@Doug: I don't think that Tolkien in this letter used the word "nobility" in the sense of "aristocracy" , and giving the right to rule... I think he just meant nobility of the mind, and that some of the qualities of the Elves still live on in Men:
Quote:
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The Elves represent, as it were, the artistic, aestethic, and purely scientific aspects of the Human nature
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(from letter 181)
About the descent from the House of Haleth: Halmir - Hareth (the wife of Galdor) - Huor - Earendil - Elrond