Excerpt from Col. John Wise of England and Virginia (1617-1695): His Ancestors and Descendants And so, if any man scoff at me because I present the unbroken history Of ten generations of the men Of my name in Virginia, I care not for his sneers. This record is not compiled for him, but for my children, and my brothers' children, and their children, and grandchildren, who will, in the course of nature, increase in numbers with each succeeding generation. Some Of them will be made better men by an intimate knowledge of their father's father and his father before him, unto the first generation of his family in America. Indeed, as I write these words, I try to picture the eleventh and the twelfth and the thirteenth generations, and find myself wondering if these children Of the future will find the meaning of America more real by reason of what I.have written as I have found Virginia. Or will the spirit of America, as my great-grandfathers, Wise, and Cropper, and Sergeant, and Douglas knew it, be but a tender tradition with them as the spirit of Old Virginia is fast becoming even with the Virginians of to day? My speculations on this point have led me to see that there is senti ment in the contemplation of the future as well as in reflection on the past, and my heart grows sick when I ponder the possibility that Columbia, in the cruel process Of evolution, may wear for a time the dazzling crown of power, only to have it rust upon her head as it did upon Old Virginia's. 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.