Ebook John Filson, the First Historian of Kentucky

William chenault, john mason brown, basil W. Duke, george M. Davie, james S. Pirtle, thomas W. Bullitt, alexander P. Humphrey, thomas speed, and reuben T. Durrett organized the filson club, in Louis ville, Ky., for the purpose of collecting and preserving the history of Kentucky, and especially those perishing scraps of history and biography which have never been published. The organization limited its membership to persons known to take an interest in historic studies and to be capable of so arranging and presenting the information they may obtain as to be useful to others. The Club was named in remembrance of John Filson, the first historian of Kentucky, and Mr. Durrett, who was made its President, was requested to prepare and read at its neiit meeting an account of the life and writings of the author whose name had beerr assumed. This request was complied with, and the article so prepared and read at the meeting, June 26, 1884, elaborated with an appendix and embellished with a likeness of Filson, a specimen of his chirography, and his map of Kentucky, is here published as the first contribution of the Filson Club to the historic literature or the State.