Ted Marr, 25th Gen.
The 1948 Edition embodies information from the previous editions. In total, there are 11 documented prior editions of Bright Creek Ma Family Genealogy. For each edition published by the ancients, the editors added one or more Prefaces and extended the genealogy tree by adding new descendant names and other details. From these Prefaces and other documents in the 1948 Edition, we could determine that there are at least eleven previous editions of the Bright Creek Ma Family genealogy: 1275, 1411, 1514, 1532, 1580, 1623, 1796, 1847, 1884, 1916, 1948. Ten of these editions’ prefaces are included in the 1948 edition. The 1847 edition has two Prefaces. However, the 1796 edition’s Preface was not included in the 1948 Edition.
There are a total of 591 scanned jpg, separated into two groups. Each jpg consists of two folios. So, there are about 1200 folios. You may download these jpg (hyperlink to the zip file).
The Genealogy is originally divided into six volumes of unequal length, plus an introduction volume. So, actually, it has 7 volumes. For details of the Table of Contents, see another document entitled, “Table of Contents of Bright Creek MA Family Genealogy.”
1948年版族谱封面
In summary, these seven volumes are:
Introduction Volume: Electronic files 1.0001 to 1.0018 include the introductions and eleven Prefaces of previous editions of the Genealogy.
Volume 1: Electronic files 1.0019 to 1.0028 include articles on the “Selection Rules” for an individual’s inclusion in the MA Genealogy, the origin of the Family name, the Bright Creek relocation narrative, and generation name lineup.
Volume 2: Electronic files 1.0029 to 1.0097 basically list all the individuals of 26 generations in a generation tree.
Volume 3: Electronic files 1.0098 to 2.0220 provide a short bio consisting of the basic details of each individual and his wife/wives: birth and death date, other names, burial dates, and children. Clearly, this is the largest volume with 383 electronic files or 766 pages.
Volume 4: Electronic files 2.0221 to 2.0242 provide historic write-ups of a select number of individuals from the Song Dynasty to the Republic of China. Files 2.0222 contain important detailed information of G1 to G6. Oddly, Henry Marr’s entry is on file 2.0242, which is the last page of Volume 4. A bit out of order in that he is not of the Song Dynasty. From a previous conversation I had with Grandpa Henry (before I found this historical document), he told me the editorial committee ran out of money and asked him to contribute a large sum. I believe this request must have occurred after the Genealogy was already completed, so to recognize his contribution to this edition, they added his bio. Probably, the only spot to conveniently add a write-up about him is at the end of Volume 4, albeit in a rather odd spot.
Volume 5: Electronic files 2.0243 to 2.0323 provide special historical documents such as praising certain individuals for birthdays, eulogies, epitaphs, Emperor edicts, other memorial occasions, and geographic descriptions of key locations. Short bios and eulogies of G21 Shi Liang and G23 Tian Pei of our direct line ancestors are included in this volume on 2.0283-4, 2.0292-5.
Volume 6: Electronic files 2.0324 to 2.0331 provide many Appendices: a list of key family rituals, rules (dos and don’ts), errata, and postscript.
Here is the Table of Contents in detail with links to the corresponding electronic files.
Table of Contents
Detailed Individual Entries
Details of each individual extracted from the Genealogy
