Waupaca County WI Archives History - Books .....Dedication And Introduction 1890
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 19, 2007, 3:58 am

Book Title: History Of Waupaca Co., WI

HISTORY OF WAUPACA COUNTY, WISCONSIN.

By J. WAKEFIELD,
Historian of Old Settlers' Society of Waupaca County.

WAUPACA, WIS.: D. L. STINCHFIELD,
1890.

COPYRIGHT, 1890, BY J. WAKEFIELD AND D. L. STINCHFIELD.

Printed by D. L. STINCHFIELD, Waupaca, Wis. 
Bound by W. B. CONKEY, Chicago.



TO THE
OLD SETTLERS OF WAUPACA COUNTY
THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
BY THEIR HISTORIAN.



INTRODUCTION.

  In settling a new country the pioneer has much that is unpleasant and
discouraging to contend with. Unbroken forests must be cleared away, or the
tough sods of the prairie turned under, and the fields fenced and fitted for
cultivation. Crops must be planted, and time given for them to come up, grow and
mature.

  In the meantime the old settler must live. His family can not be carried
safely through without food and clothing, coarse and scant, perhaps, but
sufficient to sustain nature. How to procure them is often a difficult question
with him. It is quite common to see the "hungry wolf at the door," literally as
well as metaphorically. His is a constant struggle "with want, aye, even hunger
and cold; but he must live, and he struggles on, often dissapointed, but ever
hopeful, for the blackest cloud may, and generally does have a "silver lining."

  Is it any wonder that so many faint by the way, that so many get discouraged
and return to their old homes, perhaps in the far East? Many more would move
back if they could, but the new settler's stock of money is nearly expended in
the purchase of his land, and in his first few temporary improvements. So his
only chance is to remain, and there is where the blessing conies in; being
compelled to stay, he is obliged to "work or starve." At length his enforced
industry is rewarded, and many a formerly disheartened settler has lived to
bless a poverty which has eventually made him rich in spite of himself.

  In after years what pleasure the pioneer takes in listening to or relating
incidents connected with his pioneer life! He looks back with a sort of mournful
pleasure to those days and years of care, of disappointment, and often of actual
want, and feels a real pride in the thought that his nerve and muscle, his
mental and physical endurance, have wrought the great change that has taken
place in his worldly affairs within so small a portion of one brief human life;
and his is a justifiable pride.

  The title of "pioneer" is an honest title, and designates the highest order of
American nobility. One object of the present work is to collect statistics of
the early settlement of our county, and to gather and preserve incidents and
interesting reminiscences connected with that early settlement. Our children may
value them when our lips are unable to repeat them, and the only way to learn
them will be to avail themselves of the labors of the historian. One by one our
old settlers are leaving us. Every year performs its work. Soon the last pioneer
will be reverently laid away in his final resting place, and there will be none
to repeat to the coming generation the noble sacrifices and heroic labors of the
past.

  It is not easy to write good history. To be entertaining and at the same time
truthful should be the object of the historian. Our work may not be
entertaining, but we have tried to make it truthful—to make it worthy of a place
as a text book in every library in the county. Of course, we may have made
errors. To err is human. But we have been for years collecting our material, and
flatter ourselves that our mistakes will prove few.

  We take this occasion to acknowledge how much we are indebted to our friends
for then-valuable assistance; for without their help our work must have proved a
failure. They have our thanks.

  If the public will take as much pleasure in perusing our pages as we have
taken in preparing them, we shall be content.

J. WAKEFIELD.
Fremont, 1890.



Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

HISTORY OF WAUPACA COUNTY, WISCONSIN.

By J. WAKEFIELD,
Historian of Old Settlers' Society of Waupaca County.

WAUPACA, WIS.: D. L. STINCHFIELD,
1890.

COPYRIGHT, 1890, BY J. WAKEFIELD AND D. L. STINCHFIELD.

Printed by D. L. STINCHFIELD, Waupaca, Wis. 
Bound by W. B. CONKEY, Chicago.


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