Los Angeles herald., 1905-01-01

N the national malady; everybody
seems to have it. TO be of any
Importance these days in democratic
America one must have a family tree.
The pride Of pedigree is new in this
country. but It is growing. The men
who made this republic, what it is
thought little about It; in fact, class
distinction was one Of the things they
came from Europe to get away from.
Their chiIdrens children look at it diff
ferent1y. however.
To be merely the heir Of rich James
Smith. who can remember no farther
back in the family history than that
his horny-handed grandfather was a
hard working man, is not enough for
Smith junior He needs family tree.
a coat-of-arms. a crest or his right to
position in the new aristocracy will
be questioned.
Great wealth alone is not enough;
family must back 1t.
or course, he must show good ances-
try: but that is not difficult.
i THOUSANDS OF ANCESTORS
1.-THE lines of thousands of families
in America can be traced back to Eng
lish nobility" said Herbert G. An
drews, genealogist and heraldist, who
came to Los Angeles recently. ut Is
a question of simple arithmetic. Every
person has four grandparents; each of
these, four and so, by this natural
process of multiplication. it gives every
person 1000 ancestors 300 years back.
"Going on further to the thirteenth
century the number of ancestors of
each person equals the total popula-
ton of England at that time"
with so many to ones credit it would
be hard not to discover some rela-
tionship to noble family or two. The
difficulty would be to escape the gen.
eral distinction.
The chances of those who came by
way of ireland or Scotland or any other
European country are just as good by
the same process Of induction.
AMERICANS OF ROYAL BLOOD
There are also in this country many
of royal descent; authorities have fig
ured it out that there are living today
1. 900. 600 descendants of Alfred the Great
alone.
Thus the lump of royalty leaveneth
the whole world.
Right here in Los Angels there are.
according to Mr. Andrews, at least
twenty-five persons whose royal
lineage can be proved beyond question
Think of it! Twenty-Five in our city
whose papas and mammas a few CEN
turtles removed sat upon thrones! What
an exclusive society they might or
ganize. S. r. D.-Society of Royal
Descendants. The distinction of being
an F. F. W. D. A. r. or an S. c. d.
would be nothing in comparison.
The president of such a society prop
erly would be Frederick II. Rindge,
president of the Conservative Life In
surance company, whose family history
recently traced shows that his line
reaches back to King David, the
psalmist.
King Edward I also figures in this
illustrious pedigree and princes and
dukes cluster thick on the family tree.
BOOK OF RARE VALUE
An eastern publisher is now getting
out an edition of the Rindge family
history, which was recently compiled
by Mr.. Andrews. 1t will be an expen-
sive work, costing several hundred
dollars. 1t will be printed on vellum,
embellished with illuminated lettering
and illustrated with reproductions from
photographs of scenes mentioned in
the chronicles and Of coats of arms and
crests of the family emblazoned on
parchment.
Mrs. Robert J. Burdette has dis
tinguished ancestry. She is descended
from the Bradley family of Connecti-
cut, which goes back to the landed
gentry of England. There were many
soldiers, scholars and churchmen
among Mrs. Burdettes progenitors.
The family history of Mrs. Hancock