concerning their immediate households; to these let me say that, while pleased to have them subscribe for the Lundy book, I shall be far more pleased to receive from them at once such information as will enable me to enroll them in their proper place among their kinsmen, and I shall be pleased to do so whether they become subscribers or not. Do not imagine that the absence of your name from the subscription list will diminish in any respect my appreciation of your kindness in giving me the names of your parents and grandparents and of your children and grandchildren. My aim is not so much a longer list of subscribers to the book as it is a more complete list of kinsmen within the book.

It has sometimes been said that the early settlers were careless in keeping their family records; it is true that there has been negligence somewhere, but I incline to the opininon that the fault lies much nearer the present generation. The pioneers really deserve credit, for they did what they could; they purchased a large Bible (and read it), covered it neatly and substantially, and recorded therein with painstaking care a memorandum of every marriage, death and birth. But these good people passed away. The old Bible went out of style, became altogether too old-fashioned, was given to the children to play with, was used to improvise a high-chair, and was stowed away in the garret to have the back gnawed off.

I have been searching lately for eighteenth century Bibles, and I suppose my experience has not differed materially from that of other family historians. We ask constantly for the old records but seldom get a satisfactory answer. B writes, "I think that A has it"; and A writes," "I think that B has it." Other replies run thus:- "Never knew what became of it”; “Lost when we moved”; “Has not been seen for years"; "Burnt up with the house"; "I hope you will find it”; “I have it but the record-pages have been torn out."