Hyde genealogy, or, The descendants, in the female as well as in ...

IV PREFACE.
in early life removed to a distant part of the country from their
domicil of origin. For the town and church records at the place of
birth, or of marriage, seldom show to what places such removals were
made. But the identity of the family name generally enables the
persevering genealogist to trace out their descendants bearing the
original family name. The difficulty is very greatly increased,
where descendants of females, who by marriage have changed the
family name, are to be traced out. And the compiler in many in-
stances, after the most diligent inquiries and careful investigation,
found it impossible to trace out and ascertain such descendants.
Again : the registers of marriages, as usually kept by town clerks
and by clergymen, very seldom, if ever, have an index to them
under the family names of the wives ; but the index only refers to
the family name of the husband. And the registers of births very
frequently mention only the family name of the father of the child,
with the Christian name of the mother ; without her maiden or
family name. Even where the family name of the mother of the
child is given in the registry of births, if there is more than one
female residing at the same place and of about the same age and
having the same Christian and the same family name, it is very
difficult to determine the identity of the wife in ancient records. ,
The compiler therefore will be disappointed if it does not turn out
that in some cases he has made a mistake in relation to the parent-
age of the wife in this genealogy. And in some instances he may
have mistaken the parentage of the husband. But he has generally I
been able to test the identity of the parties to a marriage, and of the
parents of a child by inscriptions on grave-stones, records in family
Bibles, and by information derived from descendants, or from col-
lateral relatives; so that he trusts but few mistakes of this kind
have occurred. Where he had some doubt as to the identity, he
has inserted the word prohahli/ in the record.
Where the compiler could not obtain the particulars of a family,
from records or monuments, or from the father or mother, or one of
the children of such family, he has been obliged to rely upon informa-
tion derived from collateral relatives and other sources. And many
of the dates of births, marriages and deaths will unquestionably bo
found not to be entirely correct. For he has frequently discovered
that the dates of births and marriages, upon the town records and
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