Fresno-Tulare-Kern County CA Archives History - Books .....Preface 1892 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com March 9, 2007, 6:32 pm Book Title: Memorial And Biographical History Of The Counties Of Fresno, Tulare, And Kern, California Memorial and Biographical History OF THE COUNTIES OF Fresno, Tulare, and Kern, California Illustrated Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast from the Earliest Period of its Occupancy to the Present Time, together with Glimpses of its Prospective Future: with Profuse Illustrations of its Beautiful Scenery, Full-page Portraits of Some of its most Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of Many of its Pioneers, and also of Prominent Citizens of to-day. "A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants." -Macaulay. CHICAGO: The Lewis Publishing Company. PREFACE. WE do not expect to present to our patrons in this volume accounts of strange and novel events only; neither do we pretend to make history; our duty is to record that which has been made. At the same time we do not claim to give all that is worthy of record. The immensity of such an undertaking is beyond the comprehension of those who have had no experience in this line. Volumes could be written of this wonderful country. We have given in this large volume such an amount of matter as our space will permit, and such as will be of the greatest interest and most lasting value to the greatest number of readers. We are dealing with the tangible historical facts, made up from the statements and records of others. There can be no originality in the work of the historian. Our object has been to collect the chief historical facts relative to this country, for the use of residents, and to furnish valuable information to those seeking homes in this wonderful valley. We do not claim perfection. Much more could have been written, and some things, possibly, might have been left unsaid. While we have no apology to offer, we desire to say to the fastidious critic, if you think you can do better, the Held is open to you. There is no patent on this process, no monopoly, and you will find a cordial welcome at the hands of this enterprising, hospitable people, who are generous and ever ready to patronize an enterprise tending to advance the interests of their country and to place before the world its great resources. Probably the most useful thing that a person can know is where to look for information. Emerson has said that "knowledge is the knowing that we do not know," and Dr. Johnson, in somewhat the same strain, said, "There are two kinds of knowledge: the one knowing a thing, and the other knowing where to find information about it." One of the old philosophers boasted that he had taken all knowledge for his province, but it has been suggested that there were many outlying corners and edges of his province with which he was not acquainted, to say nothing of not having conquered them. Besides, in that age of the world the recognized field of knowledge was so small, as compared with its extent at the present day, that the boast may have had some show of reason, whereas if made now it would be simply ridiculous. This the would-be critic will find lamentably true did he undertake to gather together and properly arrange the important events transpiring to-day. The things to know then are, first, that we know nothing; and secondly, where to look for what we want to learn. Every one, no matter how diligent a student or accomplished a scholar, must have been struck with something like amazement when he ventured to contemplate the immensity of his own ignorance. It is like looking into the measureless vault of heaven until the observer seems to himself to shrink to less than an atom of sand in comparison with the beginning of the infinite which stretches away and away, above and around him. Happily for those who want to know, much of the literary talent and ability of the age is bestowed upon compendiums and manuals of all kinds which present the kernel of information, stripped of the useless and troublesome husk which inclosed it. There are dictionaries, and cyclopaedias, and summaries, and synopses, and indexes, and catalogues on every imaginable subject; so that all the student need do is to know where to look for what he wants,-that is, unless he be desirous of mastering a subject; and even then these compilations will tell him where to find the information which they themselves do not supply. The question may be raised whether the road to learning is not being made too smooth and easy. We answer this in the negative. The person in search of information is no more bound to go through all the preliminary steps which some one has taken before him, than a man who eats a dinner is bound to catch and kill the meat or grow the vegetables which form part of it. We are entitled to the garnered store of information which the genius and industry of others have accumulated, and it would be the height of folly not to use it. For much of the data used in the general history in this volume we are especially indebted to the press and county officials of the district comprised herein, and to Messrs. S. H. Cole, H. S. Dixon, Frank Dusy, J. E. Denney, Dr. Lewis Leach, Mrs. F. A. Tracy, and many others. THE PUBLISHERS. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Memorial and Biographical History OF THE COUNTIES OF Fresno, Tulare, and Kern, California Illustrated Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast from the Earliest Period of its Occupancy to the Present Time, together with Glimpses of its Prospective Future: with Profuse Illustrations of its Beautiful Scenery, Full-page Portraits of Some of its most Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of Many of its Pioneers, and also of Prominent Citizens of to-day. "A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants." -Macaulay. CHICAGO: The Lewis Publishing Company. Undated, but OCLC lists a publication date of 1892 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/fresno/history/1892/memorial/preface341ms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 6.7 Kb