Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1899-02-02
FaiaiIy

privilege and pleasure Of seeing FIRMLY
tree, OF MorsSho can ciatc she idagni.
Itude Of its propost Il ions. The writes on
Joyed such q prisilsgo while on d recent
visit to- the home Of Dir. ard Bfss. Burt
Mitchell ,of Westmins nster, South Carolina.
Mrs.. Mitchell being d lover Of her own
folks, Z, = CONGO iyed the plan and began
the work, some scyen years ago, of do.
lyeloping a family tree, and now has
nearly opmp plsted one Of the most exten.
siye and interesting trees to be found.
It begins with Sir Matthew Halo, one OF
the greatest and noblest Of the lord
Chief Justices of England, an ancestor
of her mother, who was q Hale, as the
root from which tho tree, compoaed OF
sixteen generations, has been construct,
ed. .f5 3s3 ff}.
From such q root cue can for N some
idea of the beauty and grandeur OF the
tree. H.story informs 1tis that Sir Mat
thew was Of noble birth, and ono of the
brightest ornaments Of the, most adj
Yanced civilization of his time, strong in
mind, learned in intellect and great and
good in character. From that root
comes such characters as DR.. Edward
Everett Hale. the famous A.n,es.oen
author, who. though pjnety-two years CT
age, still enjoys homo among tho sur
yiving of tho friends of his long life in
his native State. |E
When completed the tree will be an
object Of beauty and admiration, both
because 1t 10 composed Of q good and
noble family, and on account of the
magnitude of fhe labor bestowed upon
it, as we'll as tho artistic skill displayed
i'll it's arrangement. The names now at
taohcd to 1t number about four thousand
and still the end has not boon reached.
Notwithstanding this labor and tho OK
pense necessarily incident TO tho task,
Mrs. Mitchell has never faltered, but
with intense interest she is adding the
finishing touches, and will soon place it,
together with q little book Of nctos and
biographies, in tho hands of u litho-
grapher and publisher. Who oan de-
scribe tho pleasure and interest with
which this vast family will review the
work accomplished through her labor of
love, q work which will bring to it's COM
piler somewhat of tho praises she so
truly merits ''. -
Tt is impossible for oTory family to
have "tree," covering SO great period
of time or treating of 80 many eminent
characters, yet lesson can be drawn
from this example worthy tho attention
of every ono. We should 4; know and
think moro of our ancestors; such know
lodge should holp us in shaping our in
dividual dostinios.
In this connection it might not be
amiss to mention tho fact that Mrs. John
VanRensolaer, of New York, has re-
Gently published book entitled "New
Yol iors of tho Nineteenth Century,"
wherein sho ondeavors to establish the
identity of tho descendants of the carly
settlers of New York, giving what might
be termed family trees for the descend
ants of about twonty of the most promi-
mont carly settlers of that community.
Her work serves to demonstrate the con-
temporary interest taken in this new
field of thoughtful investigation.
To Mrs. Mitchell great credit ia due for
hcr design and tho effort which she is
making deserves the greatest commenda-
tion. NID..
Waco, Texas, January 23, 1890.