Oak family register, 1906

PDF page 89, printed page 81

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GENEALOGICAL WORK
81
record of our family, considering the
obstacles
to be overcome
and
his distance from the birthplace of the family—he
felt that
the record should be
printed, but when he appealed
to the de-
scendants for aid, he was again doomed to disappointment.
The
labor and expense of the work had been great and much
as he
wanted
to publish
the record, he did not
feel warranted
in
ex-
pending
the
necessary amount
of money from
his
decreasing
store, knowing that his earning capacity was gone, and fearing
years
of invalidism
in a hospital or dependence upon
relatives,
which to him was
still worse
; so
in
1900 he stopped work and
research.
He had securely bound
in morocco the four volumes
of
manuscript,
three
of
photographs,
and
one
of
autographs.,
which are now in my possession.
Not wishing to impose on any
one the publication of the record
; perhaps thinking we did not
care, he
bequeathed
the
above volumes
to
the New
England
Historic Genealogic Society, of Boston, Mass., where they would
be
accessible,
if any
of the descendants
cared
to search them.
The above society cheerfully and willingly loaned the volumes to
the writer
for the purpose
of publication.
In
addition
to
the
bound volumes, my brother
also
left
duplicate volumes, ready,
or nearly so, for the printer, which the writer found in his cottage
after his death
; also hundreds of letters and packages of data and
notes of all sorts and kinds.
In
his
letter of instructions, written a year before
his
death,
which he evidently thought might be sudden, he says
:
"Of such
things
(letters,
manuscripts,
clippings, photographs,
etc.)
take
only what you want as relics for yourself or others of the family,
but burn the rest.
"In case of doubt, burn."
I burned nothing.
In his condition of mind, when this
letter
was
written, he wished no record
left.
I
consider
it
not only
justice but duty to put on record the work he did and to preserve
the data
that may some day be
of
great
benefit
to some
one.
That in some day of deep depression he did not consign the whole
accumulation
to
the
flames
appears
almost
providential.
Evi-
dently the lingering hope that some ship sent out freighted with
hope might return with a more substantial cargo and enable him
to carry out his cherished desire, restrained him.
He could not
destroy his own offspring—neither could
I
!
He left me not only the manuscript, but a part of his property,
and while he did not instruct or request me to publish
it.
I should

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