P R E F A C E
Representative of western Kentucky’s counties is Union, the
subject of this volume in the American Guide Series. It is
typical for its location on a large, navigable river, typical also
for its devotion to agriculture pursuits. It shares with several
other counties of this section of the State the possession of a
thriving coal-mining industry.
I Its history, except during the Civil War period and when
floods or other natural disasters have struck, is uneventful. Its
people have worked hard, enjoyed simple pleasures, built their
agrarian society without receiving, or seeking, fame or notoriety
in the world outside.
Because of Union County’s very adherence to the normal, its
story may be a richer contribution to the whole body of knowl-
edge of American folkways than if that story were a recital of
spectacular events, studded with the exploits of celebrated men
and Women.
The Kentucky Writers’ Project wishes to acknowledge with
gratitude the co—operation of the sponsor of Union County Past
and Present, Judge Earle C. Clements of the Union County
Fiscal Court. We wish to acknowledge also our appreciation of
the helpfulness of Mrs. B. G. Waller, Jr., and Miss Lila Holt,
presidents respectively of the Morganfield and Sturgis Woman’s I
Clubs, and the members of their advisory boards: Mrs. John
Reburn, Mrs. Margaret Briscoe, Mrs. W. H. Waggener, and Mrs.
J. Waller Taylor in Morganfield; Mrs. H. C. Dedman, Mrs. Dud-
ley Peyton, and Mrs. Edd O’Nan in Sturgis.
A list of the many residents of Union County on whose stores
of recollection and information the Writers' Project drew in as-
sembling data may be found in the chapter of Acknowledgements.
Other important sources of material were the old History of
Union County, published in 1886 by the Evansville, Indiana,
Courier; L. and R. H. Collins' History of Kentucky, George Hus-
ton’s Memories of Eighty Years, Fortescue Cuming’s A Toultg
the Western C  county rec`oH 5€r_files.
_’TlE—manuscript ofwnion County Past and Present was pre-
pared under the direction of LaMar Hamilton, formerly of the
Louisville staff of the Writers' Project. The research staff in
Union County was headed by Sarah D. Young, Sturgis. Her
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