The Lincoln Record Society, at their annual meeting in 1912, resolved to institute a special Section for the printing of Lincolnshire parish registers. The Society itself was formed for the publication of manuscripts relating to ecclesiastical, parochial, manorial and family history, and there is no class of documents that is more valuable for the purposes of parochial and family history than parish registers.
These parish registers are ofificial records, and almost every entry they contain is, or will be, sooner or later, of importance or interest to somebody. The early parish registers relate the humble beginnings of very many of our leading families, and in them will be found the ancestry of other families, now in humble circumstances, which will, at some future time, become the governing
families of the country. Family history, moreover, is of importance not only to great houses, but also to thousands of families of the upper and lower middle-class ; and, as the level of education rises, the number of persons who take an interest in their origin may be expected to increase. Family history has also more than a sentimental value, for whatever strengthens our local attachments is calculated to develop and steady the individual and national character. Our birth-place, our home, our family, our native land, are words which kindle feelings that are closely connected with patriotism.
