Describe the history of the Usher family. What kind of interests do they have? What type of people are they?

Usher, the Narrator informs us, was always excessively reserved and was somewhat mysterious. He belongs to an ancient family that has never put forth "an enduring branch." There are hints of incest over the years, but more important is the fact that Usher is now the only male descendant of the line. Tellingly, he lives not with a wife but with his sister, Madeline. The narrator also notes the Ushers' "peculiar sensibility of temperament"--this is, after all, a family which has over the ages served as patron to the arts, charity to the poor, and lover of music