More than eighty years have elapsed since the first settlements
were made within the limits of Van Buren county. None of those
earliest pioneers are left to tell the story, which at this late day
rests in tradition, in letters that chance to have been preserved, in
ancient public documents that have been placed on the records of
the county, and in former publications that have been issued. And
while many facts set forth are within the personal knowledge of
the author of this “History of Van Buren County/7 he has drawn
liberally from all available and authentic sources. He has freely
used the information contained in a history of the county published a generation ago, has corresponded with and interviewed
many of his friends and older residents of the county in various
localities, and has endeavored in all practicable ways to gather
the most authentic matters in reference to the county of which
he has been a resident for the past fifty-five years. His familiarity
with the public records of the county enabled him to obtain many
facts pertaining especially to the earliest records of the county
that he might not otherwise have been able to set forth.
...
A History of Van Buren County, Michigan a Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People, and Its Principal Interests
