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                                  HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY
                                              1884

                                             PREFACE


Our History of Lawrence, Orange, and Washington Counties, after months of persistent, 
conscientious labor, is now completed. Every important field of research has been 
minutely scanned by those engaged in its preparation, and no subject of universal public value 
has been omitted save where protected effort failed to secure trustworthy results.  The imposs-
ibility of ingrafting upon the pages of this volume the vat fund of the county's historic infor-
mation, and the proper omission of many valueless details, have compelled the publishers to 
select such matters as are deemed of the greatest importance. Fully aware of our inability to 
furnish a perfect history from meager public documents, inaccurate private correspondence, and 
numberless conflicting traditions, we make no pretension of having prepared a work devoid of 
blemish. Through the courtesy and the generous assistance met with everywhere, we have been 
enabled to rescue from oblivion the grater portion of important even events that have 
transpired in past years. We feel assured that all thoughtful people in the counties, at 
present and in future will recognize and appreciate the importance of the undertaking and the
great public benefit that has been accomplished.


It will be observed that a dry statement of fact has been avoided, and that the rich romance of 
border incident has been woven with statistical details, thus forming an attractive and graphic 
narrative, and lending beauty to the mechanical execution of the volume and additional value to 
it as a work of perusal. We claim superior excellence in our systematic manner of collecting 
material by workers in specialties; in the division of the subject matter into distinct and 
appropriate chapters; in the subdivision of the index. We also, with pride, call the attention
of the public to the superb mechanical execution of the volume. While we acknowledge the 
existence of unavoidable errors, we have prepared a work fully up to the standard of our 
promise, and as accurate and comprehensive as could be expected under the circumstances.
November 1884.

                                                                                 The Publishers