Excerpt from Genealogical and Biographical Account of the Family of Bolton: In England and America, Deduced From an Early Period, and Continued Down to the Present Time Memoirs Of eminent men may be considered as essential materials for the com position of History, and afford us not only a pleasing amusement, but the most in structive lessons. No study, perhaps, can be better calculated to impress on the minds of youth an early love of virtue, and a desire of being useful to mankind in general, or devoting themselves particularly to the service of God or their country; for while we are contemplating the characters and actions Of our pious ancestors, the generous spark of emulation is kindled in our own breast, and we ardently seek the opportunity of imitating such illustrious examples. To do justice to the characters Of men of such distinguished piety, to whom we are so much indebted, is not only an act of gratitude, but a pleasing, a generous task. Though this family has been eminently Oonspicuous from having given so many ministers to the Church of England, one Of whom it has been justly remarked, was celebrated for his singular learning and piety, there has not been a single attempt to collect and arrange any kind Of memorial of it either in England or America. Hence it is easy for every one to see, that when the author undertook such a task, he had much to do. The greatest attention has been paid in examining the numerous works of the historian, topographer, genealogist and antiquarian, and many distant parts of both England and the United States have been visited by the author or his friends to in spect authentic records; yet unhappily, researches of this kind, can seldom be complete or entirely without mistake. Those only who know the fatigue of col leeting materials, and classing them for books of this sort, after a period of full twenty-five years has been spent in constantly watching, searching and waiting for facts, can form a proper judgment of such a laborious undertaking. The author's progress in investigating the genealogy of his family was greatly aided by a beloved father, who, one of nature's noblemen and an indefatigable antiquarian, first commenced the inquiry, imbued his son with a taste for the same, and fully intended to have completed it before his death. To his preserving hand the family are greatly indebted for many ms. Materials which otherwise would have been lost. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.