Merced County CA Archives History - Books .....Preface 1925 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 1, 2006, 2:50 am Book Title: History Of Merced County California PREFACE This history of Merced County is presented to the people of the county with some trepidation. I have succeeded in finding out quite a bit about the history of the county and in putting it down here. No one, however, can be better aware than I am that the story is incomplete in many particulars. There is a very large mass of material to examine for the latter part of the county's history—say from the time when Merced became the county seat. The very abundance of the material for this period makes the task a difficult one. For the earlier period, from the organization of the county and earlier down to the moving of the county seat to Merced, the difficulty is of just the opposite kind—the material which is available is often fragmentary, often lacking. In both cases a lack of proportion has sometimes resulted. The treatment of the later part of the county's history, from the time when the raising of grain was well launched down to the present, is necessarily a good deal more sketchy than the treatment of the earlier period. For this no particular apology is offered; I believe the earlier portion needs doing so much more urgently now than this later portion, that I can not feel any regrets for devoting the greater portion of the space to the pioneer years. The chapter on the Founders of the County seems to me to be perhaps the one which is most valuable, and at the same time it is perhaps the one which is most incomplete. The list of pioneers there gathered needs to be filled out as completely as the knowledge now held by people still living will permit. I have indulged a hope, as the book has grown, that some sort of county historical society or association may result from it; and if it should result from attempts to supply my omissions and correct my mistakes, it will not on that account be any the less useful. I can scarcely hope to thank all who have helped me with the work. Henry Nelson, Mrs. John Ruddle, Judge and Mrs. I. J. Buckley, and Mrs. Louisa Stevinson have given valuable information on the early Merced River section; S. L. Givens, Mrs. Penelope Rogers, Jefferson Price, and John Barker, on early days on Bear and Mariposa Creeks; and W. J. Stockton and C. W. Smith, on early West Side history. I am indebted to Charles Rogers, to L. R. Fan-cher and to O. H. Terrell for information on the early grain days on the East Side; to D. K. Stoddard for matter on early transportation, and also on the location of the first county seat; to Miss Neta Porter, of the county clerk's office, who has searched the records for the material in the chapter on county officers; to Miss Essae M. Culver, county librarian, and her staff, for many courtesies in obtaining material and for the use of the library; to Gust Johnson, of Hilmar, for information on the settlement of that section; and to C. D. Martin for information on the early history of the Crocker-Huffman canal system. Many others have rendered assistance, for which gratitude is here expressed. JOHN OUTCALT. Merced, May 23, 1925. Additional Comments: HISTORY OF MERCED COUNTY CALIFORNIA WITH A Biographical Review OF The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified with Its Growth and Development from the Early Days to the Present HISTORY BY JOHN OUTCALT ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 1925 File at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ca/merced/history/1925/historyo/preface187nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/ File size: 4.0 Kb