Publisher's Synopsis
In this volume are presented the genealogies of Bristol. The author has sought to include every family that ever resided within the limits of the town; and while this has not been possible the result has been that the following pages contain the records of 368 family names; more than 1,500 families and over 12,000 individual names. The statistics here presented have been gathered from every available source-from family records, printed genealogies, tombstones, records of deeds and wills, church records, and records of clergymen officiating at funerals and marriages; a few from the meagre vital statistics of the town, and many by extensive correspondence with widely scattered former residents, and by personal interviews. The difficulties of its compilation makes the value of the work more apparent. In all cases the aim has been to give the line of descent from the earliest known ancestor to the first settlement of the family in the territory now known as Bristol, and from that time to give a full record to the present, if the family continues to reside in town. In case of removal the children and in many cases the grandchildren of natives and residents are given after having left town. In but few cases has more than this been attempted. From the nature of the case these records must be imperfect and errors will appear. They are not complete for the work of the genealogist is never finished; changes are constantly occurring. In the appendix is given the records of births, marriages and deaths that occurred while this volume was in press, in order to bring the volume up to date, but even while the index was in preparation several deaths occurred of which no record could be made. This work is intended to be strictly genealogical and in no sense biographical. All the genealogical data obtainable has been given in each case, with very brief additional information. Only in the case of a few distinguished public men has anything more than this been given. --March, 1904
