Excerpt from Dover Farms: In Which Is Traced the Development of the Territory From the First Settlement in 1640 to 1900

In these pages the task of unfolding the scroll of time has been attempted. Herein are presented many facts with which the present generation is unfamiliar, and unless now recorded would be lost for ever. While the basis of this work rests upon the records of Norfolk and Suffolk counties, yet the material there obtained has been en riched by many facts gathered through a period of thirty years from the older people of Dover, together with much of interest which has been accumulated through a wide correspondence with former resi dents of the town.

While the old social intercourse and mutual dependence of the country folks is now mostly gone, yet the suggestion of the life which has been lived here will touch, it is believed, something very deep in many hearts. The sentiment that makes us linger over old-fashioned things is one of the most powerful in man. It knits the generations to each other, making it certain that the reverence of the young for the old will never die out of the world. From moulding relics and obscure traditions of other times something may be learned which shall not merely gratify curiosity. We believe it is well to have the life of a country town individually told before the change begins which is sure to come in the social and domestic relations of society. N ow every settlement can be easily traced on a map of Dover.

In recognition of the great debt of gratitude which we owe our forebears for their toil and patient sacrifice in the development of these farms, in making these roads, and in the building of the town's institutions, this volume, which aims to Show the life they lived, is dedicated. The obligations of the author are due George E. Chicker ing, the oldest resident of Dover, who patiently listened to the reading of these pages and whose accurate knowledge has helped to make clear many obscure points in the history of the town; to Walter P. Hender son who lettered the accompanying map, and to the many residents who have contributed so generously to meet the expense of illustrating this volume.

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