affection and reciprocal esteem, which constitutes much of the satisfaction we derive from the lives of the living."* We love our living kindred, not because they are more honorable than others, but because they are our kindred. On the same ground we cherish the memory of departed relatives, whether they belonged to the present or the past generation; making indeed a distinction among them, and giving honor where honor is due. But in order to give form to a true ideal of the genealogy of a family, materials are needed; and these are not always at hand. The materials which enter into the composition of the present work have been carefully sought in many localities and from many individuals abroad and in our own country. The difficulty of collecting these materials, embracing as they do events distant in time and nearly faded into forgetfulness, no one can estimate who has not had experience in similar undertakings. Men appear on the stage in rapid succession, each strangely unmindful of those who have gone before, and hastening off, to be forgotten in turn. Thus the knowledge of events connected with family history is either lost, or recovered by the genealogist with great difficulty. Besides the general indifference to ancestral history, the migratory character of our countrymen, to which the Chaunceys offer no exception, prevents the accumulation of materials for genealogical history. A family which in one line of descent can count in one graveyard the gravestones of seven generations, as some can in our own country, and can read the wills and deeds by which property has been conveyed, and the town records and the church records in *Lives of the Lyndsays, by Lord Lyndsay. which are the names of many of its members, must be rich in traditionary lore, compared with a family which has often changed its place of residence. In collecting materials for the present work, I beg leave to say, that I have accomplished more than I expected, though much less than I desired. Concerning some individuals of the family I have communicated but little, because I could obtain but little information. Still I trust that I have brought together so much appropriate matter, that the work will be acceptable to all the Chaunceys and their connections. For them it was prepared. To them it is dedicated. Only a few copies are printed, and they are not expected to go into market. As the work was intended only for the family, I have, in portions of it, spoken in the same confiding spirit that I would in a family circle. In this connection I may be allowed to say, that, if “each family has its peculiar spirit running through the whole line, and in more or less development in every generation," the Chaunceys have been characterized by their love of learning, by their love of religion, by honesty of purpose, and a strong sense of right. It would be difficult to find a family in which a greater number in proportion to the whole have been highly educated and sincerely pious. May the "peculiar spirit" of the family, their love of learning and religion, their honesty of purpose and strong sense of right, be perpetuated in all the present and future descendants of the President. The men and women described in this book still live, though their bodies have been mingled with the earth. In those seasons when "calling shapes" walk the earth, and "aery tongues syllable men's names," we can, by the united aid of imagination and memory, see them singly, or in gathered groups, like a cloud of witnesses looking down upon us; we can hear them utter words of encouragement, or warning, to be heeded by the living. May they still live in the hereditary virtues of descendants! It ought to be stated that the descendants of Israel Chauncey of Stratford, generally, and the descendants of Nathaniel Chauncey of Durham, uniformly, spell their name with an e in the last syllable. From one cause and another this distinction has not always been observed in this volume. In returning my thanks to those gentlemen who have contributed information, I ought especially to mention Nathaniel Chauncey, Esq. of Philadelphia, himself thoroughly acquainted with the genealogy of the family, and William Chauncey, Esq. of New York, a prominent member of the New York Historical Society, to both of whom I am indebted for valuable contributions. Indeed, the work owes its existence to the aid and encouragement furnished by these gentlemen. Valuable matter also has been furnished by Worthington G. Chauncey, Esq. of Durham, Con., who, with his brother Nathaniel William Chauncey, carefully preserved the manuscripts belonging to Rev. Nathaniel Chauncey of Durham, which in 1756 came into the hands of their father, Rev. Elnathan Chauncey. I have also respectfully to request, that any member of the family, or any other gentleman, who may discover errors which he can correct, or deficiencies which he can supply, will communicate with the author. WILLIAM CHAUNCEY FOWLER. AMHERST, January, 1858. CHARLES CHAUNCY, the second President of Harvard College, was the emigrant ancestor of all who bear the name of Chauncey in the United States. He was the fifth son of George Chauncy of Newplace and Yardley-Bury in Hertfordshire, who died 1627, and the third, of his second wife. His mother, Agnes, was the daughter of Edward Welsh of Great Wymondley, and the widow of Edward Humberstone. He was baptized and registered on the fifth of November, 1592, 34 of Elizabeth, in Yardley-Bury Church, Hert. From long lines of ancestors, converging in him, he received those intellectual and moral endowments, which, developed by education and the grace of God, made him, in his eventful life, one of the lights of the age in which he lived, both in England and in America. He was preeminent among the Pilgrim Fathers for his learning as a scholar, for his genius as a poet and orator, for his piety as a Christian, and for his sufferings and sacrifices 1 |