Sons of the American Revolution, which has its headquarters at Louisville, was indebted to Captain Anderson Chenault Quisenberry, a charter member of that Society. It may be observed that the catalogue published here embraces much the same material as that included in Captain Quisenberry's compilation, but a careful comparison will show that the two are by no means identical and the additional data here given will serve, we think, as a useful supplement to the information furnished by Captain Quisenberry's excellent work. Some day, we trust, the claims of the pioneers of Kentucky and the West, who during the Revolution were engaged in repelling the attacks of savages along the border, will be more clearly recognized and full justice will then be done both them and their descendants. These men, in many instances, were not enrolled as soldiers in the Continental Army or in the military companies of any of the original States, but they rendered service on the frontiers none the less valiant and valuable for the cause of Independence and the establishment of the territorial domain of the triumphant Republic than did their brothers-in-arms east of the Alleghanies. The term "documentary" as applied to the evidence of Revolutionary services will also receive, as we hope, a more liberal construction and not be restricted exclusively to records of a strictly official character. As was said by the late Major H. B. McClellan, long the efficient Secretary of this Society, at our annual meeting in 1904: "Much of the history of Kentucky in the Revolution lies hidden and obscure. It is our duty to uncover that which is hidden, to throw light on that which is obscure, and to give to the world the true history of the men who guarded this frontier of our nation in the perilous days of its infancy." As fairly illustrating the intimate relation sustained by the pioneers to the revolutionary conflict and the high types of Revolutionary soldiers who shared in the making of Kentucky and constituted the flower of its early immigration, it has been thought appropriate to print sketches of General George Rogers Clark, General Isaac Shelby, and General Charles Scott, three of the more distinguished revolutionary veterans who became identified with the new Commonwealth either during the war or immediately after its close. Not only are these men renowned for their brilliant and highly meritorious services in the Revolution but their lives, as all know, were closely interwoven with the early history of our State. The same thing is true of Colonel Robert Patterson, with the added circumstance that his connection with the founding of Lexington makes mention of him. here peculiarly fitting. It will be understood, of course, that nothing invidious was intended in selecting these particular worthies of the Revolution for specially honorable mention in the text. There were others of equal merit who might well deserve a place in such a publication as this, but we think it will be admitted without cavil that these men fairly represent the generation of soldiers, heroes and patriots to which they belonged. The sketches of our beloved President, Major Tenney, and of General Bell, Kentucky's most distinguished present-day representative in the regular army, doubtless require no comment or explanation. Lack of space absolutely forbade more extended accounts of other living members of the Society. The papers on Revolutionary themes delivered on certain anniversary occasions by the writer are published with much diffidence but it is hoped they may not be thought unworthy of preservation. The brief account of the ancient Society of the Cincinnati and the lists of original members of that organization in seven of the original thirteen States, from which most of the first settlers of Kentucky came, have been inserted at the end of this volume. for convenience of reference and in the belief that the data there gathered together may prove both instructive and useful to all who may find any interest in such a book as this. But for the limitations of space, it would have been a pleasure to publish lists for all of the original thirteen States. The illustrations and other features with which the compilation has been embellished will, no doubt, carry their own vindication. Whatever impression, for good or ill, this volume may convey, let no one make the mistake of supposing that it was ever intended to minister to false pride, to inculcate snobbishness, to encourage tuft-hunting, to foster an aristocracy based solely on pride of birth or of lineage, or to war in any way against that noble spirit of self-reliant democracy which animated the forefathers of the Republic and which our highest aim should be to perpetuate in our own day and to hand down untarnished and unimpaired to the generations of American freemen yet to come. It is hoped that this book may not only accelerate the growth of our Society, but that it may stimulate research, aid in rescuing from oblivion the fast-perishing memorials of the past, and that within its covers may be found some real incentives to patriotism. Other demands upon his time and the distractions of business engagements, have delayed the publication of this volume far beyond the original expectation of the editor, but he trusts it may prove none the less welcome because it appears a trifle late. His acknowledgments are due all those who have aided in any way in its preparation and, for valuable suggestions and generous financial aid, he takes this opportunity to thank by name Mr. Lucas Brodhead, of "Okalee,” Versailles, Kentucky, Mr. John H. Patterson, of Dayton, Ohio, Col. R. T. Durrett, of Louisville, President of the Filson Club, and Captain Anderson C. Quisenberry, of Hyattsville, Maryland, and Washington, D. C. The officers of the New York Society of Sons of the Revolution have likewise been most kind in aiding and encouraging the preparation of this book and the publishers of the Journal of American History are to be thanked for the use of one or two cuts. The work done by Captain Quisenberry on the Year Book of the Kentucky Society of Sons of the American Revolution, as we have already indicated, was particularly helpful in suggesting both the form and content of the present book. Fayette Park, Lexington Kentucky, April 19, 1913. Object of the Society. It being evident, from a steady decline of a proper celebration of the National Holidays of the United States of America, that popular concern in the events and men of the War of the Revolution is gradully declining, and that such lack of interest is attributable, not so much to the lapse of time and the rapidly increasing flood of immigration from foreign countries, as to the neglect, on the part of descendants of Revolutionary heroes, to perform their duty in keeping before the public mind the memory of the services of their ancestors and of the times in which they lived therefore, the Society of Sons of the Revolution has been instituted to perpetuate the memory of the men who, in the military, naval and civil service of the Colonies and of the Continental Congress, by their acts or counsel, achieved the Independence of the country, and to further the proper celebration of the anniversaries of the birthday of Washington, and of prominent events connected with the War of the Revolution; to collect and secure for preservation the rolls, records and other documents relating to that period; to inspire the members of the Society with the patriotic spirit of their forefathers, and to promote the feeling of friendship among them. General Society. ORGANIZED AT WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, APRIL 19, 1890. (New York Society-the Parent Society-Instituted February 22, 1876; Reorganized December 4, 1883.) OFFICERS 1911-1914. GENERAL PRESIDENT, EDMUND WETMORE, No. 34 Pine Street, New York, New York, GENERAL VICE-PRESIDENT, JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, No. 102 Front Street, New York, New York, SECOND GENERAL VICE-PRESIDENT, JOHN WINGATE WEEKS, No. 60 Congress Street, Boston, Massachusetts, GENERAL SECRETARY, Princeton, New Jersey, ASSISTANT GENERAL SECRETARY, WILLIAM HALL HARRIS, JR., No. 216 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, Maryland, |