AVING
assumed the responsibility of editing the following pages, I take this opportunity
to acknowledge the many aids which have helped to make the preparation of the work
much easier and pleasanter than it could otherwise have been, and which contribute
greatly to its completeness and symmetry. This admission of editorial responsibility
is to relieve my brothers from any criticism which might be made concerning its
defects, rather than to seek credit for any supposed merit which may be discovered
in the selection and arrangement of material furnished. The only embarrassment encountered
in an editorial way has been in summoning sufficient resolution to exclude where
so much interesting and pertinent matter has presented claims for recognition.
In acknowledging obligations, first mention should be made of Mrs. Cornelia M. Stockton, whose interesting memorial sketch has been the result of much assiduous labor, necessitating, as it has done, the careful perusal of numerous manuscripts and letters. To Mr. Van Millet, our well-known artist, I am indebted for the appropriate and significant design of the cover.
It having seemed desirable to have some expression from the coworkers of my mother in the various associations with which she was identified, all requests have been responded to in every instance as though it were a labor of love. In this connection it gives me great pleasure to mention the names of Mrs. St. Clair, Mrs. Winch, Mrs. Porter, and Mrs. Scammon.
These contributions will be read with interest by every person who has any knowledge of the subject of this volume. To Mrs. Mary L. Gray acknowledgment is due for much valuable historical information.