Book Description

Excerpt from Past and Present of Piatt County, Illinois: Together With Biographical Sketches of Many Prominent and Influential Citizens HE greatest of English historians, macaulay, and one ofthe most brilliant writers of the present century, has said: The history of a country is best told in a record of the lives of its people. In conformity with this idea, the biograph ical record has been prepared. Instead of going to musty records, and taking therefrom dry statistical matter that can be appreciated by but few, our corps of writers have gone to the people, the men and women who have, by their enterprise and industry, brought this county to a rank second to none among those compris ing this great and noble State, and from their lips have the story of their life strug gles. No more interesting or instructive'matter could be presented to an intelligent public. In this volume will be found at record of many whose lives are worthy the imitation of coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in poverty, by industry and economy, have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, with lim ited advantages for securing an education, have become learned men and women, with an in uence extending throughout the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men who have risen from the lower walks of life to eminence as statesmen, and whose names have become famous. It tells of those in every walk in life who have striven to succeed, and records how that success has usually crowned their efforts. It-tells also of those, who, not seeking the applause of the world, have pursued the even tenor of their way, content to have it said of them, as Christ said of the woman performing a deed of mercy - They have done what they could. It tells how many in the pride and strength of young manhood left the plow and the anvil, the lawyer's office. And the counting - room, left every trade and profession, and at their country's call went forth valiantly to do or die, and how through their efforts the Union was restored and peace once more reigned in' the land. In the life of every man and of every woman is a lesson that should not be lost upon those who follow after. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."