In a Land Not Sown
The Live and Times
of
Jeremiah William Cory, Sr.
1793-1860
by
David A. Cory, M.D.
Epilogue
Will the circle be unbroken, by and by Lord, by and by?
--A.P. Carter
Where does the story of a life start and stop? I could not relate what I have learned about Jeremiah William Cory, Sr. without delving into his ancestry, nor could I end the story with his death. I have arbitrarily decided to end this book with Lincoln Cory, who was in the womb of Elizabeth Gordy when Jeremiah died on January 6, 1860. Even so, I couldn't discuss the life of Lincoln without reference to his children. And so the wheel of life continues through generation after generation. I have tried to reconstruct the lives of the people presented in this volume as best I could. I knew none of them personally, except for my grandfather, Lee, and some of his siblings. There are many more stories to be told of other descendants of Jeremiah and Dolly, but that would carry us far beyond the times of Jeremiah Cory.
Finally, I want to recognize the Native Americans at whose expense the Cory family prospered. Make no mistake, there was an ongoing war from Colonial days through most of the nineteenth century as the Indians faced an overwhelming onslaught of white settlers. Ultimately, the settlers prevailed over the Iroquois, Shawnee, Delaware, Miamis, Potawatamis, Sacs, Foxes, and countless other tribes. As I have reviewed historical documents in preparing this book, I have found that the Indians are often portrayed as savages, wreaking havoc on the settlers. One has to realize that they were fighting for their homes and way of life, and there were acts of brutality as well as courage on both sides of the conflict. Black Hawk, in a speech made in Philadelphia June 14, 1833, put it simply but eloquently when he said, "I fought hard. I was no coward. Much blood was shed. But the white men were mighty. They were as many as the leaves of the forest. The Indians are but few. They are brave but they are few."
I can't undo history, but I would like to express respect for the Native American way of life. As we look at some of the results of the European triumph in North America, we would do well to listen to a people who lived in harmony with the land for thousands of years.