THE DOTY-DOTEN FAMILY IN AMERICA Descendants of Edward Doty, An Emigrant by the COMPILED BY ETHAN ALLEN DOTY The fathers sleep, but men remain Why count the loss and not the gain?- The best is that we have to-day.-Our Country. BROOKLYN, N. Y. Published for the Author 1897 In the early Autumn of 1871 I received from the late Rev. Silas Ketchum, of Bristol, N. H., a circular stating that he was collecting records of the family of Doty, and desiring all of that name to send him all the statistics possible, with a view to the history of the family. He stated also that his mother was Cynthia, daughter of Edmond, who was a son of Captain Barnabas Doty, who was born in Rochester, Mass., in 1740. Until that time my interest in such matters had been but slight; but remembering that I had in my boyhood secured a statement from my grandfather, which I still preserved, I sent a copy of it to Mr. Ketchum, saying to him that I wouid write to the other relatives for such additions as they could make to the record. This led to a considerable correspondence with him, as I secured records from a number of relatives, and at my suggestion, but with his approval, I interviewed the various families of the name in New York City, Brooklyn, Newark and the vicinity. In the course of a few months Mr. Ketchum called upon me in New York, and stated that I was collecting the statistics faster than he could get them from any other source, and in view of his failing health and much needed rest from his literary labors, he suggested that I should continue the work, he transferring to me such papers as had already come into his possession. Without much idea of what this involved I consented, and since that time I have collected on my own account such statistics as I could, giving such time to its classification as I could spare from a very busy mercantile life, mainly in the evenings, holidays and vacations from business. I find I have written over 5,000 letters, have received about 2,200 replies and in the course of my investigations have traversed the country from one end to the other. I have searched the records of almost every county of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and more or less in all the other Northern States as far west as Illinois, while I have interviewed members o' the family in almost every State of the Union. I have made many pleasant friends and acquaintances, have met with uniform courtesy from Jown and County Clerks and State officers everywhere, have had amusing dventures, and have seen more of the beautiful scenery and the quiet village home life of our country than I could have seen probably in any other way. I have no apologies to make for the imperfections that may be found in this history. I presume all genealogists have found it impossible to get replies from any considerable number of those addressed. This failure to secure the desired information was at times disheartening; at others it led me to make long journeys and in a personal interview obtain what I could. |