Fter having been actively engaged for twenty five years in commercial pursuits, in America and Europe, the time came when a long and severe illness left me such a cripple that I have since been unable to engage in any active employment. Then (in 1883) to while away hours that would otherwise have been tedious, I began writing some incidents in the life of one of the early settlers of Livingston County, intending to present the sketches to one of my children. As I progressed, I became 'so much interested in my work that, knowing as I did many of the pioneer settlers of the county, I went far beyond my original design, and hence this book Its title, Chronicles of a Kentucky Settlement, was sug gested to me by an old friend, a fine scholar and a competent critic, as best fitting the character of the work. The book, however, is not, as some may infer from its title, a Local History. I endeavored to make it of interest to general readers.
