Spooner; and whatever satisfaction the editor may reasonably -- without an excess of complacency -- take to himself in view of his own association in the enterprise, rests in a peculiar manner upon his appreciation of the conscientious devotion and accomplished ability with which Mr. Spooner has brought it to its practical issue. Although the previous histories of Westchester County, Bolton's and Scharfs, are works of great volume and information, they are works of reference strictly, and as such belong rather to the department of historical miscellany than to that of books adapted for popular reading. Bolton's History is a collection of local chronicles entirely; Scharfs is on the same plan, with a number of general articles added. Both represent historical labors of great formality and seriousness, which are entitled to respect and whose aggregate results possess enduring value for inquiring persons. But mere collections of historical facts -- even if comprehending all the elemental facts of a given subject -- do not afford a satisfying view of history itself. That can be done only by the adequate treatment of facts -- by the orderly, discreet, and able conjoining of them in a comprehensive narration. The twentv-five town histories.of Westchester County,

iv

PREFACE

however exhaustively and excellently written, do not constitute a history of the county; and for a consecutive understanding of the general comity history the reader of Bolton or Scharf must rely upon his own constructive ingenuity -- must indeed be his own historian. Long before the work now given to the public was conceived as a practical project, the present editor realized the force of these considerations and cherished not only a hope that a genuine narrative history of the county might some day be produced, but an ambition to become personally instrumental in achieving so important a result.