Recent Books

RECENT BOOKS * THE PERSHING FAMILY IN AMERICA. A COLLECTION OP HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL DATA, FAMILY PORTRAITS, TRADITIONS, LEGENDS AND MILITARY RECORDS. By Edgar J, Pershing Philadelphia, 1924 Pp 424; por 157, ills. 21, 8°. The f amily Pershing in America traces back, lineally and collaterally, to six immigrants from Alsace, or the Rhine Valley, only five of whom . . . . left descendants. The first in Pennsylvania was Frederick PeTshing, 1749. Nine generations of these pioneers have played their part in the nation making of the United States Each, in turn, supplied its quota in the border war of the colonial period, as well as in all the succeeding wars through which the Country has passed These generations likewise sup plied their quota of pioneers in the upbuilding of the West Their wagons and prairie-schooners swept across Indiana, Illinois and the Middle West. They were among the early Oregonians. With the Forty niners they sought gold in California Their log cabins dotted the hills and valleys of every state from Pennsylvania to the coast Finally, their emigration struggles ended, they became in the main, says the author ’s preface, ' Hillers of the soil ” they had wrested from the wilderness By their lives they set a standard of simplicity, sane living and patriotism Of such living only can a great nation be perpetuated . One hundred and fifty seven family portraits, besides other illustrations, add interest to the volume Among the former appears the kindly, alert face of the Commander- in- Chief, American Expeditionary Forces 1917 1918, and General of the Armies of the United States, 1919 1924, John J. Pershing, - . . - . - . . P . - . - - S . . G A HISTORY OF THE TOHICKON UNION CHURCH, BEDMINSTER TOWNSHIP, BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA , with copy of church records, Reformed Congregation, 1745-1869 ; Lutheran Congregation, 1749-1840. Prepared and translated at the request of The Pennsylvania German Society by Rev. William John Hihke, Ph.D., D.D., MeadviBe, Pa,, 1925 Pp. xii j483 ; por , illustrated, 8° The scholarly author of this work is gratefully remembered for his exhaustive History of Goshenhoppen Reformed Charge, published by the German Society of Pennsylvania in 19 . . and the Society is to be com mended upon its production of these two invaluable church histories I n the absence of local vital records Pennsylvania must ever depend upon her church registers, sacramental and secular, to supply family data and to supplement family Bibles and gravestone inscriptions In this store house of information much has already been gathered, but much yet remains to be done by the churches of whatever creed and age The leading features of Dr Hinke 's work are : I History of the Tohickon Reformed Congregation with sketches of its ministers II Tohickon Reformed Church Records, Baptismal, Marriage, Burial, and Catechumens, . . - . . . - . - - . . . * By members of the Society, or relating to Pennsylvania. ( 93 ) 1927 Copyright The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania PGM Vol X No.1 Recent Books. 94 . ohickon Lutheran Congregation, ’with sketches of its ministers IV Tobickon Lutheran Church Records, Baptisms, Financial Statements, and Catechumens. 01 History of . . . . TATUM NARRATIVE, 1626-1925 By Richard P. Tatum Philadelphia, 1925 Pp 110, por,, pi , folded chart, 8 " Samuel Tatam, mariner, planter, trader and member of Council of Warwick Tribe, or plantation, in close proximity to Port Royal, Ber mudas, while not one of the earliest settlers of the islands, is found there in 1626, Three generations of his descendants in Bermuda are traced to John Tatem, who emigrated to West New Jersey in 1689, and to his brother, Samuel Tatem, who settled at Flushing, Long Island, in 1688 The third generation in New Jersey changed the spelling of the name to its present form, Tatum, and the descendants of this line are carried down to 1925. The work shows wide research and has a good index . . . . - Jk . . — PUBLICATIONS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY OF THE COLONIAL DAMES IV. CHURCH MUSIC AND MUSICAL LIFE IN PENNSYLVANIA IN THE EIGHTH EENTH CENTURY. In two volumes. Prepared by the Committee on Historical Research. Volume I. Philadelphia: printed for the Society : 1926. 8vo., pp xvi, 261; cloth. The editorial committee, under the resourceful lead of Mrs. Alvin Aiflick Parker, modestly present this work as a compilation from historians, diarists and antiquarians of references to the music of the earlier settlers of Pennsylvania. But their enterprise in furnishing a complete facsimile reproduction of the unique copy of the manuscript Kelpius hymn book (1705) sets it above mere compilations. This covers more than half of the present volume, and includes the text of the hymns with the musical score of the tunes Kelpius composed for them, and their Eng lish translation by Dr. Christopher Witt. Moreover, the materials as here presented are woven into a continuous story, a development. Johannes Kelpius, mystic and musician, becomes the Coryphaeus, and his monastic community on the Wissahickon the fount of Pennsylvania music. Justus Falckner, writer of hymns still in use, at first makes common cause with the mystic brotherhood, and Dr. Witt, organ-builder, joins it in 1704. Falckner sends home an appeal for an organ in the Swedish church of Gloria Dei, and submits himself to Swedish Lutheran ordination . The mystical brothers come to town to furnish the music for the occasion : Gloria Dei gets its organ : incoming clergy contribute something of Old World musical culture ; and the Swedish music becomes t i part of the warp and woof of the church music of Pennsylvania. i y The present volume closes with some notes upon American Indian music in Pennsylvania, though it is not here regarded as having place in colonial history, and it is throughout richly illustrated. Louis F Benson P OF AMERICA S . G - * — . . WHITE SERVITUDE I K PENNSYLVANIA : INDENTURED AND REDEMPTION LABOR IN COLONY AND COMMONWEALTH. By Herrick A . Cheesman. Phila delphia, 1926. Pp vi 330; 8° The result of Dr. Herrick ’s adventure in this particular field of social, . + 1927 . Copyright The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania - PGM Vol X No.1 . 95 Recent Boohs economic and political investigation has been so ably analyzed, in a recent number of The Annals of the American Academy of iSocial and Political Science that the brief review is here repeated : 4 ‘ This is the most com prehensive and thorough study that has yet been made upon the subject of indentured and redemption labor in our colonial and early state history In fact it is more than a monograph upon the subject implied by the title ; incidentally it is also an account of the founding, settlement, development and control of a colony Its relations to the mother country, the labor problem, the struggle between slavery and free labor, the propaganda to attract settlers, the land question, the race question, the relig ious problem indeed every phase of social, economic and political life through which the middle colonies passed is here reflected and carefully analyzed by Dr Herrick in this important Study. But the main theme, white servitude, an institution which nearly supplanted slavery, is in itself far more important than the organized literature on the subject now found in our libraries would indicate. This phase of our early his tory has been much neglected and the book will therefore be welcomed by all students who seek to explain present problems in the light of the past The work is largely written from original sources found in Amer ican and English archives and has the special merit of having grown under the author 's sincere interest in the subject rather than as the result of a task imposed from without The reviewer happens to know that this painstaking study was in process of growth and development for more than a quarter of a century, and it is not too much to say that it is the last word upon this subject." Karl F Geiser. - . . - —. - - P . . — S . BYWAYS AND BOULEVARDS IN AND ABOUT HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA . By Francis Burke Brandt and Henry Volkmar Gummere With five original drawings by Frank H Taylor and more than three hundred illustrations from prints and photographs by Lydia Flagg Gummere, Philip B Wal lace, W. V Chappell and others Published by the Corn Exchange National Bank, Philadelphia Sesqui-Centcnnial Souvenir Edition. Octavo, cloth, frontispiece, indexed, pp 320, ills 320 Prepared by two widely known Philadelphia educators, this volume is unique in guide - book annals, and is one of the most comprehensive pic torial records of Philadelphia ever issued. It can be read with equal in terest in the library and in the automobile In brief sentences it visional izes the greatness of the great city to the visiting stranger and is a mine of first -hand information to the general citizen, rhrough the twelve great highways to and from Philadelphia it leads to all points of the historic past, and to those of the history -making present , by a series of carefullyplanned, pleasure-giving motor tours, each complete in its directions and with numerous possible detours Both authors and publisher have done their work well . . G . . . . . . . - . . - - . WHERE PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY BEGAN. Sketch and Map of a Trip from Philadelphia to Tinicuro Island, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. By Henry D. Paxson. Philadelphia, 1926. Pp. 250, ills. 95, maps 3, 8°. The unusual amount of historical information presented in such com pact and yet readable form in Where Pennsylvania History Began seems to have almost overshadowed its equally great genealogical value and - 1927 Copyright The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania PGM Vol X No.1 Recent Books . 96 . importance The large number of items of family interest scattered through the text, supplemented by an excellent list of Swedish land owners and their holdings in the year 1684 on both sides of the Delaware River, a census of Swedish settlers of 1693, giving the names of heads of families and the number of individuals in each family, together with well-selected extracts from the parish registers of Gloria Dei Church, furnish those of Swedish ancestry with, their genealogical roots and en able many such to readily and definitely connect their lineage with their progenitors in New Sweden Ernest Spofford , - - — . ENGLISH ANCESTRY OP THE WAYNE FAMILY OF PENNSYLVANIA. By Edwin Jaquett Sellers Philadelphia [ Press of Alien, Lane & Scott ], 1927 Pp, 3 51, pi , 8°, The volume contains an excellent account of Captain Anthony Wayne, the colonist ancestor of the Pennsylvania family, together with his Eng lish antecedents, originally of Yorkshire, later of Derbyshire. There are also brief sketches of his children and grandchildren, including Major General Anthony Wayne of Revolutionary fame The arms of the Waynes appear in colors as the frontispiece and in gilt on the outside cover An outline of the allied families of Bishop and Jackson, also of county Derby, is included The author ’s succinct statements of facts, supplemented by citations from public authorities makes the work in valuable to every Wayne descendant and a notable contribution to Pennsylvania genealogy . . + . - - . P . . - S . . SOME REMINISCENCES. By Burnet Landreth Volume XIII, Bristol, Pennsylvania, 1927 Pp 113, 8° This miscellany of events historical and genealogical, personal recollec tions of the octogenarian author, together with hearsay records of a past time, should be a stimulus to and an example for others to do likewise Its brief chapters, or reviews, contain useful information which otherwise might easily be lost in this age of stress and haste ; that on ‘ The Inter national Centennial of 1876’ is of particular interest . . . - G . . . ’ ‘ - . THE LESTERS. By J William Lester Gary, Indiana, 1927, Pp, 34. 8°. This pamphlet on the Lester family ha3 brief chapters on : Our British Ancestry, Life in the Colonies, The Pioneer Spirit, Military Service, Kindred Families and Short genealogies of some branches of the Family, together with a Bibliography and Index Its author is vice-president of the Lester Association . 1927 . Copyright The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania PGM Vol X No.1