Allegan CountyBarry CountyAllegan County (Mich)--historyMichigan--Allegan CountyUnited States, Michigan, Allegan--historyUnited States, Michigan, Allegan--Centennial Celebrations, etc.Barry County (Mich.) > Barry County (Mich.) /Biography.Barry County (Mich.) > Barry County (Mich.) /History.Allegan County (Mich.) > Allegan County (Mich.) /Biography.Allegan County (Mich.) > Allegan County (Mich.) /History.

Fair

very old copy of book. cover needs repair due to the fact that it is detaching from spine.

Status: OK Status By: Vern Slusar Status Date: 2020-08-26

History of Allegan and Barry Counties, Michigan, with illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Their Prominent Men and Pioneers (D. W. Ensign & Co.: Philadelphia) 1880. 521 pp. 9 x 12, hardbound with leather spine. Also issued in full leather, and many copies have been rebound over the years in a variety of styles. The county history, tracing a county usually from its very beginnings to "today" was a stock promotion for publishing companies, from about 1870 to 1920. They often asked local people to write the general history pages and financed the publication with the sale of subscription biographies. The individual or family was charged a certain amount for a written biography, more if a portrait was included and an additional fee if the portrait was engraved. The aim was to be complete. This book includes a nice, color-tinted map of the counties involved, a general state history, a color-tinted Michigan geological map, an account of "Indians during Pioneer Days," and various lists of doctors, newspapers, lawyers, etc. The county participation in the Civil War is included with lists of veterans and their regiments and short regimental histories. The most important historical part was the township-by-township history, usually including a list of first land holders in the township, anecdotes of pioneer history, and anything the local editor thought might be interesting. The Allegan and Barry County history was written while many of the early settlers were still living and contains many first hand accounts of the earliest days. There are some factual errors, the Saugatuck post office was opened in 1835, for example, and many later writers repeated them. The original publication lacked an index and, because the arrangement is not consistent some of the bigger libraries there are supplemental indexes created by a county DAR chapter. A facsimile reprint of the title was sponsored in 1975 by the Allegan County and Barry County Historical Societies with 117 pages of index added. Original editions of the History of Allegan and Barry Counties, Michigan, surface frequently in used bookshops. The four I have seen in the last year were priced between $125 and $200. The reprint is even more difficult to find. - Review by Kit Lane from SDHC Newsletter inserts, pages 7-8