"In addition to the many circulars and blank information forms that have been sent out, nearly five thousand letters have been written. Searches have been made through files of newspapers, pamphlets, and college and seminary necrologies and general catalogues. Genealogies, as far as they could be found have been examined in the libraries of the New England Genealogical and Historical Society in Boston, and of the Long Island Historical Society in Brooklyn, and in the Lenox Library in New York. And all available means have been utilized to obtain the information contained in this volume.." -- From compilers' note