PREFA CE Had I waited to make this genealogy perfect , it might a never have been written . Then , ple se , pardon the imper fections and let us work for perfection . Those who are interested should bear in mind that the writer is not supposed to make dates of births and events just to fit satisfactorly are into his family tree . He is aware that there some dis agreements and conflicts even in the records of land deeds , biographical sketches and historical discourses . He has recorded them as he found them , hoping that some one will furnish authentic information for satisfactory adjustments . You may notice the Si milarity of the Christian names which has caused so me confusion and also — it was not uncommon to o r find intermarriages in the early pioneer days . IF example , ’ ’ s Mary Todd Lincoln s tepmother was her father s first cousin . The writer is most interested , of course , in his own family tree , but has recorded in this book considerable information concerning the various branches of Todds , trusting that there might be some one who wishes to continue this work and may use some of the information that has fallen into this compila tion . To list the descendents of all the Todd lineage would require a book of many hundred pages . Let us hope that some day there can be a Todd - family Society with a secretary for compiling the statistics for u se immediate to those desiring such information . The interest of the A merican people in genealogies seems, to be growing rapidly , as indicated by the number of research bu r u ea s: namely departments in public libraries , state historical societies and even commercial organizations which are be coming numerous ou account of the demands and are making valuable information available . — MNT . SIDE LIGHTS Men and women throughout the country ar e discovering a new world of pleasure and interest in the pursuit of their s : ancestor . Their motives vary some are simply curious , some want to become members of the Sons or Daughters of the American Revolution or other patriotic here ditary socie k ties , some , see to establish a relationship with , a historical ) celebrity . $Whether or not an ancestor was prominent and usually few are , nevertheless he contributed to the building of this nation ; One genealogical expert points, out that it teaches more history , geo graphy , and the psychology of human be “ ” havior than stamp collecting . It is more exciting , he de “ ” - n _ _ two clares , to locate an ancestor tha a rare cent stamp . Most A mericans are not interested in their genealogy . Therefore the writer ought to apologize for this brief at ’ tempt ou one branch of his family s genealogy which may bring some pride and pleasure to some of the kin , but bear in mind that it is not written to be sold over the counter . In by- gone days men were ranked largely by their au ces try , and in biblical times it was considered so important that the scriptures gave it a prominent place . To the modern reader of the Bible , the line of David down to Jesus Christ carried traditional authenticity of historical and legendary facts . .Today in America , particularly , men are measured by the success of their own efforts , perseverance and person ality . We sometime hear people say , I do not believe in hered -k ity , just loo at Abraham Lincoln . Abraham Lincoln is one I f of the best examples of influence of heredity we have . Lincoln ’ s greatness is due to his early education and sur roundings , then we had better tear down our school houses and set our boys splitting rails , making sure in advance that they were born in log cabins ‘ Whatever may have been ’ Lincoln s ancestry , it was the happy combinations of chromo somes and genes with which he was born that made him Th i great . e th ng about great blood is that it overcomes all environment and rises to its level in the social and national i i s l fe . Th does not mean that training and schooling would b i not have een a good th ng for Lincoln . F I VE H eredity teaches u s that man is. master of his fate and ” captain of his soul , and also shows u s that the kingdom of ’ heaven is within a man s heart and not in the chance of cir ’ cu mstances and su rroundings of a man s li fel Hans Christian “ A nderson left with us this quotation : It matters not if you were born in a duck pond , provided that you were born from ’ ” I e a swan s egg . Some people , have noticed , sp nd half their r t time boasting of their illustrious ancestors . They fo get tha these ancestors are like potatoes— the best half of them are o n under the ground . D you wo der what these ancestors would think if they could co me back and see some of their $ “ descendents today The ghost might take a good look , draw a long breath , and hurry back to the shades immed iat ely . i f Mankind is the greatest accompl shment o the world . God gave you an innate ability and the thing that counts in d your life is , what are you going to o with it . We all have pedigrees , some good , some fair , and maybe i the d some bad , but what of it . It s no longer lad er by which one may enter the social pleasures and distinctions in - - o f - f the modern way life . All in all , you cannot escape the act that your ascendents were human beings , not merely names th e T which have survived musty old records . ( hey lived and breathed , had their joys and pleasures , their trials and tribu lations, their work and play , however different these may e M have be n from yours . oreover you will find that they , obscurely or prominently , took their part in the affairs of their times and contributed in so me way t o the development of civilization . By learning more about them and their times , ” you will be wiser in they got that way . Ch a t er s h s i p on ancestry are usually rather dull . T e e tedious mass of names and dates is about as interesting read i ing as the pages of an u nabr dge dicti onary . Oliver Wendell Holmes said , Each of us is an omnibus in which our ancestry rides ; and we should know something of the passengers we ” are conveying . When scientists cannot agree on the relative value of environment and heredity in the individual , surely we can n only speculate . S till family traditio s are factors in our edu - cation , and our ta lent for music or what not , may be the ’ E result of the family s love and respect for music . xamine the family tree , then , to see what sor t of persons your ances tors vere and what aptitudes , tastes , and talents they pos sesseg If you have studied natural science , even in a high school course in biology , your mind may begin t o analyze in terms ’ of Mendel s law and further you may ar gue in terms of genes and chromosomes , or most likely you may show no interest whatever in your genealogy . $To me it is of interest momen t r il J t o a f I a y. ust as writing a letter my kin or riend , want be to tell them something . Teaching is my business , and it ; comes a pleasure to tell something important th at may be old but of some value and also something new that should be r made known . Ev entually it may be of se vice , at least to a I ’ few . have made no scientific research of my family s genealogy further than collections made from voluminous readings in general , by conversations and from materials found upon the subject in Illinois State Library , Illinois State Historical Library , State Historical Librar y of Kentucky , the Ne-wberr b Congressional Library , and the y Li rary , Chicago . E ” A cousin of mine , Mr . lza Todd and a distant relative , Mr . Dan B . Bishop have made it a study and gone to much expense in travel to examine documents in the various court houses and are happy to say that a great many of the tradi $ e tional information have been verified . It is inde d inter esting to trace , step by step , generation by generation and then know where your bloo d came from and it may be quite definite as to your immigrant ancestry or even some general T c s idea of your ancestry . ( elephone dire torie in towns and cities have a list of homes and business ’ where the father is listed under “ Todd ” besides the Todd sisters who changed their names in wedlo ck , and may be listed under their hus ’ band s name , which carry the same genealogy . The Todd ‘ genealogy has recently been brought to the world - wide atten “ ” tion by the book entitled , Mary Todd Lincoln by Carl Sand No burg . doubt the spotlight of the immortal Lincoln has given much emphasis and color to this. family , But what fiction the ever is told in this discourse , be it true or , _ gene alogy of this noted family will carry a heritage that played r t and will play a very prominent pa in the annals of history .