The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-01-14
DESCENDANTS AROUSED.
AEPERSIONS UPON THE RECORD
 OF THE HERO
Of"The cOuriship of Miles standIsh"
 Resented.

Of"The COuriship of Miles standish''
 Resented. The name and fame of John Alden, the rosy-cheeked hero Of The Court ship of Miles Standish," have been at- tackled, and as a result a score of Chau- tauqua county residents, New York, are up in arms and threaten to make Louis McKinstry, secretary Of Speaker Nixon of the assembly, wish he had never said that John was nothing but long shore carpenter. MT. McKinstry gave utterance to those unfortunate words at dinner held in the Columbia Hote! at Fredonia, in honor Of Forefathers' day, and now a social war is raging,
 A more comprehensive view of this situation may be obtained when it is explained that in this part of the state are the descendants of many Of the Revolutionary settlers, who took up holdings before the dawn of the last century. These scions of history are naturally proud of their aristocratic an- cestry and take i'll any sighting refer ence to the honor or reputation of their IOIeldUlGTS. are especially incensed at MT McKins- try's insinuations, for they declare that they have the documents which show that in their veins flows the blood of John Alden, the stripling of Plymouth and friend of Captain Miles Standish They have relatives who, of course take up their side of the question with vehemence, and at present the outlook for a pleasant and profitable social sea- son is somewhat clouded. It is expect ed also that the whirlwind will raise the dust in other parts of the state, for the descendants of John Alden are becom- ing more numerous every year
 The seeds of this serious sectional strife were sown unwittingly, it is thought, by MT. McKinstry. At the Forefathers' dinner, at which the ta- bles were crowded, many descendants made appropriate addresses. MT. Mc- Kinstry, when his turn came, men tioned, apparently as mere interest ing historical discovery, that John AL den was in reality not such renarka- ble character as he had been made out to be. He said that the Puritan youth' according to recent theories, was longshoreman whom the Pilgrims hap ;. pened to pick up on the wharf just be- fore the Mayfower sailed The regular ships carpenter had fallen sick and could not sail, MT. McHinstry said, and the Pilgrims, feeling that such mem Der of the crew was a necessity, to take care of the furniture, eagerly accepted Alden's proffer of assistance. His mod ern reputation, Mir. McKinstry said, was purely the result of LongfelloW imagination, and hinted that nobody made any especial claim to having him for an ancestor before the poem achieved such a wide success.
 The result of these words was 1nde- scribabIe. Silence followed their utter ance, and a cold chill fell on the warm atmosphere of good fellowship, espec- ially in the, vicinity of the two families ,zs5frorn Fredonla. The dinner immediate ly broke up, and it is said that several persons with forefathers who had pre- pared careful addresses were not called upon to deliver them. Since then the main topic of conversation has been the words which fell from the iconoclastic lips of MT. McKinstry. It is whispered that he Is not alone in his position, but that several purominent families who have never laid claims to an Alden line of ancestors have given him to under stand that they put confidence in his historical accuracy. The Alden de- scendants, however, are thoroughly aroused, and declare that any asper- sions cast upon the character of John are absurd and that they can produce, and intend to put forward indubitable proof of the purity and nobility of his family connections. Sand notable so- cial leader yesterday:
 "Such @ statement as has been ut tered is absurd. John Alden was nc common dockyard hammer sWinger He was a gentleman, and every de- ecendant in whose veins the pure blood of such an ancestor pulses, as it does lin mine, will take up the rapier in de fence of his outraged reputation. We do not have to fall back upon the po- etic lines of the great Longfellow fol corroboration of our claim, but we have documents of rarity and value Whicf prove our assertions as to his gentilitJ of blood and occupation One canno but feel that such utterances as those we have heard must have been actua ted by jealousy. ."-New York Tribune