This

life had been far less happy and far less useful. interest was early inspired in his bosom; and its fervors increased to his dying hour. And the whole effect was of the most practical kind that can be imagined; while, at the same time, it led him, (unlike the chiliasts of old, and some of later date,) to no fanciful schemes for promoting this glorious change. "This subject," says his daughter, in her memoranda of his last days, "from an early stage in his religious course, was a solace in every affliction, and seemed to irradiate every science, every duty, and every place. To promote the glory of Christ in hastening this day, was the ruling passion of his soul, and whatever study or pursuit did not seem adapted to this end, was thrown aside as worse than useless. I have sometimes marvelled, that his mind should be so deeply interested upon a subject to which christians in general pay so little attention. On expressing my surprise to him, at one time, he said, I was amazingly interested when I was about ten years old, in hearing Mr. Spaulding talk of the grand millennium; and I have always been interested in it; and it is one of the most astonishing things in the world, that christians should think so little about it. It seems as if their eyes were holden."

Before his eye, the millennium stood as the bright vision of a glorious reality; and every event around him, and every act of his own, was viewed in its relation to this consummation. The man of the world is not more steadily bent on the accumulation of fortune, nor the patriot on the deliverance of his suffering country, than was he on contributing his aid, however feeble, to this deliverance of a world from satan's bondage.

For the very purpose of inspiring such views and feelings as these and such a life as this-were the rich promises given, which crowd the word of God; which fired the hearts of ancient seers; and which will soon fire the hearts of a more blessed generation than has yet existed. When all good men shall thus feel and thus live, the millennium will very soon be. AMEN EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS.

APPENDIX.

THE following account of our ancestors, was drawn up by my brother, on his dying bed, as already stated in the body of this work. It is placed at the end of the volume, not through any want of respect to a revered ancestry, but from the apprehension, that the extent of these notices might detain most readers too long from the particular subject of the foregoing work. Had my brother lived to execute his own plan, this account would very properly have retained the place he had assigned it.

Two classes of readers may find a special interest in the narratives here subjoined. The first are the numerous descendants of the persons here noticed; the second class are those who delight in the antiquities of our country, and such as are fond of genealogical investigations. For the sake of these classes, if for no others, the facts are deemed worthy of a record in this place. According to my brother's arrangement, they were to constitute a separate and preliminary chapter, which he thus began.

MY ANCESTORS.

"A son honoreth his father." This duty is to me peculiarly delightful. It is but giving honor to whom honor is due. Most gladly would I reflect back, upon all my known ancestors, as much honor as they have conferred upon me. I have reason to believe, that they were all honored in their day, and some reason to hope, that they are all now rejoicing together in heaven. Some of them were highly distinguished, and are peculiarly deserving of everlasting remembrance. O that I were worthy of such an ancestry. Descent from such characters, should surely be regarded as a substantial privilege-a real blessing. For though we must stand or fall in a great measure according to our own personal conduct, and be judged wholly according to our deeds, in the world to come, yet doubtless the influence of excellent parents and ancestors, is among the most hopeful means of forming us to virtue. They may be considered as a kind of monitors and guardians, to point our way and urge us onward in the course of goodness. Besides, we may hope, if we do not most obstinately and wickedly refuse the boon, that they have laid up a store of prayers and covenant engage ments, which will descend in blessings upon our heads. (See Gen. xvii, 7.) Notwithstanding my many and great imperfections, there is no doubt they would have been much greater still, had all these

ancestors been opposite characters. As for me and my house, may God give us grace to walk worthy of our fathers.

Bulkley and Fiske. Two of my ancestors were distinguished above the rest. These were Peter Bulkley and John Fiske. They were both delivered from the furnace of England, and brought to this western wilderness, nearly at the same time. They were both wealthy, and benefactors to others; both distinguished ministers of the gospel; founders of churches; fathers of Massachusetts; genuine puritans, and among the most distinguished of that illustrious band. They were among my elder and more remote ancestors, being both great-grandfathers to my grandfather Emerson of Holles.

Peter Bulkley, the elder of the two pilgrims, was born in England, 1583, being four years older than Winthrop. After receiving a college education, he was twenty-one years a minister in England. At the age of fifty-two, he came to this country. The next year, 1636, he formed the church in Concord, being the twelfth in Massachusetts, and was soon regularly established as their minister. In the year 1637, in connection with Mr. Hooker, he was moderator of the synod of Cambridge, occasioned by the errors of Ann Hutchinson. He was distinguished as a scholar, an author, and a preacher; and perhaps still more, for his ardor and gifts in prayer. Respecting this, tradition has left us an anecdote that is worthy of permanent record. When Concord had arrived at some degree of consideration, it attracted the notice of a neighboring tribe of Indians, who panted for its goods and thirsted for the blood of its inhabitants. Having conspired its destruction, they held a council upon the best time and means of attacking Concord. Several animating speeches were made in favor of the enterprise. At length an old chief arose, and said to this effect: "Brothers, your plan is not good; you cannot take Concord; the great spirit will not suffer it. Don't you know, Bulkley is there, the man of the big pray! You can never take Concord." This frustrated their plot and delivered Concord. This deliverance was no doubt in answer to the good man's prayers, though at that time he probably knew nothing of those machinations. He died in 1659, aged 76.

His daughter was married to Joseph Emerson, minister of Mendon. They were the parents of Peter Emerson of Reading, who was the father of Daniel Emerson, minister of Holles, who was the father of Daniel Emerson, my immediate father. Or, to state the whole line more briefly. Peter Bulkley, Elizabeth Bulkley, afterwards Elizabeth Emerson, Peter Emerson, Rev. Daniel Emerson, Dea. Daniel Emerson, Joseph Emerson.* [See Allen's Biographi

The genealogy of the Bulkley's is traced for a period of about six hundred years; but concerning most of the line, perhaps little if any thing is now known, except their names, which stand in the following order;-Robert Bulkley; William; Robert; Peter; Hugh; who died in 1450; Humphrey; William; Thomas; Rev. Edward, D. D.; and Rev. Peter, B. D., the same that is mentioned in the text above, and who came to this country. According to this list, my brother belonged to the fifteenth generation from Robert Bulkley.

Some materials are here afforded to aid the inquisitive in determining the length of a generation of common men, with somewhat greater accuracy than from the data generally employed by chronologists, viz. the reigns of princes. The lives of princes are often shorter than they would probably have been in the sober and peaceful walks of common life. Some die by the sword; more, by the dagger

GENEALOGICAL COMPUTATIONS.

443

cal Dictionary and Mather's Magnalia, in which will be found many other interesting particulars.]

John Fiske, related to me in the same degree with Peter Bulkley, was great-grandfather to my grandfather Rev. Daniel Emerson. His daughter, Elizabeth Fiske, was the first wife of Esq. Brown of Reading. Their daughter, Anna Brown, was the wife of Peter Emerson, and they were the parents of my grandfather, as already mentioned.

Mr. Fiske was born in England in 1601, where he was publicly educated, and became a minister of the gospel. Greatly distinguished for piety, and persecuted for righteousness' sake, he fled to this country in 1637. Coming in the same ship with John Allen, afterwards minister of Dedham, they were accustomed to preach and by poison; and more still, by sensual indulgence. We may, then, well suppose, that if accurate genealogical tables of men in common life, had been kept as extensively as those of long lines of princes, they would have shown a result in favor of ordinary life, in respect to longevity. And some allowance has in fact sometimes been made, on conjectural grounds of this nature. On these principles, a generation has been commonly computed at thirty years. Let us now glance at the facts presented in the above pedigree, and see how the result agrees with the computation from royal life. The first date which we find in this list, is at the death of Hugh, the fifth in the series, which occurred in 1450. From him to Rev. Peter Bulkley, who died 1659, we have five generations; and, as will be seen by computation, nearly 42 years to a generation. For the subsequent five generations that remain, viz. from the death of Rev. Peter B., 1659, to the death of my brother, 1833, we have 174 years; which gives nearly 35 years to a generation. By this it would seem, that life has grown shorter, in these generations, by seven years. It is, however, possible that, in this period, the line was continued more in the older sons of their respective families, than it was in the former period. This would increase the number of successions in a given period. And as to at least two of the five, they certainly were among the oldest sons, my father being a first son, and my brother a second. It is obvious, too, that early marriages must affect the computation. These are probably more frequent in this country, where the last five generations have lived, than in England, where the means of supporting a family, are not so easily acquired. Thus, for instance, it has happened, from one or both of these causes, that we have only five successions from Joseph E. of Mendon, through the line of my grandfather, while there are six successions through that of my grandmother E. who was a descendent from the same Joseph. This fact, by the way, afords a presumption that five successions in this period, (the number I am using,) is not too great for the ordinary fact in this country, however it may be in Europe. It is, however, the prevalent doctrine, that lon gevity has increased instead of being diminished, in this time.

But be this as it may, let us now take the whole series of the ten generations whose dates we here have, and we shall find the average to be considerably longer than the period commonly assigned to a generation. The whole period is 383 years; which affords 38 years to a generation, instead of only 30, the common period now assigned. In ancient days, Herodotus allowed three generations to a century, or about 33 years to each generation; while Dionysius of Halicarnassus, reckoned but 27 years to a generation.

Should curiosity now prompt the inquiry, When was Robert B., our first named ancestor, probably born? the question may be answered by computing backward, from 1450, for the first five generations of which we have no date. It will proba bly be right, in this computation, to assume at least as long a period to each suocession, as we find in the second five generations; for the comparative few who arrive at adult age in a rude state of society, are supposed generally to live longer than those in a more refined state-a principle confirmed by the facts just considered respecting the comparative longevity of the second and third portions. Assuming 42 years, then, as the ratio, it will carry us back to the year 1240, for the date of the death of Robert's father. Allowing him, then, to have been seven years old, at the death of his father, we have the year 1233, for the nativity of Robert B.

I may add, that at this period, family names had just begun to be common, the earliest trace even among the nobility of Germany, being in 1162. He may there fore have been the first of the name. [See Enc. Americana, Art. Genealogy.]