This contains a transcription of the preface from Biographical Review Volume XXIII: Containing Life Sketches of Leading Citizens of Cheshire and Hillsboro Counties, New Hampshire, Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, 1897.
HISTORY sets forth the principle events marking the progress of civilization, deals with the nations and a few great leaders; genealogy offers a study of dry names and dates; biography, acknowledging its indebtedness to both, has its own special province, concerns itself with the individual, is history intimately written, shows personal character and action on the stage of existence. The average newspaper of to-day gives undue prominence to the evil done by men of ill-will or misguided passion. To the writer of select biographies falls the pleasant task of setting down what is best deserving of remembrance and emulation in the careers of workers in various fields of useful activity.
The persons whose life stories are outlined in this volume, present or former residents of Cheshire and of Hillsboro Counties, have earned the right to be commemorated. The accounts here given are of used talents and opportunities, of industry, energy, and enterprise, far-reaching and to good ends; not of slothfulness, not of selfishness, knavery, and greed, but of fair dealing, of public spirit, patriotism, self-sacrifice.
Some attention has here been given to tracing lines of descent and kinship, interesting in themselves and often valuable as showing the transmission of both physical and mental traits. Every wise generation, it may be said, does its own work in its own way, and, writing its own records, leaves its reputation and its example as a legacy to posterity.
B. R. PUB. CO.
OCTOBER 1, 1897
NOTE—All the biographical sketches published in this volume were submitted to their respective subjects or to the subscribers, from whom the facts were primarily obtained, for their approval or correction before going to press; and a reasonable time was allowed in each case for the return of the typewritten copies. Most of them were returned to us within the time allotted, or before the work was printed, after being corrected and revised; and these may therefore be regarded as reasonably accurate.
A few, however, were not returned to us; and, as we have no means of knowing whether they contain errors or not, we cannot vouch for their accuracy. In justice to our readers, and to render this work more valuable for reference purposes, we have indicated these uncorrected sketches by a small asterisk (*), placed immediately after the name of the subject. They will all be found on the last pages of the book.
B. R. PUB. CO.
OCTOBER 1, 1897