Archive:TAG Volume 54

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McCracken, George E., "Recent Books and Reprints," TAG, vol. 54 (1978), pp. 56-64.

[p. 59f.]

"The Antecedents of Imogene Whitney, by Miranda Goodrie Willoughby, based on research by Raymond Royce Willoughby, edited and published by Hugh Willoughby (Riverside, RI, 1977), 76 pages, ACCO fastened, $3 (address: 35 Arnold St. Riverside, RI 02915).

This is the fourth volume written by Mrs. Willoughby on the basis of research conducted by her late husband. For the first two works she received the Jacobus Award administered by the American Society of Genealogists. The present volume describes the ancestry of her mother-in-law and ends the series. Imogene Whitney (1862-1913) had a life filled with pathos, and the account of her given by her daughter-in-law is beautifully told. Her male line is traced back to #128 John Whitney of Watertown (1589-1673), and to that point the information given is probably reliable. From then on, however, we reach the point when the alleged English ancestry published by others is accepted without question though the fact that Mr. Jacobus had questioned it was discovered. Mr. Willoughby goes so far as to claim for himself a descent from William the Conqueror through a son of Edward III. There is an 'index' of sorts in the book, to wit, a surname index of the females in the ancestor table. The result of such a compilation is to omit persons mentioned incidentally, e.g. a cousin of Dr. Willoughby is the opera singer, Geraldine Farrar, who will be found only if one reads p.17 with care."

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