Book Description

Excerpt from Francis Ball's Descendents or the West Springfield Ball Family From 1640-1902 Genealogy is not what it was a number of years ago, but it has of late been placed, says Dr. Henry R. Stiles, "in the front rank of honorable sciences or studies." To quote again, he says: "I assume that the genealogist is engaged in the highest form of historical and literary labor. I am certain that the results of his labors have a direct and most important relation to the highest forms of historical literature." And he adds, that "nearly fifty years of experience has convinced" him that true genealogists "are, as a rule, magnificently generous," and that "they will go farther to aid others than" any other class of students with which he has become acquainted. He gives several qualifications for a good genealogist. I am glad to be able to give these prefatory statements from one who has had so many years of experience and has written so many works, Henry R. Stiles, A. M., M. D. I have undertaken to prepare a genealogical record of the Ball family of West Springfield, Massachusetts, the descendants of Francis Ball, who was an early settler in Springfield, and whose date of settlement there is placed at 1640. 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.