GREAT FORTUNES, AND HOW THEY WERE MADE

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The chief glory of America is, that it is the country in which genius and
industry find their speediest and sures t reward. Fame and fortune are here
open to all who are willing to work for them. Neither class distinctions nor
social prejudices, neither differences of birth, religion, nor ideas, can prevent
the man of true merit from winning the just reward of his labors in this
favored land. We are emphatically a nation of self-made men, and it is to the
labors of this worthy class that our marvelous national prosperity is due.
This being the case, it is but natural that there should be manifested by our
people a very decided desire to know the history of those who have risen to
the front rank of their respective callings. Men are naturally cheered and
encouraged by the success of others, a nd those who are worthy of a similar
reward will not fail to learn valuable lessons from the examples of the men
who have preceded them.
With the hope of gratifying this laudable desire for information, and
encouraging those who are still struggling in the lists of fame and fortune, I
offer this book to the reader. I have so ught to tell simply and truthfully the
story of the trials and triumphs of our self-made men, to show how they
overcame where others failed, and to offer the record of their lives as models
worthy of the imitation of the young men of our country. No one can hope
to succeed in life merely by the forc e of his own genius, any more than he

The chief glory of America is, that it is the country in which genius and
industry find their speediest and sures t reward. Fame and fortune are here
open to all who are willing to work for them. Neither class distinctions nor
social prejudices, neither differences of birth, religion, nor ideas, can prevent
the man of true merit from winning the just reward of his labors in this
favored land. We are emphatically a nation of self-made men, and it is to the
labors of this worthy class that our marvelous national prosperity is due.
This being the case, it is but natural that there should be manifested by our
people a very decided desire to know the history of those who have risen to
the front rank of their respective callings. Men are naturally cheered and
encouraged by the success of others, a nd those who are worthy of a similar
reward will not fail to learn valuable lessons from the examples of the men
who have preceded them.
With the hope of gratifying this laudable desire for information, and
encouraging those who are still struggling in the lists of fame and fortune, I
offer this book to the reader. I have so ught to tell simply and truthfully the
story of the trials and triumphs of our self-made men, to show how they
overcame where others failed, and to offer the record of their lives as models
worthy of the imitation of the young men of our country. No one can hope
to succeed in life merely by the forc e of his own genius, any more than he
to success, and that they will prove int eresting to all classes of intelligent
readers.
Some explanation is due to the read er respecting the title that has been
chosen for the work. The term “Grea t Fortunes” is not used here to
designate pecuniary success exclusively. A few of the men whose lives are
herein recorded never amassed great we alth. Yet they achieved the highest
success in their vocations, and their lives are so full of interest and
instruction that this work must have been incomplete and unsatisfactory
had they been passed over in silence. The aim of the writer has been to
present the histories of those who have won the highest fame and achieved
the greatest good in their respective callings, whether that success has
brought them riches or not, and above all, of those whose labors have not
only opened the way to fortune for them selves, but also for others, and have
thus conferred lasting benefits upon their country.
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