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A LARGE EDITION of this work was published in 1847, which was soon disposed of. Various causes have delayed another edition until now. The object of the work, however, has been kept steadily in view, and the intervening years have been improved in accumulating materials for the present volume, much of which would have been otherwise lost. Though the author's success has been by no means commensurate with his wishes and efforts, yet he rejoices that his labor has not been entirely in vain. If the christians now on the stage will emulate the examples presented for their imitation in the following pages, it is confidently believed they and the world will be the better for it. His object from the first has been to rescue from oblivion the names and deeds of some, at least, who have glorified God by their works of faith and labors of love, and to stimulate the zeal of the living by the recital of their trials and sufferings. It is matter of profound regret, that the deeds of many others, equally worthy, will never be recorded in human annals, their very names having perished from among men, though they are written in the Book of Life. The present and future generations of our denomination should never forget that it is, under God, to the wisdom and zeal of the fathers of our Israel in Georgia we owe our strength and prosperity, being stronger in numbers in this State than in any other State in the Union, and, perhaps, in proportion to population, more numerous than in any other country on earth. It is the memory of such men these pages are designed to preserve and perpetuate. It is their holy lives the author desires to hold up for the veneration and imitation of posterity.
In preparing this work, the author has found it necessary to make free use of the labors of others, for which, in some cases, he has not given the usual credit. He hopes it will suffice for him to say in advance, and in general terms, that but for the writings of Mercer, Brantly, Mallary, Sherwood, Kilpatrick, Crawford, McIntosh and others, this volume, in its present dimensions, would never have seen the light. The interest of its pages has been greatly enhanced by their productions. It is not pretended that it is either complete or entirely free from error. But it is as complete as patience and perseverance on his part has enabled him to make it, with the materials he has been able to command; and, if there are errors, they are believed to be immaterial. Such as it is, he commends it to the favorable consideration of an indulgent religious public, especially to those for whose entertainment and profit it has been compiled, with the fervent prayer that the Head of the Church will condescend to sanctify it to the accomplishment of some good, and that it may serve as a foundation upon which some future historian may erect a far nobler monument to our worthy dead.
The Author.
Perry, Georgia, January 2, 1874.First put online 8 Nov 2003.
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