INTRODUCTORY 



The present volume forms a fitting supplement to the ample historical nar- 

 rative from the pen of General W. W. H. Davis. For its preparation especial 

 thanks are due to Mr. Warren S. Ely, of more than merely local fame as a 

 genealogist and historian. Out of his abundant store of material and through 

 familiarity with the official records of Bucks and adjoining counties, he has been 

 enabled to write with care and intelligence the genealogical history of various 

 branches of leading families in Bucks county, and his sketches will be readily 

 identified by all who are familiar with the methods which he has observed so 

 successfully in making investigations into ancestral fields in response to many 

 exacting requisitions by individuals and family associations. He has also, in 

 this work, dealt largely with the personal history of leading men of affairs in 

 his native county, and his facile pen can be readily traced by the great mass of 

 readers in that region who for years have been familiar with his clear and cogent 

 writings along the lines which he has pursued with that genuine enthusiasm 

 becoming to one who holds in proper appreciation the sturdy race from whom 

 lie sprang and among whom he was reared, and who possesses the ability of 

 rightly weighing their lives and achievements. 



An earnest effort has been made to give an authentic history of most of 

 the early settlers, as well as of those who later found homes in this historic 

 county, and their descendants down to the present time, giving special attention 

 to the part taken by them in its history and development. It has been impossible, 

 however, to give as full an account of some of the old families as might have 

 been desired, by reason of the paucity of data furnished, many families of more 

 or less prominence in the aff'airs of the county, at different periods, being with- 

 out exact records of their family line, and it being, of course, impracticable in 

 a work of this general character for the publishers to undertake extensive and 

 expensive researches in untrodden paths. Neither was it possible for Mr. Ely 

 to revise and verify all the data furnished by the representatives of the families 

 treated of in the work. It can be said, however, with reference to the bio- 

 graphical matter contained in this volume that in its preparation the publisher^ 

 have observed the utmost care as to accuracy and authenticity, so far as lay in 

 their power. In all cases the sketches have been submitted to the subject, or 

 present representative of the family, for correction and revision, and the pub- 

 lishers believe that they are placing before the public, in the contents of this 

 volume, a valuable adjunct t,'^ the narrative history of the events in this historic 

 county, to which General Dcv'is has devoted nearly a lifetime of painstaking 



