X THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



years ago, took the trouble of securing the inscriptions upon our cem- 

 etery gravestones. The late Col. T. W. Clarke made valuable re- 

 searches into the subject of early divisions of land. These and others 

 made some commendable efforts at gathering and preserving historical 

 data; but many are the papers and tax lists and old account books, 

 valuable beyond estimate, which have been lost. 



Many trips to Boston have been required to obtain information at the 

 State archives, where reports of our fisheries and documents concern- 

 ing the wars had been rescued from the tide of destruction. At the 

 Custom House day after day had to be spent in gleaning over many 

 thousands of enrollments and registers to find out what vessels were 

 built or owned here. Searching among old deeds at the Registry and 

 old wills in the Probate Office in the Court House at Boston has 

 brought to light some interesting details, but no one ever may know 

 the delving in monotonous documents that was fruitless or the labor 

 lost in following wrong scents. 



But how will the result of it all be judged.? No doubt some persons 

 will feel much disappointed ; so is the author. No doubt some will 

 say, " Our grandfathers ought to have been named at such a place;" 

 and probably they are right. Information which has been solemnly 

 guaranteed to the author by one will be point-blank denied by some 

 reader who is sure he knows better; but the author has surrendered 

 the claim of accuracy. He has become fortified by this brazen humil- 

 ity while seriously endeavoring to be fair and fairly thorough. 



The ground covered has been from the beginning of our geological 

 existence up to the moment of this pen mark ; but the details of the 

 early settlers' careers have been more emphasized than some later 

 events. In fact, so much has been neglected in some periods that the 

 author has almost wished he had time to write another book of equal 

 size upon the points neglected in this. For the scientific accuracy of 

 matters presented in the geological chapters the author has had the 

 privilege of recourse to Prof. W. O. Crosby, of the Massachusetts 

 Institute of Technology. Both chapters have been submitted to him, 

 and having his approval the author feels fairly secure from blunders in 

 those scientific matters. The geological reader is referred to Professor 

 Crosby's own books upon the Boston Basin for more complete treat- 

 ment of the subject. There are spots in the book which ought to be 

 rewritten to be accurate and lucid, and other generations following us 

 may find it necessary to recast the whole story which we have molded ; 

 but sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. 



Many important account books and other historical data have been 

 collected by the author and his associates and have been placed in the 

 town's new tireproof vault with the fond hope of making some future 



