Author: Western Historical Company

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2016-08-30

Total Pages: 576

ISBN-13: 9781333400842

Excerpt from The History of Jefferson County, Iowa, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, &C: A Biographical Directory of Citizens, War Records of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics, Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men, History of the Northwest, History of Iowa, Map of Jefferson County, &C The struggles, changes and vicissitudes that forty-three years evoke, are as trying to the minds as to the bodies of men. Physical and mental strength waste away together beneath gath ering years, and the memory of names, dates and events become lost in the confusion engendered by time and its restless, unceasing mutations. Circumstances that were fresh in memory ten and twenty years after their occurrence, are almost, if not. Entirely, forgotten when fifty years have gone. If not entirely obliterated and e 'aced from memory's tablet, they are so nearly so that, when recalled by one seeking to preserve them, the recollections come slowly back, more like the memory of a midnight dream than of an actual occurrence, in which they were partial if not actual participants and prominent characters. The footprint of time leaves its impressions and destroying agencies upon everything, and hence it would be unreasonable to suppose that the annals, incidents and happenings of nearly half a century in a community like that whose history we have attempted to write, could be preserved intact and unbroken. The passage of three years marked the pages of time after the first settlements on Round Prairie before any records of a public nature, relating to what is now Jefferson County, were made, so that the gentlemen intrusted with the duty of writing this history were forced to depend upon the memory and intelligence of the few surviving pioneer settlers for a very large share of facts and information relating to immediate local events until after the organization of the county and the first meeting of the first Board of County Commissioners, at Lockridge, on the 8th day of April, 1830. And it is a subject of regret, that, even after that date, many important records are lost from the county archives, so that, in some instances, it. Has been impossible to supply certain names, dates, etc., from written data. For these reasons, it is not to be expected that this volume will be entirely accurate as to names, dates, etc., or that it will be so perfect as to be above and beyond criticism, for the book is yet to be written and printed that can justly claim the meed of perfection; but it is the pub lishers' hope, as it is their belief, that it will be found measurably correct and generally accurate and reliable. Industrious and studied care have been exercised to make it a standard book of reference, as well as one of interest to the general reader. If, in such a multiplicity of names, dates, etc., some errors are not detected. It will be strange indeed. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."