Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States
The past are carefully revised and compared with contemporaneous history, and the statements therein verified; while recent investigations disclosing newly acquired facts, and correcting dates and occurrences long accepted as history, have given new form to many sketches. Narrations of incidents which fail to_convey to the presentrdayreader a proper estimate of the labor, the sacrifice, or the purpose of the subject depicted, are supplanted by a record of deeds which time and modern thought have magnified and illuminated, of work done out of season and When unappreciated, but which now finds a place in history. The permanent product of the effort of the individual, which remains as a monument to his achievement, whether it be an invention, a discovery, a college, a hospital, a play, a song, or a book, is noted, and any published memoir of his life is designated. Portraits of notable individuals, and as far as possible of those whose linea ments are the least known, are given, and this feature adds a peculiar value to the work. The materials which have been wrought into the foundations of this work have been accumulated from many sources. Every published biographical work has been diligently consulted; the collected biographies of the family, town, county, state, section, nation, and continent have severally contributed to our sources of information, and to the publishers, editors, and compilers of Such works we have laid ourselves under many obligations which we here acknowledge. To the Boston Public Library and its libra rian and assistant custodians, we are grateful debtors no book or manuscript however rare or precious has been denied to our use, and the freedom of personal ownership Would have served us no better than has this great public storehouse of reference. Equally are we indebted to the presidents ahd librarians of the universities and colleges for full information as to their alumni, and to the state librarians of every state in the Union upon whom we have imposed our insatiable demand for information. We thank in advance these our friends and helpers for favors yet to come, and in this first volume in which we introduce ourselves to the general public, we ask for a measure of patience and consideration as we, through our representatives in every state, continue to seek out such of truth as will enable us to go forward on the lines marked out, to the end of our gigantic task. We also tender our acknowledgments to all those who have promised their help: the men of eminence in science, literature, and official position; our co workers in the field of research and compilation; and the patient answerers of innumerable questions upon whom we have no claim except that of universal brotherhood, and whose effective co - operation will prove of inestimable value in verifying our data. The volume now presented will be an earnest of our purpose, and will show the style and plan of the undertaking. It will be carried on by the same efficient helpers, augmented by others of equal ability. It is expected that the matter can be contained in six volumes, and their issue will be so arranged as to furnish the complete work within a reasonable time. The style and character of the illustrations, both the full-page portraits and the thou.
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