BIO: Title & Preface; Erie Co., NY

transcribed by W. David Samuelsen for USGenWeb Archives

************************************************************************
USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE:  These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced 
in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or 
persons.  Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must 
obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal 
representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb 
archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission 
to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access.
http://www.usgwarchives.org
***********************************************************************
MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY NEW YORK

VOLUME I
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL
ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK-BUFFALO
THE GENEALOGICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
THE WINTHROP PRESS
419-421 LAFAYETTE STREET
NEW YORK

1906-8
PREFACE

History, as the word was once understood, applied almost exclusively to the
transactions of nations. Historical narrative was a panorama, wherein the
details were lost in the general effed. As jostpru has become less of an art
and more of a science, there is an increasing tendency to dwell on local
environment, and to amplify the intimate, personal relation of men to events.
This is a significant truth. It shows that the advanced intelligence of
mankind cannot rest content with the worn-out notion that any existent
condition of affairs, any given state of civilization, is due to a few great
men, and to a small number of important episodes. Just as the victories of war
are won by the rank and file, rather than by the generals, so the triumphs of
progress are gained by the many. As the family is the unit of the town, so the
individual is the unit of the ramily. So widely are these considerations
accepted, and so firmly have they become established, that a large share of
the most careful current historic research is devoted to localities.
Specialization of this character logically leads to emphasis on the influence
of persons. Thus the boundary line betw een history and biography disappears,
and the dry bones of facts are vitalized by human interest.

The purpose of the MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY, NEW YORK, is
concisely expressed by its title. In the scheme of narration, the publishers
have not circumscribed the plan of the work by any sharply defined limits.
While the sketches of individuals are, it is hoped, terse enough to preserve
the quality of readability, they are more than a mere statement of facts and
dates. Living characterization has been kept in view, and it has been sought,
in each instance, to grasp the salient traits of the subject and to show, in a
clear light, the chief points of his career.

     A special feature of these volumes, is the genealogical department,
giving condensed accounts of ancestries, which have the uses but not the
cumbersomeness, of works purely devoted to genealogy, and may serve as a basis
for genealogical research. It is believed that, apart from the natural
interestindividuals have in preserving some reliable history of their
families, these volumes may often be profitably consulted. by the lawyer, the
conserver of public records, the examiner of titles, the editor and the
general business man.

Exceptional pains have been taken to ensure accuracy. Data have been compiled
from original sources, by personal interviews, from manuscripts,
correspondence and other authoritative records. In many instances broken links
in the chain of ancestral descent have been supplied, and current errors
rectified.

In its memorial feature the work embraces a more or less distinct department
devoted to memorial sketches of men of the past. In commemorating the virtues
of the departed who have lived honorable and useful lives, and in rendering
honor to whom honor is due, we believe we are performing a public service and
inculcating the most valuable lessons of veneration and good citizenship.

The illustrative feature not only comprises one of the interesting and
attractive departments of the work, but helps to a quicker and better
comprehension of the history and per sonality of the subject portrayed. No
similar work ever issued probably was more representative or possessed a
higher artistic merit in its portrait feature. Such a collection of pictures,
a large proportion of which are steel engravings, of the representative men of
the locality, cannot help but prove of much interest and enduring value to the
present and succee generations.

THE PUBLISHERS