The Washington times., 1902-02-03
All Applicants Talk.

All AEp1fcHnts Talk.
But the intention to become a member
of that body which claims descendance
from our Revolutionary forefathers is
not held secret by the applicant. As a
rule, she first makes her appearance, if
she lives in this city, in the Congression-
al Library. And this is what an at
tendant at that institution has to say
about the matter:
THE ancestor hunter is not looked upon
with joy and pleasure by us. The an
cestor hunter is generally feminine She
usually wants to be q Daughter of the
American Revolution, or a Colonial Dame
or Holland Dame. Tn craze for an
cestors started with the formation of
those societies, and it grows rather than
decreases. To qualify, the candidates
must find an ancestor. and the libraries
are their hunting grounds. 70 many a
library is apparently a place OF mystery;
the visitors begin their search by ply
ing the attendants with questions.
''All that We can do is TO discover the
State in which their ancestors were sup
posed to have lived and to turn over its
anxious descendants. With souc this
suffices, but the majority demand a.ss'-
ance in the more minute quest aitar
names, dates, and places. Often the an
cestOr is all right, and shows him 81:
after a time; more often h .1g-g be
found. The most searching ir RS .Igation
fails to bring even 1775 pirate or
IL -, h.
often Become Angry.
'In such a case the chances are that
my lady becomes angry and declares that
the book has got it all wrong. In fact,
the library and everything connected with
it, including the attendants. are hope
lessly wrong. and she says she must con-
suit more reliable authorities.
"Then. too, there are times when the
ancestor turns up. but his interest in the
Revolution was that of a Tory. Then is
the time to draw a veil over the emo
tions of the disappointed aspirant for
patriotic social honors."
There are a number of enterprising
women in this city who make fair ill.,
come by hunting up genealogical"
Speaking of an American a-istocracy
the book expert said:
"Austere and radical Americans have
twitted their more ambitious
with an unbecoming pride of
pedigree and the American Armoury and /
Blue Book, which not so long ago has
been issued by John Matthews. of Chan
cery Lane, London, certainly suggests |
that an interest in family history is by |
tocraces of Europe. In this book are |
brought together the heraldic claims of /
nearly thousand American families. with |
brief biographies of their heads, and an |
Indication of their descent from diStin- |
suished settlers OF colonial days.
Many Societies Appear.
'If ancestry is to count for anything at
all. descent begun in such romantic
circumstances from the pioneers of a
great people is in itself a distinction,
and that many Americans think SO is in
iicated by the number of societies es-
tabllshed to keep alive the memcry of
events of which the posterity of those
who took part in them may well be
proud. Thus We have the Mayfower De-
,cendants' Club. the Colonial Danes OF
AlltTltd, lHt FOuuutES anu ldl!lOtS so
'iety. Sons of Delaware. Descendants of
Colonial Governors of Connecticut,
Daughters OF Holland Danes. the Colonial
Wars Club. Daughters OF the Confeder-
icy, the Grand Army. and the Military
md Naval Order of the Spanish -Ameri-
an War. These organizations are in
ome sense the outward signs of an aris-
ocracy which has long existed in this
country. 1t may be difficult perhaps to
an Augustine Washington or a
lilies Standish with the railway magnates
II the pork kings. but between n repub-
lean constitution and the aristocratic
dea there is no necessary antagonism.
rome was a republic once. and the COM
of medieval Italy were es-
entially aristocratic. They had no mon
rchs, yet they created an hereditary no
ility, just as their descendants. the Re
ublic of San MarinO, does to this day.
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