Ralph Emerson Twitchell (RET) dated the preface to the 1929 Twitchell Genealogy book as January 1st, 1920. He then passed away on August 29, 1925. The book is copyrighted 1929 by Herbert Kenaston Twitchell (HKT 1865–1928) who wrote a preface tribute to RET. This is followed by a second preface tribute to HKT. One senses a strong collaboration over many years to complete the work.
It is my privilege on behalf of the members of the Twitchell family to pay this tribute of respect to the memory of Col. Ralph Emerson Twitchell, who at the time of his death at the Clara Barton Hospital, Los Angeles, on August 26th, 1925, had just completed the compilation and editing of this Genealogy of the Descendants of Benjamin Twitchell. It is not our purpose to recite here the detailed record of his life. That will be found elsewhere in this book. It is for us to recall the high esteem in which he was held and the contribution he made to his day and generation.
Col. Twitchell was well known in his profession as a lawyer, but it was as a historian and writer that he will be longest remembered. It has been stated by a local authority that he “knew the story of man here in the Southwest as few others hare done or may hope to do.”
The following tribute to Col. Twitchell has been paid by Mr. Paul A. F. Walter of Santa Fe, New Mexico:
“The creative instinct was dominant in Colonel Ralph Emerson Twitchell. He was essentially a builder. Gifted by nature with an abundant vitality he was unhappy when he was not engaged in some enterprise or other for the community and commonwealth he had made his own. In his histories he sang the praises of the builders of the commonwealth. In his orations he emphasized the glories of the pioneer and the conqueror. His never flagging energies were devoted to enterprises for the growth and prosperity of the Southwest. Whether it was as president of an irrigation congress, or the promoter of an exposition, or the director of a fiesta, or the president of a chamber of commerce, his efforts were always constructive and for the common good. In fact, he devoted himself to the community welfare at considerable loss to his private fortunes but deemed it reward sufficient if he could persuade others to lend a hand. It was the reason that he entered so whole-heartedly in the founding of a state museum, the development of the School of American Research at Santa Fe, and the strengthening of the New Mexico Historical Society. Attaining eminence as a historian, as a member of the bar, as a statesman and as a publicist, he bent all his talents and gave most of his time to the public good. His place as a community builder in Santa Fe has not been filled although more than two years have elapsed since his death, and, what is more, can never be filled to the same degree that he occupied a place of leadership in years of change and crisis.”
HERBERT K. TWITCHELL
The following is the second preface tribute.
HERBERT KENASTON TWITCHELL
Since to him more than to any other member of the family aside from the compiler gratitude is due for this genealogy because of his assumption of the financial burden of publication, it seems fitting that, following his recent death, on the eleventh of July, 1928, this page should be added in acknowledgment of that service.
Testimony is hereby given to his efficiency as a banker; to his worth as a citizen; to his active interest in educational, humanitarian, and religious institutions; and to his unremitting service in any enterprise for the benefit of others to which he had committed himself.
Mr. Twitchell gave much of his time to Y. M. C. A. work and was an ardent supporter of prohibition. For thirty-four years he was an elder in the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church and superintendent and teacher in one of the chapels belonging to that church. His pastor said of him, “It would, be difficult to think of any man whose usefulness in civic affairs esceeded his. Duty was his watchword, Virtue was his armor, and Courage was his sword. His zeal for every good cause literally consumed him.”
A former pastor sent this message: “When Tributes are paid to Mr. Twitchell, please include mine as that of a pastor whose heart rested in him and never found him lacking in loyalty, understanding and support. I watched his well-earned advancement in the financial sphere with pride, observing how unchanged were his Christian Spirit and readiness to serve. His steadily expanding influence was a joy to me. God must have some large enterprises to be carried on in another life when such a man goes out in his prime.”
Twitchell Ancestry 
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