Book Description

Excerpt from History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Vol. 1 of 4 Within these pages is to be found, under specific topics and biographical sketches, the history of a people mainly British by descent, conservatively progressive by tradition and habit, deeply rooted in love of country, and with a genius for politics and government. With as fine a record of achievement as characterizes any of our sister States, we have shown with them an equal indifference to preserving our annals for the enlightenment and inspiration of posterity. Dr. Owen hoped to repair this omission for Alabama. The work is especially rich in aboriginal, pioneer, local, political, and military history and in biographies of men who have been leaders In their several professions and walks of life in the State. Every important event and period of our history has been treated, from the advent of DeSoto and hie Spanish adventurers in 1540, to the welcome home accorded the returned soldiers of the World War, in 1919. A few persons worthy to appear in a book of this character are not Included here owing to their failure to furnish data which they were asked by the author to supply. We are, as a people, proud of our history. As Individuals and ramilies we boast of our good blood. But we have been careless about putting our claims into such form as will substantiate them to the satisfaction or future historians and critics. This work is an effort to overcome that failure, and to Implant In the minds and hearts of Alabamians a consciousness of merit and of greatness. not that we may be boastful, but that we may realize our responsibility to those men and women who bore the brunt of pioneering, to those who staked all their hard earned gains upon the hazard of battle for honor's sake, who overthrew Invasion, and who with dauntless courage preserved a civilization and brought a commonwealth to the forefront of a nation in science, material development, and civic aspirations. Col. Albert J. Pickett collected much interesting pioneer history and left it in published form, but bis work stopped at the period marking the very beginning of our Statehood. Lives of some of our public men have been preserved in brief form by chroniclers such as Smith, Garrett, and Brewer. A few local histories have been written, and school histories by DuBose, Brown, and others, but not until Dr. Owen conceived this "History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography." bad any ambitious attempt been made to write the whole story and present it in one set of books available to all. To the preparation of his history as here given, he devoted bis mature life. He bad for his field of research the great library of the Alabama State Department of Archives and History into which he had gathered all available and extant records, both in manuscript and printed form, including old newspaper files and rare prints, pamphlets, bulletins, official reports, and the like. When Dr. Owen died, so prematurely, his friends who had looked forward to the publication of his "History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography," wondered if the book would now be finished and given to the world. He had often expressed confidence in my ability to help on the work, so how could I rail him. now that his matchless brain and energetic hands were powerless! How could I fail to complete the task he had so set his heart upon, fail to give to the people he so loved, and who so loved him. the heritage he had left them? It was out of this sense of pity for him in his failure to reach the goal he had set himself, with the added sense, too. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com