"Lopez de Gomara maintains that Columbus discovered the whole coast as far west as Cape de Vela, but Oviedo, whom I have learnt to respect for his accuracy, says: Columbus did not sail along the coast of Terra Firma farther than the 'Point Arya' which is (on line) north and south of the west point of the Island Margaretta from which he steered a northern course in order to repair at St. Domingo."

Don Fernando, son of the admiral, says: "My father after having discovered the Gulf of Paria coasted along Terra Firma as far west as the Testig Islands, from which point he sailed with a fair wind for Saint Domingo." The question, as a question of priority, is one of justice and is revived only by the new importance of Venezuela and Guiana in the public eye.

March 25, 1896.

C. I. A. Chapman.

THE MAYFLOWER PILGRIMS.

In a recent issue of the Record was a mention of where to find the list of Mayflower Pilgrims. As the book referred to may not be accessible our readers will be glad to know that the list of Pilgrims in the Mayflower may be found in Plumb's History of Wyoming and Hanover, p. 14 The author has a few copies left that any one wanting a copy can have, postage paid, at $3. Mr. Plumb's address in Peely, Luzerne County, Pa.

Histories of Wyoming Valley are becoming exceedingly scarce and Mr. Plumb's is now almost the only one obtainable, except at exorbitant prices.

WHO WERE YOUR ANCESTORS?

A runaway slave in Wilkes-Barre before the war when he was asked where he came from would reply, "Do not ask me where I came from, but where I am going to." I do not propose to tell where any one is going to, but to trace the blue blood in the valley back to find its source. I pass by many families of which I have no data at hand and hardly refer to the Celtic portion of our population as I am only considering the families of Anglo-Saxon origin with a few exceptions.

The ancestors of the Wright family came over from England with William Penn's colony of Quaker emigrants and were the founders of Wrightville, New Jersey.

The Conyngham family go back to 1539 to the house of Glenearin. A member of the family saved the life of a prince of Scotland whom Macbeth would have slain. The family was prominent in the Church in England and Ireland.

Henry W. Palmer's ancestors sailed from Plymouth, England, 1621, in the second vessel after the Mayflower. Shakespeare has something to say about the Palmers. The family in this county counts among its members many leading men in the church, State and all the professions and includes Gen. Grant.

The Foster family came from the Green Mountains to this section, of English ancestry.

The McClintock family are of ScotchIrish extraction. Andrew Todd McClintock came here from Northumberland, this State. His mother was a Todd and his wife was a daughter of Jacob Cist. The Turner family came here from New Jersey.

The Dana family came here from Cambridge, Mass. The Dana family occupy more space on the pages of our national history than any other family represented in the valley. English on the paternal side and German on the maternal side.

The Miner family are of Yankee orlgin.

The Johnson family are of English ancestry. Like the Miner family they have given the valley many men of talent and character.

The Chapmans came here from Norwich, Connecticut.

The ancestors of Judge Garrick M. Harding came to Providence, R. I., in 1669 from England. They furnished

the first martyrs in our frontier period.

The Hoyt family are traced back to Simon Hoyt of Salem, 1629. This family gave the State a governor, Henry M. Hoyt of Wilkes-Barre.

who

The Wadhams family came from Devonshire, England, to New England. They go back to the old Saxon Ulf, 1042. The remote ancestor of the Reynolds family was William Reynolds, came from England, and was one of the founders of Providence, Rhode Island, 1637. Another William removed to Connecticut from there, at a later date to Wyoming. The family is related to the Butlers by marriage. William was the original purchaser of a large tract of land in Plymouth, most of which still remains in the possession of his descendants.

The Sturdevant family are of English ancestry and came to the valley by the way of Connecticut and Wyoming County.

Alexander Farnham came from the northern part of this State. The family came over with the first instalments of Puritans and were originally an old English family.

The Darlings are of English extraction. A niece of Lord Howe married into the family. The family were among the first New England arrivals.

The Woodward ancestor came from Ipswich, England, 1634, and became one of the "proprietors" of the town of Watertown, Mass. The family has given the State conspicuous judges and legislators.

The Ricketts family are of English and Scotch extraction. They came to the valley from Columbia County, this State. R. Bruce Ricketts honored the name at Gettysburg.

The Dickson family date back to 1583, Glasgow. They figure conspicuously in the church and State.

The Ryman family came here by the way of New Jersey.

The Bennett family, of which there are several branches, are of English origin. Some of the family came here from Connecticut and some from Rhode Island. The most conspicuous member of the family in the past was the late Ziba Bennett, while George S. Bennett, president of the Wyoming National Bank, worthy represents the family of the present time.

The Scott family, of which E. Greenough, is a member, came to this State from Connecticut.

The Dorrance family begins in our history with Rev. Samuel Dorrance, a

graduate of Glasgow University, a Scotch Presbyterian from Ireland.

The Butler family in the Valley are descendants of Gen. Zebulon Butler, one of the patriots of the Revolution, from Connecticut.

The Hands came from early Puritan stock.

The Hunlock family are of New England descent. The family in the valley are related to the Jamieson family.

W. S. McLean is of Irish extraction. His father came here from Carbon County.

The Loop family came from Elmira, N. Y. They are connected to the Ross and Sterling families The family originally came here by the way of New England from England.

The Bulkeley family go back to an old English baron in the reign of King John, who died 1216.

The Espy family go back to the North of Ireland, 1761.

The Plumb family came from England and finally settled in Wayne County, this State.

The Harvey family are descendants of a noted English family in the reign of King Henry VIII. A member of that family was a noted military man and a favorite of the king. The family came over with the first colonists.

The Atherton family came from Ireland, originally being natives of Scotland.

The Shonk family came from Germany and settled in New Jersey. The Stark family came from England by the way of Connecticut.

The Kidders came from England.

The Bedford family came here from Kingston, N. Y., and are related by marriage to the Butler family and to the Yarrington family.

Judge Daniel Laport Rhone is of a happy mixture of French, Pennsylvania German and Yankee blood. Rhone was originally Rahn. The French was by his mother Laport. I will mention the fact that French refugees had a colony in Bradford County in 1795. Louis Phillippe stopped there before he came to the valley. Talleyrand and Count de la Rouchefoucould stopped there several days.

The Osborne family are of English origin.

The progenitors of George B. Kulp spelled their name Kolb. The family has a large place in the religious history of Germany and Pennsylvania.

The Fuller family came over in the

Mayflower. The grandfather of Henry A. Fuller of this city settled in Wayne County. In passing I will say that outside of New England no section of the United States has been so prolific of great men as the section of this State north of us. Henry M. Fuller would have received the nomination of vice president of the United States if he would have allowed his name to be presented to the convention.

The Welles family came from Essex County, England, to Connecticut. Thomas Welles was a governor of Connecticut.

The Flick family came to Northampton County, Pa., in 1751, and are of German descent.

The Parke family are of Irish descent.

The Derr family settled near Sunbury and are of German extraction.

The Wilcox family came from Rhode Island.

The Loomis family go back to 1590, Braintree, England. They settled in Connecticut.

The Hillards are from Connecticut. The Stewarts from the North of Ireland.

The Myers family are of German extraction.

The Paine family came with the Pilgrim colonists to Plymouth.

The Urquharts are of Scotch origin. The Bowmans came from England; also the Denison and Collins families. The Pettebones also came from England by the way of Connecticut.

The Jessups came from the old Puritan stock.

The Hakes family came from Rhode Island.

The Dartes from Connecticut. The Hollenback family are of German descent.

The Shoemaker family came from Amsterdam, Holland, to Rochester, N. Y., 1640, and later to this valley. An old West Side family.

The Loveland, Parrish, Nesbitt, Nelson, Peck, Ross, Rogers, Wood, Gore families are all from the best blooded New England.

Rev. Dr. Henry L. Jones, Rev. L. L. Sprague, D. D., Rev. F. B. Hodge, D. D., Frederick Corss, M. D., and Lewis H. Taylor, M. D., are of the same stock.

The Pringle family, the Abbotts, Alexander, Payne, Beaumont, Laycock, Bell, Price, Bulkeley, Brodhead, Church, Hancock, Griffin, Catlin, Jackson, Bower, Jennings, Lee, Lewis,

Pierce, Porter, are all of the same stock.

Dr. Guthrie, the Hutchisons, Waddells, Graham and Wier are Scotch, Ralph D. Lacoe Frnech.

The Franklin, Mallery, Stewart, Steel, Bidlack, Ross, Bowman, Collins, Peck, Dana, Inman, Blackman, Fell, Jenkins, Lee, Swetland, Slocum, Searles, Gore and Pierce are names emblazoned on the pages of our blue book. They have a past but have no present or future, as they have but few representatives to perpetuate their names in our day. On the other hand such families as the Conyngham, Shoemaker, Welles, Harding, Woodwards, Wright, Butler, Reynolds, Nesbitt, Bennett, Hoyt, Harvey, Dorrance, Fuller, Sturdevant and Laning, have worthy scions of their houses to maintain the prestige of the family name.

The Dilley, Lazarus, Pfouts, Robins, Nagle, Fredrick, Hoover, Corey, Perkins, Barnum and many other families are still in evidence.

Take notice of the fact that if the descendants of the New England stock were to leave the valley and take their possessions with them, that though they represent the minority, they would take the bulk of the best that goes to make up the wealth intelligence and social life of the Valley.

S. R. Smith.

Kingston, April 14, 1896.

NEARLY NINETY YEARS OF AGE.

[W.-B. Record, April 10, 1896.]

Early yesterday morning at the home of his daughter, Mrs. J. D. Laciar, occurred the death of Samuel Line, one of the oldest residents of Luzerne County. Mr. Line was born Nov. 2, 1807, in Salem Township, and has lived nearly all his life in this county. For the past thirty years he had made his home with Mrs. Laciar. Mr. Line's health had not been good for a number of years, but he had been confined to his room with serious illness for only two weeks. His end was peaceful, and formed a fitting close to a long and well spent life. Mr. Line is survived by his wife, Mrs. Martha Line, his only child, Mrs. J. D. Laciar, and two brothers, John S. Line of Bernice, and Stuart M. Line of Berwick. He was an estimable man and was highly thought of by those who knew him.

Nearly a thousand persons were gathered at the foot of the monument on the 3rd of July, 1896. The seats heretofore ample, were not equal to the occasion, and scores of persons were compelled to stand, though many, particularly the children, dropped in shady places upon the greensward and made themselves comfortable. The big canvas was spread overhead and this with the generous shade from the trees afforded ample shelter. A hot sun beat down from a cloudless sky, though it was deliciously tempered by cooling zephyrs. An abundance of cool drinking water was provided. The grounds were in splendid condition and the monument had lately been pointed with cement from top to bottom and the marble tablets recording the victims and survivors of the massacre had been cleaned of vandal defilements and presented a rejuvenated appearance.

A regular feature for years has been the presence of Alexander's band and this occasion was no exception, that excellent organization interspersing the exercises most agreeably.

The Colonial Dames and Daughters of the American Revolution occupied front seats reserved for them, as did the ladies of the Wyoming Monument Association. The latter organization had decked the base of the monument with vases of roses and daisies and other flowers, and with bunches of laurel, and at the entrance to the enclosure erected a bower of flags, evergreens and roses, exactly like the one used at the dedication of the monument fifty-five years

ago.

Rev. W. Scott Stites led in a prayer which was full of fervor and patriotism, and then the asemblage rose and with enthusiasm sang "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," led by Benjamin Evans of Pittston and an excellent choir of young ladies.

Benjamin Dorrance made announcement of the death of Mrs. Sally Henry of Wyoming and A. Clark Sisson of La Plume. It was the latter who, at the meeting of 1895, sang in such a stirring way "The Sword of Bunker Hill" and other songs.

Capt. Calvin Parsons made a brief address as president. He recalled the big centennial celebration of eighteen years

ago, when President Hayes was present. Some here to-day, he said, may possibly live to attend the second centennial in 1978. He was glad to see SO many take an interest in this commemorative meeting. While there was no Parsons name on the monument yet his maternal great-grandfather and grandfather lie buried here. "I never saw either of them," said Mr. Parsons, "but I hope to see them in the world to come. I am pleased to be here to-day, with young and old, for I see some who are past four score years." Mr. Parsons' address, though brief, was full of feeling and patriotism.

At this point Sydney G. Fisher, Esq., a member of the Philadelphia bar, author of the recent book on the "Making of Pennsylvania" gave the principal address.

John D. Farnham gave a graphic account of John Franklin, one of Wyoming's heroes, and probably the most implacable foe the Penn government ever had.

Ralph H. Wadhams recounted the first attempts of Wyoming at self-government in the two years of 1772 and 1773, just following the first Pennamite war. During this period Wyoming governed itself, independent of both Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

S. Judson Stark of Tunkhannock exhibited the original records of Putnam, one of the seventeen townships, together with the compass, scale and draughting tools used by his grandfather, Zebulon Marcy, in the original survey of old Putnam.

C. I. A. Chapman read a paper in which he described the finishing of the monument over fifty years ago, he referring to the fact that the work was brought to completion only through the efforts of the women of the valley.

The asemblage rose and sang, led by the choir, the ode written by Amos Sisty for the dedication of the monument in 1841. It was effectively sung to a familiar hymn tune.

At the conclusion of the exercises many persons remained to view the renovated monument, inside and out, and to pay their annual membership dues. There is no other formality of membership than paying $1 annually.

The task of addressing the Connecticut people of Pennsylvania on the anniversary of the great event of their history is a very congenial one, and I ought to be able to do it with some impartiality; for I was born in Pennsylvania and educated in Connecticut.

There are also other considerations which make it easy. You people of Wyoming are more interested in State history than all the other people of our Commonwealth put together. You have studied the history of this valley with a thoroughness of detail and described the events with a vividness of language which have made it known to the whole English speaking race. I know of no other episode in the history of any of our States that has been done so completely and well. I am not, therefore, obliged to begin by attempting to arouse your interest in history; for it is already as strong as my own. If all the people of Pennsylvania had been always in the same degree interested in the State's history we should, I think, have a more homogeneous and united Commonwealth and would stand first instead of second in the Union.

I have often wondered exactly why it was that the Connecticut people were able to make this valley that they had discovered in Pennsylvania so celebrated in America and England that the English poet Campbell should write of it his "Gertrude of Wyoming," a most sympathetic work of genius, less than thirty years after the Revolution had closed and when we were on the eve of the war of 1812.

It may have been that clear cut power of expression which is common in New England, and is the result of New England education or of the life, or climate, or something in that land. The New Englanders have written the history of the whole country and forced their ideas on the world while we modest Pennsylvanians, with equally good ideas and equally good history, have remained unsung and unhonored because we were not nimble with our tongues.

I am inclined to think, however, that you Connecticut people with your instinctive mastery of the aptest language had a comparitively easy task with Wyoming. The story of Wyoming was in itself essentially interesting and fascinating. It was a story; we naturally call it a story rather than a history; and whatever possesses the essential elements of a story is sure to charm. "Tell us a story," said the children a thousand years ago, and in that respect we are still children to-day.

We are obliged in these latter times to write the philosophy of history. We must study history ethnologically, as the learned ones say, to see what effect on events the characteristics of different races have had. We must study history from the religious point of view to see the effect of creeds and faiths and fanaticism. And we must study it politically to see the growth of institutions and civil liberty. But after all the first and original history, the history that becomes household history, and that we all know and remember is a story.

I should liked to have heard Zebulon Butler on this spot describe the battle of Wyoming; and I would have been listening to real history. When your honored fellow citizen, long since dead, Mr. Charles Miner, went up and down this valley among the survivors and eye witnesses of the battle he collected from them the real story of the event and every Pennsylvanian owes him a debt of gratitude to-day. The Old Testament is full of the noblest history and it is all in the form of stories, the simple narrative without comment which we tell to children and with which an able judge describes a case to a jury. Caesar's Commentaries are a simple story. Macaulay, with all his prejudice, is read because he tells a story, while the careful philosophic Hume collects the dust on the library shelves.

I am inclined to think that we become involved and obscure when we