Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. During a life that has been extended to nearly threescore and ten years, I have often felt a wish to collect together all the information I could about the lives, character, and conduct of my ancestors. This desire has increased from year to year, as though the lapse of time was bringing us spiritually nearer and nearer together, while the actual bodily distance was increasing.