PREFACE.

That a good Gazetteer of North America is much needed at thepresent time, will, it is presumed, not be denied. But whether thisvolume answers to that description, must remain for an enlightenedpublic to decide. The compiler has aimed to collect such a mass ofgeographical and other information, in regard to North America , aswill not only render the book useful in families and to individuals as oneof reference, but such as may likewise be of utility to the higher classesin schools. The work, it is presumed, will be found to be much morefull in regard to the United States , than any gazetteer extant. Par-ticular care has been taken to give a full account of the literary re-sources of the United States ; and the accounts of the various collegesand seminaries of learning will be found to be much more full thanthose in gazetteers in general.

In the compilation of this volume, the following works have beenlargely consulted, and numerous extracts, with slight alterations,taken: viz. Malte Brun’s Geography, Morse’s and Worcester ’s ge-ograpical works, Darby’s Universal Gazetteer, Flint’s Geography, Na-tional Calendar for 1831 and 1832 , American Almanac from 1831 to1836 , Niles’s Weekly Register, American Constitutions, American En-cyclopedia, and the various state registers. In addition to the above,the compiler has obtained information from a great variety of sources,too numerous to be specified. Particular care has been taken to havethe information made use of in this work, the most recent and authen-tic that could be obtained. The names of the different persons fromwhose works extracts have been made, are not annexed to those ex-tracts, because in some instances the phraseology has been altered;and in that case it might be considered an act of injustice, as it wouldascribe to the individual named that which is not his own, and forwhich he should not be answerable.

With this brief notice the work is submitted to the inspection of anintelligent public.

BISHOP DAVENPORT.