History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Vol. 1 of 4 (Classic Reprint)

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 sisterS tates, 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 A labama. 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 lite in theS tate. Every important event and period of our history has been treated, from the advent of DeS oto and hisS panish adventurers in 1540, to the welcome home accorded the returned soldiers of theW orld 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 families 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 of 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 honors sake, who overthrew I nvasion, and who with dauntless courage preserved a civilization and brought a commonwealth to the forefront of a nation in science, material development, and civic a
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)