 | A history of Caroline county, Virginia |  |
PREFACE
Four years have been spent in the writing of this book, but,
notwithstanding the time and labour devoted to the enterprise,
imperfections will no doubt appear. There are no perfect histories—or
men either, for that matter—in this world. Accuracy,
rather than literary excellency, has been the constant aim of the
author, and, while errors will no doubt appear, it is believed that
these have been reduced to the minimum and are of a minor
nature.
No mercenary motive has entered into the writing. The very
warmest friends of the author have advised against the enterprise
as a ruinous proposition financially, but he has persevered in the
belief that a sufficient number of men and women may be found
who will be so appreciative of this effort to preserve the history
of their native county that they will purchase the very limited
edition being issued and thus reimburse the cost of publication.
If a sufficient number of copies are sold to repay the actual cost of
printing and engraving the author will be content, and will find,
in the appreciation of lovers of this kind of history, and in the
consciousness of work honestly done, an ample reward for the
time, money and energy spent in the writing.
It is regrettable that the work was not undertaken by some one
years before the author was born, for then many valuable facts
could have been preserved which have now passed from the
realm of history into the mists of tradition. Many men, women,
and places, well-known in a former day, have been forgotten, and
in many instances little or nothing remains to give them "a
local habitation and a name."
The old Order Books of the county were not sent to Richmond
for preservation at the outbreak of the Civil War, as were most
of the other court records, and so were preserved, while those sent
away for safe-keeping were lost. These ancient Order Books
contain much of the history of the county, and are of inestimable
value to the genealogist, but they do not have as large a place
in this volume as one could wish, for the reason that other and
more important matter required space. The Will Books, Deed
Books and Marriage Registers have but small place in this volume
for the same reason. No doubt the reader will agree that there is
enough detail in the book without them.
There is enough left-over material, if added to abstracts from
Order, Deed, Will and Marriage Books, to make another volume
equally as large as this, and, from many standpoints more
valuable, but the financial risk involved in such a publication is
greater than the author wishes to assume and so the matter must
rest. However, should as many as two or three hundred persons
express a desire for a second volume the book might be brought
out by subscription.
The indifference on the part of those who should have been
most keenly interested in the preservation of Caroline's history
has been the most disappointing thing in connection with this
work, but, on the other hand, a lively interest has been manifested
by a great number of persons but slightly connected with the
county, if at all. These latter have lent valuable assistance and
the recollection of their sympathetic co-operation and courtesy
will offset any memories of the indifferent.
Grateful acknowledgments are extended to the following,
without whose assistance and encouragement this book had never
been written: Dr. H. R. McIlwaine, State Librarian of Virginia;
Wilmer L. Hall, Assistant Librarian; Morgan P. Robinson, State
Archivist; E. G. Swem, Librarian of William and Mary; W. G.
Standard, Secretary of Virginia Historical Society; Officials of the
Congressional Library at Washington; Captain J. B. Baylor,
Washington; Hon. Rosewell Page, Hanover; Mrs. Frank Page,
Bridgeport, Conn.; M. G. Willis, Fredericksburg; Rev. E. L.
Goodwin, Ashland; Bishop D. J. O'Connell, Richmond; Rev.
George Stuart Fitzhugh, Fredericksburg; Rev. John A. Callahan,
Fredericksburg; Miss Margaret Crenshaw, Richmond; Judge J.
Hoge Ricks, Richmond; Judge Wm. Moncure, Richmond; General
Jo. Lane Stern, Richmond; Miss Helen La B. Huntley, Richmond;
Rev. E. H. Rowe, Milford; Mrs. Pickett A. Timmins, Chicago;
President A. B. Chandler, Jr., Fredericksburg; President J. A. C.
Chandler, Williamsburg; C. W. Bransford, Owensboro, Kentucky;
Miss Lula C. Redd, Ashland; Rev. Andrew Broaddus, Sparta;
Miss Anne Maury White, Richmond; Miss Sally Nelson Gravatt,
Fredericksburg; Mrs. A. F. Turner, Fredericksburg; Hon. George
P. Lyon, Woodford; Rev. R. C. Gilmore, Fredericksburg; Hon.
James B. Wood, Richmond; Mrs. A. L. Martin, Naulakla;
W. H. Pittman, Raleigh, N. C.; Mrs. J. E. Warren, Newport
News; L. D. George, Penola; H. H. George, Richmond; Francis
Williams, Berwick, Pa.; Prof. Algar Woolfolk, Richmond; Rev.
H. T. Louthan, Staunton; Mrs. J. H. Rives, Richmond; Miss Ida
Birkenhead Smith, Brandywine; Hon. Warner Peatross, Norfolk;
Prof. A. M. Walker, Bowling Green; Prof. L. L. Davis, Bowling
Green; Clerk E. R. Coghill, Bowling Green; L. D. Vincent,
Bowling Green; Miss Laura Christian, Point Eastern; Prof. John
Roy Baylor, Chattanooga, Tennessee; Gurney C. Gue, Merrick,
N. Y.; Eppa Hunton, Jr., Richmond; Mrs. L. D. Scott, Atlanta,
Ga.; William Dickinson Buckner, New York City; Mrs. J. Fulton
Williams, Charlottesville; Dr. Hermon B. Anderson, Noel; Horace
A. Hawkins, Richmond; Charles H. Callahan, Alexandria; Charles
A. Nesbitt, Richmond; Prof. W. A. Vaughan, Bowling Green;
Rev. L. M. Ritter, Bowling Green; Rev. W. D. Bremner, Penola;
Mrs. T. B. Gill, Bowling Green; Mrs. Daniel Coleman DeJarnette,
Milford; Willing Bowie, Bowling Green; Thomas C. Valentine,
Bowling Green, and the Hon. Otis Bland, of Washington.
| A history of Caroline county, Virginia | |