THE HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY ΟΣ DAUPHIN, CUMBERLAND, FRANKLIN, BEDFORD, ADAMS, AND PERRY CONTAINING A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FIRST SETTLERS, NOTICES OF THE LEADING EVENTS, INCIDENTS AND INTERESTING FACTS, BOTH GENERAL AND LOCAL, IN THE HISTORY OF THESE COUNTIES, GENERAL & STATISTICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL THE PRINCIPAL BO- ROUGHS, TOWNS, VILLAGES, &C., WITH AN APPENDIX: EMBELLISHED WITH SEVERAL ENGRAVINGS. COMPILED FROM NUMEROUS AUTHENTIC SOURCES BY I. DANIEL RUPP, Author of He Pusa Ekklesia, &c., &c., &c. GILBERT HILLS, PROPRIETOR & PUBLISHER, Lancaster city, Pa. Entered according to an act of Congress, in the year 1846, BY GILBERT HILLS, PROPRIETOR, LANCASTER, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. PREFACE. In this compilation, it has been my object to present, by way of introduction, a brief sketch of the earliest settlements made within the counties, of which a history and topography are attempted; a detailed account is given of the adventures, sufferings and trials of pioneer settlers. I have studiously avoided giving place to any thing of a speculative character. Any remarks of my own, were made on a careful examination of such evidence as will stand scrutiny. The plan, I pursued, is that of making authentic documents speak for themselves, from which the reader may draw his own deductions. In several instances, I have introduced well grounded tradition; and, as far as practicable, when exhibiting the sufferings of the first settlers, letters and narratives, written when they suffered, are given, expressing, it is believed, in their own words, with all the freshness of novelty, their trials and difficulties, much better than I could have done. The reader will readily perceive, that I have made no attempt, in this compilation, at what has the semblance of originality-embellishments of style. This is not said to divert the critic in pointing out what is faulty.-Any defect, or inaccuracy, noticed by the reader, and pointed out, in a proper spirit, will be considered a favor. That this compilation is defective, none can be more conscious of, than I am. But none need look for a perfect history of the kind, till a greater accumulation of historical facts, for this purpose, is extant. Whether I have, as the result of my researches, contributed any the least towards such a collection, is left to the decision of others. I strove to do so -This is all I could do. |
